Unipodja.com is online supplement to the textbook, Unipod: La Profe y Sus Universitarios, An Introductory Spanish Text.
Gaye-Leon Williams adopts a fresh and innovative approach to the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language in this unique and path-breaking text. The approach is based on her research, teaching experience, and the recognition that many students are not proficient in the English language. The technique applied in this text therefore encourages the use of the learner’s spoken (Jamaican) language as the bridge to the learning of Spanish.
The text is interactive, whereby learners use QR Codes to access audio files to practise and gain listening skills. The text has its own custom-designed website tied to this listening component. In addition, it employs social media which is popular among today’s students. Students are therefore provided with the opportunity to make podcasts and videos, thus making the learning of Spanish exciting and enjoyable. Other features include charts, comic strips, and puzzles.
Unipod is not only suitable for use in the formal classroom but also for training courses in industries such as tourism, where members of the sector can benefit from being familiar with the Spanish language. Professionals in the hospitality sector will find the self-study and conversational aids especially useful when communicating with Spanish-speaking visitors.
Gaye-Leon Williams is a Spanish lecturer at the Caribbean Maritime University and an adjunct lecturer for introductory Spanish courses at The University of the West Indies, Mona. She holds a BA in Biology and Spanish from Wesleyan College, Macon, Georgia as well as an MPhil in Spanish from The University of the West Indies, Mona, where her focus was on the teaching of foreign languages in a Creole classroom. Miss Williams also tutors Spanish privately through her company Cerebral GW.