Skills development
Campo libre 1, Libro del Estudiante, consists of a wide range of articles, short and long, which above all aim to improve students' understanding of written Spanish. We have adhered to the principle that the more stimulating the article, the more the reader becomes engaged with the subject matter. This engagement with the text is the essence of reading.
The method adopted for the improvement of reading skills in Campo libre is to select topics of interest, to examine them from many different points of view then to exploit each article with exercises designed to foster understanding. The Libro de Práctica, which is to be used in conjunction with the Libro del Estudiante, offers a wealth of exercises which, in addition to developing reading skills, practise those of speaking and writing.
Students who work through the articles on each topic and carries out the exercises systematically will also gain, from exposure to its many facets, a solid understanding of the topic, in the context of Hispanic culture. This process will give them the opportunity to develop a personal point of view on the topics, leading possibly to an extensive piece of course work, based on their own further research.
Libro de Práctica
The Libro de Práctica is complementary to the textbook being used and lends itself to exploitation both by the teacher in the classroom and by the individual student working autonomously. Many tasks can be done by the students on their own , and they can check their progress by referring to the solutions. Certain types of task, however, such as summaries and creative or discussion essays, will be assessed by the teacher. Almost all the written task types chosen are of the kind used by examination boards.
In each of the three sections the exercises are graded from relatively straightforward tasks at the beginning to quite demanding tasks at the end. This gradation reflects the increasing complexity of the reading passages as each topic is developed.
Task types
Several standard ways of exploiting reading passages are used. The most common ones are:
choosing between alternative statements ("true/false)
matching (individual words, expressions),
translation,
sequencing (eg. putting statements in the correct order),
completion (eg. filling in grids, completing sentences)
answering comprehension questions (in English or Spanish)
summarising
Additionally we have included the occasional grammar exercise, eg. on the subjunctive, imperatives, past tenses, in order to ensure accurate grasp of tenses and structures
How to approach the exercises
Each article is exploited using a selection of the above tasks, and it is recommended that they be tackled according the following sequence if the book is being used as a classroom text. Students who are working on their own have of course the freedom to dip into the questions wherever they wish. They will, however, also find it useful to follow the sequence recommended below:
Stage 1 An initial "warm-up" question is often included. This is intended to make the student think about the theme of the article and practise speaking by discussing it with a fellow-student. Often it is desirable to prepare for the study of a topic in this way, for example by asking the student to predict what is in the article from the headlines.
Stage 2 Preparatory tasks which enable the student to acquire the necessary vocabulary, such as matching, translating and searching for synonyms.
Stage 3 Tasks which enable the student to get into the "meat" of the article, such as information gap, true/false, sequencing, summarising, questions in Spanish or in English.. These are the central tasks since they are aimed at understanding the reading material. By the time the student has completed this stage comprehension of the article should be good.
Stage 4 Tasks which develop the students' interest in and thinking about the tasks. These topics are usually creative and discursive essays stimulated by the articles. Equally these topics may be developed orally through debate and discussion
Whenever students are working on a passage they should be encouraged to read without haste, pausing for reflection and paying attention to both gist and detail. The vocabulary at the back of the Libro del estudiante will be useful in carrying out many of the tasks. Access to a good monolingual dictionary is also recommended.
Finally, when carrying out the written tasks students must be encouraged to create their own language as much as possible. Thus not only will Campo libre improve their ability to read responsively but it will also enhance the quality and independence of their writing in Spanish.
European Language Teaching Centre, University of Surrey,
Primavera, 1998