The table of contents at the beginning of the 2nd year DIME textbook is the only form of goals and objectives the students sees. Each of the 8 units has a city or country theme. The first 3 units are review from what looks to be the previous book. Each and every lesson is set up in the same exact way, and there are 3 lessons per unit. First there is a section that familiarizes the student with what they will be learning about through a variety of questions and pictures. The next section is a 2-3-page description of a Spanish speaking city or country they will be studying by showing a variety of pictures with short passages. This section is then followed by another 2-3-page dialogue between the characters in the book and some of the activities they do in their country. Then there is an average of about 5 pages that is spent on various grammar activities. However to actual know why the certain grammar point is used, you must go to the Grammar Manual at the back

The last activity scored very similar to the first. The students this time however must look at a picture from the book and decide which item(s) they would or would not buy. The activity is somewhat interesting to the students, but again it is more of a mechanical drill because they only have to use one form when telling what they would like to buy. To make it more worthwhile the students might have to be given a different context, such as different times of the year, or may be required to vary the forms.

On page 89, there is an exercise on what appears to be slang used between friends, that they call Jerga. Then there is a dialogue between two friends using the “jerga,” and then series of questions about the dialogue and the different words used. I think it is a very good activity for the students to understand that people all over the world have a special “jerga” that they use! It also allows the students to infer meaning rather than just pointing them out.

Overall, all three activities cover different disciplines, and students are able to build on prior personal knowledge and existing background knowledge. Although there is not a lot of authentic reading material in the book, the ads or the letter come relatively close. The book lacks projects where students are able to acquire information using outside resources such as technology or even the media. This might be due to the fact of when the book was published. It would also be nice to see more authentic material.

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