Teaching Spanish Grammar with Pictures, CD-ROM:

How to Use William Bull's Visual Grammar of Spanish,

and: En una palabra, Puebla, Mexico, a CD-ROM for
Exploring Culture in Spanish (review)
Deborah Gill
Hispania, Volume 95, Number 1, March 2012, pp. 184-186 (Article)
Published by The Johns Hopkins University Press
DOI: 10.1353/hpn.2012.0016
For additional information about this article
Access provided by Griffith University (8 Oct 2014 09:12 GMT)
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/hpn/summary/v095/95.1.gill.html
184 Hispania 95 March 2012
inaccuracies, including typographical and orthographic errors, and errors in the classifcation of
parts of speech of some of the entries might also be corrected in future editions of this dictionary.
Cal: A Dictionary of Spanish Barrio and Border Slang offers valuable insights into the
creativity of Cal as a linguistic variety. Future editions that include a discussion of recent
research on this fascinating variety of Spanish will prove to be a useful, comprehensive, and
more contextualized resource for both linguists and nonlinguists alike.
Regina Morin
The College of New Jersey, USA
Whitley, M. Stanley, and Patricia V. Lunn. Teaching Spanish Grammar with Pictures, CD-
ROM: How to Use William Bulls Visual Grammar of Spanish. Washington, DC: Georgetown
UP, 2010. ISBN 978-1-58901-703-0.
Paris-Bouvret, Emmanuel, Ana Prez-Girons, and Octavio Flores-Cuadra. En una
palabra, Puebla, Mxico, a CD-ROM for Exploring Culture in Spanish. Washington, DC:
Georgetown UP, 2010. ISBN 978-1-58901-647-7.
The two CD-ROM programs referenced above provide exceptional materials for use in the
classroom to promote second-language acquisition and cultural knowledge. Both of these
CD-ROMs are published by Georgetown University Press and provide, with the purchase, the
ability to post onto a secure network the program and/or images for student use and, in the case
of Teaching Spanish Grammar with Pictures, the use of the images on handouts.
Teaching Spanish Grammar with Pictures is a CD-ROM which precisely explains and
demonstrates with examples how to use William Bulls Visual Grammar of Spanish (VGS).
The CD-ROM contains: 1) all of the Bull images (406) in .jpg and .pdf formats, 2) an image
index, and 3) a Teachers Manual in .pdf format.
The frst chapter of the Teachers Manual is divided into six subsections. In the frst one, an
explanation of William Bulls Visual Grammar of Spanish and his intention behind the images
(to improve comprehension of Spanish grammar) are presented. The next two subsections
discuss William Bulls background and provide a detailed explanation of his three key ideas:
1. Linguistics have neglected or ignored the role of meaning in their concentration on form.
2. Learning another language is learning another way to structure the world. 3. A units func-
tion and meaning are defned by means of its contrasts within a given system (4). The fourth
subsection is broken into two parts. The frst part discusses Bulls idea of using images to teach
concepts and presents a brief outline and explanation of the grant support that he received
from UCLA and the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to realize his vision.
The second part in this section provides a concise explanation of why Bulls book Spanish for
Teachers was written and what the focus was.
The ffth subsection in chapter 1 of the Teachers Manual provides a brief history of
language teaching methods, from audiolingualism in the 1950s and 60s to a paradigm shift in
1970s to a more communicative method. In the fnal subsection, the authors stress that neither
a contrastive structures approach to language learning nor VGS will produce automatic fuency.
The authors provide example activities which promote the learning of a foreign language,
including the use of VGS images, with the purpose of showing that as opposed to traditional
explanations of grammar, VGS helps students grasp a distinction and process it better in further
input (15).
Chapter 2 is the meat of the Teachers Manual. It is divided into two subsections, with
the frst subsection providing information on how to use the images inside and outside of the
classroom, as well as its use with visually impaired students and heritage learners. The second
subsection contains commentary on the use of each one (or sets) of the 406 VGS images. The
authors provide excellent suggestions on how to present and use the images individually and in
185 Reviews
sets, including cross-referencing images with others found either earlier or later in the group of
images and research supporting the explanations. The authors remind the reader that it is neces-
sary for individual teachers to take the time to correlate the images with their specifc textbooks.
The third part of the Teachers Manual is an Appendix of the VGS images by topic. The
authors have provided clear and concise headings for the images (and captions for each image)
which parallel the commentary which was provided in chapter 2.
The next section of the Teachers Manual contains the references to research cited through-
out this manual, which support explanations and/or the theories presented. The references
provide an excellent body of articles for further investigation.
The fnal section is the index, which references both chapter 1 (by section numbers) and
chapter 2 (by Bulls poster numbers and the grammatical point). The index is easy to follow
and is an excellent tool to locate specifc grammar points and/or images.
The CD-ROM Teaching Spanish Grammar with Pictures is an excellent supplement and
teaching tool that can be used during class as well as outside of class to introduce and reinforce
diffcult grammar points. The original images are outdated and possibly stereotypical; however,
as the authors point out, such images are now so clearly out-of-date that they are unlikely to
be understood as failed attempts at cultural authenticity (9), and the images clearly depict the
concepts which are being learned. The authors have provided educators with excellent explana-
tions and examples of how to use these VGS images and still have a communicative classroom.
