Dime Uno

Rating:
Summary: Dime Uno is hard to understand
Review: As a student in high school trying to use Dime Uno, I find that I cannot find any information about grammar, punctuation, or vocabulary without reading the entire chapter through. The cartoons would be better if the were not quite so frequent, as they are, they hinder learning. They only teach in the singular for the first unit,making it hard to learn the plural when it is taught. I would look for another textbook.

Rating:
Summary: DIME
Review: I am in a school district that uses this textbook and as a Spanish teacher I often feel frustrated. The flexibility is very limited. The order that the authors teach the concepts is blatantly non-traditional. However, there really never seems to be a reason for their non-traditional stance. Are they mimicking the natural order of L1 acquisition? Students are always asking questions about concepts that they are supposed to acquire through their own intuition.

The book starts by teaching school supplies in the singual format and immediately provides examples in the plural. Why not start with the basics? What's your name? Hello? Good Day? Why have a preliminary lesson at all?

The authors constantly dazzle you with comments and suggestions in the teacher's edition. However, their suggestions often fall flat. There is really no space for individualization within the lesson. To me, it seems as if they handle each lesson as if it needs to be idiot proof. Suggestions are often along the lines of "Don't translate this passage for the students. Use transparencies and gestures to illustrate the meaning."

It seems they break things down in multiple steps that can be covered rapidly (First singular and later plural articles OR First singular and later plural conjugations) Other things that need more detailed explanations are glossed over. The thought seems to be along Krashen's input output theory, yet the input deviates a bit too far from what they are able to produce. For me, it is not a good idea to assume that the students will catch on implicitly. For many, it never really becomes apparent until the grammatical points are explained with more traditional methods or at least in a clearer context.

The book does seem to appeal to students and the illustrations are a bit "busy" but very vivid and perhaps memorable to the students. I definitely feel that this book works better for younger learners (middle school). I also like the video tapes that accompany the series and I feel it is great to illustrate the dialogue in the textbook that will be shown in the video. The actors do a great job of speaking clearly. The textbook itself could use some revamping, too say the least. As a whole, I am not too impressed.

Rating:
Summary: Not a helpful book
Review: This book should not be used to teach beginning students Spanish. I think it is confusing, and many grammar and verb tense rules are not clearly stated in the book. Honestly, I didn't use the book much....I relied more on the teacher's notes. Plus, the stupid videos and comic-type strips become annoying and monotonous.