Tu mundo immerses the Intro Spanish student in a culturally rich world full of opportunities to discover and explore the powerful connections between themselves and the people and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. Students dive in to intensive communicative practice, building confidence in their ability to interact in a meaningful way in Spanish with access to a wealth of tools to support and guide their progress, including video chat, interactive online scenarios, and an adaptive diagnostic program. In addition, students are able to create their own sense of community, resulting in a unique individual experience that will evolve organically with each student, sparking their natural curiosity about their world.<br /> <br />    Tu mundo employs a communicative methodology that focuses on developing all four skills, supported by the best digital learning platform available today: Connect Spanish. Because Tu mundo was designed with today’s students in mind, students are more readily engaged with the content, thanks to their avid use of web-based tools, their innate interest the cultures of other countries, and their preference for visual presentations and quick access to information. Tu mundo reflects the world in which our students live; where online learning, social networking, texting, instant messaging, mobile devices, tablets, online gaming, and virtual scenarios are an integral part of daily life.<br /> <br /> <b>What are the pillars of Tu mundo?</b><br /> Our extensive and ongoing research in the Intro Spanish course has led to the creation of Tu mundo, with a strong emphasis on the 5 C’s: Communication, Culture, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities. Tu mundo delivers content in a variety of ways in order to ensure consistent course outcomes across all course formats.<br /> <br /> 1. Improved communication performance & skills: By jumping directly into communicative practice at the beginning of every chapter, students are encouraged to immerse themselves in the experience of active learning, whether in a face-to-face or online classroom. Grammar is presented at the end of each chapter, allowing students to study at home and work through the exercises in Connect Spanish for automatic feedback, coming to class ready to engage in discussion. This emphasis on communication in the classroom makes Tu mundo the most effective communicative program on the market. No other program commits to this methodology like Tu mundo.<br /> <br /> 2. Creating consistent learning outcomes: Tu mundo offers a powerful adaptive learning system called LearnSmart that allows students to identify grammatical structures and vocabulary words not yet mastered and to receive an individualized study program for mastering them. Students of all experience levels will benefit from using LearnSmart, which includes built-in reporting and a competitive scoreboard. Connect Spanish Voice Board and Blackboard Instant Messenger (BbIM), both powered by Wimba, ensure that students are getting ample practice time no matter where their classes take place.<br /> <br /> 3. Building community and connections between students: Creating a sense of community in the face-to-face or virtual classroom is a huge part of language learning and something that Tu mundo does implicitly. Whether students collaborate in a physical classroom or in Connect Spanish, they are provided with opportunities to engage in meaningful conversations and collaborative task-based activities. The Amigos sin fronteras, a cast of young Hispanic students that share common interests, are featured throughout the entire program and showcased in the Así somos video segments. Through the Amigos sin fronteras, students are exposed to a friendly model on how to apply what they are learning to another friendly group of students, i.e. their own class. In addition, Tu mundo presents an interactive online environment that applies engaging content and task-based scenarios that enable you to practicing your language skills in a fun, immersive way. Thus, students can practice Spanish in a context that is not only fun but extremely motivating.<br /> <br /> 4. More Culture and Comparisons coverage: Culture is so often left behind—so Tu mundo offers it throughout the program. Each chapter features a country of focus which doubles as the home country of one of the fifteen amigos. Along with in-chapter cultural sections, every chapter of Tu mundo features a second video segment called Mi país (within Connect), narrated by the amigos themselves, as they share information about their native countries. This window into the lives of the amigos provides a point of comparison for you to describe your own life. The Mundo interactivo scenarios represent a variety of cultural contexts in which you can interact with language and culture in a way that is meaningful to you.<br /> <br /> *Connect Spanish, including but not limited to the workbook/lab manual, LearnSmart, the video program, and chat tools, is sold separately and does not come automatically with the purchase of the textbook.