En una palabra, Puebla, Mxico is a CD-ROM (completely in Spanish) in which the city
is highlighted with authentic realia to captivate the interest of students inside and outside of the
classroom. The opening screen is aesthetically pleasing and the reader is given the option of
learning cultural and linguistic characteristics of the region (by following the links provided on
the introductory page) or listening to residents of Puebla (by clicking on an image of a person
and then on a theme) discuss a number of beliefs and ideas.
The links are broken down into three distinctive areas: 1) About the Program, 2) Puebla,
and 3) The Speech of Puebla. The frst group of links, About the Program, provides
general information about the CD-ROM, including its pedagogical objective to develop
second-language learners cultural competence (my translation), credits, a note of apprecia-
tion, who the authors are, and help to navigate through the CD-ROM. The next link, Puebla,
provides short, concise explanations of authentic food and a number of places of interest,
such as the Cathedral, San Francisco Church, and Cholula (a neighboring city), to name a few.
A short explanation of each is provided, along with a representative photograph. Puebla on
the Internet is also included in this section, which provides excellent links to governmental
sites, tourist information, pertinent current news about Puebla, and links to the two universities.
Links to three online versions of newspapers from Puebla are also included. Finally, the third
linked section is The Speech of Puebla, which is broken into six sectionsan introduction,
which describes the goal of the section, followed by fve distinct dialectal features of the speech
of Puebla (for example, the conservation of the /d/ or vowel weakening or reduction). These
linguistic features are then explained and recorded audio clips are provided to demonstrate
each feature.
The video clips are the foundation of the program and are prominent on the opening screen.
Fifteen people (from students to professional singers and well-known writers), natives of Puebla
or individuals who have lived in Puebla for the majority of their lives, talk about ten universal
themes, demonstrating similarities and differences within the topics. The themes covered
include ambition, friends, freedom, family, happiness, individualism, success, pride, country,
and work. The video clips are short (30 seconds to a minute in length), use natural speech, and
are of excellent quality (i.e., easy to understand).
The video clips are accompanied by an optional transcription and a glossary, both appearing
as pull outs next to the video clips. The transcript allows the reader to follow along and also
click on key term links to fnd a defnition (in Spanish) of those terms in the glossary.
186 Hispania 95 March 2012
In addition to the information contained on the CD-ROM, a Teachers Manual in .pdf
format is available on the Georgetown University Press website (a link is embedded within the
pedagogical objectives section on the CD-ROM). The Manual offers a number of possible
uses of the CD-ROM for beginner to advanced learners. The ideas are broad and can be adapted
for students at any level.
Overall, En una palabra, Puebla, Mxico is an excellent supplement for second-year and
beyond language learners (although with careful planning, the materials, especially the video
clips, could easily be tailored to frst-year, second-semester language learners). The supplemental
links are excellent, while the video clips lend themselves to helping meet the National Standards
and function as springboards for lively discussion of real life themes.
In sum, these two CD-ROM programs are excellent supplemental materials which can be
used in classrooms with different teaching methodologies and at different levels, from beginning
to advanced language learners as well as heritage speakers.
Deborah Gill
Pennsylvania State UniversityDuBois, USA
Fiction and Film
Lpez Mengual, Paco. El ltimo barco a Amrica. Madrid: Planeta, 2011. Pp. 221. ISBN
978-84-8460-949-0.
El ltimo barco a Amrica (2011) is Paco Lpez Menguals fourth novel and indicates much
promise for the relatively unknown author from Murcia who writes in his spare time while
running an odds-and-ends store that has been in his family for years. His philosophy is that
everyone has a story to tell and this gift for narration is refected in this novel that recounts the
story of Marcial, a young shepherd during the Spanish Civil War, who dreams of immigrating
to America to follow his surrogate father. There is already a large corpus of novels concerning
the Spanish Civil War following the implementation of the Law of Historical Memory in Spain
in 2007 under the political party PSOE, where it was agreed to investigate and make moral
reparations for suffering during the war and Francos dictatorship. This novel is different in that
the war itself and its politics are not the focal points; rather, they enhance the novels setting and
depictions of the characters. This is not a novel that tries to explain the war, nor does it sermonize
about either of the two sides; instead, it is a beautiful coming of age story of its protagonist,
which distinguishes it from many other novels. Regardless of ones politics, this book can be
enjoyed by anyone, which sets it apart from other writings concerning the Spanish Civil War.
It is accessible to everyone and allows the reader to become fully immersed in Marcials world.
The novel is set against the historical backdrop of the Spanish Civil War and demonstrates
the hardship of war on all involved. Marcial and his older brother, Negrillo, are two adolescent,
orphaned shepherds who barely subsist in the mountains of an unnamed region in northern Spain,
eking out a living on the few focks that they maintain. Both are aware that a civil war has begun
because they hear gunfre ring out occasionally, but they generally try to avoid participating
or taking sides by taking their sheep higher up in the mountain to graze away from people,
specifcally the civil guard who are suspicious of the boys harboring Republicans. Marcial
seeks comfort in the idea that one day he will save up enough money to journey to America
where his mentor and substitute father, who instructed him until age fourteen, has immigrated.
The novels originality lies in the fact that Marcial, who has a very active imagination, is
able to see ghosts. Only he is able to communicate with the eleven specters of the local towns
Republicans who were summarily executed, their bodies thrown into a mass grave close to
where the boys tend to their sheep. Much like Pans Labrynth, or El bosque animado, Lpez