Content and Structure

Acceso is made up of eight units, beginning with the United States and then tracing the diachronic route of the Spanish language from Spain through the Americas, ending in the Southern Cone. Each unit is comprised of six activity types:

  • Aperturas — introduction to the themes, linguistic structures, and the active vocabulary that are the focus of the unit
  • Voces — interviews with speakers from the region who share their own perspectives and information about the varieties of Spanish (and other languages) in their home countries
  • Almanaque — cultural topics that impact daily life in the region, including popular culture, social movements, politics, and economic force
  • Sucesos — historical events and their relationship with present-day realities in the region
  • Un paso más — an in-depth exploration of cultural production from the region, including literary texts, films, works of art, and music
  • Perspectivas — exploration of a variety of perspectives on a given social issue, demonstrating that that there is more than one way of organizing and understanding our realities.

There is also a Vocabulario section, an online glossary of the active vocabulary that allows searching by either English or Spanish keywords and provides sound files to teach correct pronunciation. An additional Gramática section offers functional grammar explanations that are necessary to explore and discuss the content of each unit; the topics covered map onto those covered in most intermediate-level courses and prepare students for more advanced linguistic study.

The free materials provided on Acceso website are supplemented by an optional commercial workbook called Acceso Hub: Forma y Función.The $40/semester subscription includes hundreds of auto-scored and open-ended, instructor-graded activities, an assignment calendar, video office hours, discussion boards, and a fully customizable grade book. If you'd like to place an order through your campus bookstore or Procurement Office, please use ISBN 978-0-9994487-3-1 and have them email a P.O. to orders@lingrolearning.com.