Department of Spanish and Portuguese

Melissa D. Murphy


Acercándome was designed to guide students of Spanish in their transition from beginning tointermediate Spanish. At this level, students will develop the skills necessary to express opinions, make predictions, speak hypothetically and engage in debate. The goals of this book include not only the acquisition of increasingly complex vocabulary and grammatical structures, but also the development of pragmatic skills, metalinguistic knowledge and socio-cultural awareness. The design of  Acercándome was driven by 5 fundamental principles: 1) language learning is best achieved in a student-centered environment, 2) language data, whenever possible, should be authentic and contextualized, 3) critical thinking skills are an essential component of university-level language courses, 4) pedagogical activities should address a variety of learning styles, and 5) motivation is an extremely important factor in successful language learning.

Co Authored by Sr. Lecturer Melissa D. Murphy, Lecturer Mina Ogando-Lavîn, Sr. Lecturer Delia L Montesinos.

Por miPor mí mism@

Por mí mism@ was designed for students of advanced-intermediate Spanish. The content areas were selected to raise the learners’ proficiency to a level that will enable them to successfully transition to advanced grammar and writing courses.  Several pedagogical approaches have been integrated, but the main goal is to give students the necessary tools to take responsibility for their own language development. Por mí mism@ encourages learners to discover vocabulary and induce grammatical rules on their own; hence, the title of the book. Keeping in mind the importance of learning styles, a variety of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic activities have been incorporated to satisfy the needs of a wide range of students, including various sections influenced by Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences. To engage students, activities include humor as well as an assortment of thought-provoking and controversial topics relevant to life in the 21st century.

Co Authored by Lecturer Mina Ogando-Lavîn, Sr. Lecturer Melissa D. Murphy, Sr. Lecturer Delia L Montesinos,

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    The University of Texas at Austin
    BEN 2.116
    150 W. 21st Street, Stop B3700
    Austin, TX 78712-1155