14 Modern Languages and Literatures
Arabic Language and Culture (ARB)
Elementary Arabic I
Ayman Mohamed and Sadam Issa (Michigan State University)
2020
Licence: CC BY 4.0
This is an open textbook on Beginner Arabic for undergraduate students who are taking Arabic in their first semester. It addresses letters and sounds of Arabic along with basic skills in reading, speaking and writing. The book can be used as a self-study resource or as the main textbook in beginning Arabic classes.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, Print PDF
Includes: Activities, audio files, review questions, and worksheets
Suggested for:
ARB 1911 Cours élémentaire d’arabe I / Elementary Arabic I
Elementary Arabic II
Ayman Mohamed and Sadam Issa (Michigan State University)
2020
Licence: CC BY 4.0
This is an open textbook on Elementary Arabic for undergraduate students who are taking Arabic in their second semester. It addresses language structures in theme-based modules that cover the four language skills. The book can be used as a self-study resource or as the main textbook in beginning Arabic classes.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, Print PDF
Includes: Activities, audio files, review questions, and worksheets
Suggested for:
ARB 1912 Cours élémentaire d’arabe II / Elementary Arabic II
FROM MSA to CA: A Beginner’s Guide to Transitioning to Colloquial Arabic
Lina Gomaa (Portland State University)
2015
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
This book is for students who have studied Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) for one year or more and would like to learn colloquial Arabic basics using their knowledge of MSA. It aims at transitioning learners from Novice Mid level to Intermediate Low through presenting situations useful for living in an Arab country. The book has several features including hyperlinks, practice dialogues with open answers, cultural tips, and more.
Formats: PDF and online
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
ARB 3911 Cours avancé d’arabe I / Advanced Arabic I
ARB 3912 Cours avancé d’arabe II / Advanced Arabic II
ARB 4911 Cours avancé d’arabe III / Advanced Arabic III
ARB 4912 Cours avancé d’arabe IV / Advanced Arabic IV
Asian Studies (ASI)
No suggested OER at this time.
Celtic Studies (CLT)
Cànan tro Òrain: Lesson Plans Centred on Gaelic Song 
Edited by Ed MacDonell (Gaelic College) and Heather Sparling (Cape Breton University)
2022
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
Cànan tro Òrain is an open online Scottish Gaelic language educational resource for instructors. It contains language and culture lesson plans based on Gaelic song. Teachers are encouraged to use these lessons and adapt them to their individual needs.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, and PDF
Suggested for:
CLT 1100 Scottish Gaelic Language and Culture I
CLT 1101 Scottish Gaelic Language and Culture II
Chinese (CHN)
CNH101: Elementary Mandarin I
Carl Polley (Kani’olani Community College)
Updated 2022
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
This course is designed for learners with no background in Chinese. It introduces basic structures of the Mandarin Chinese language with emphasis on listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Students will gain these four skills in standard Mandarin Chinese, attaining approximately the Novice-High level on the ACTFL-ETS (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) proficiency scale. Topics of conversation include basic greetings, names, family, work, study, and hobbies.
Format: Online
Suggested for:
CHN 1901 Cours élémentaire de chinois I / Introduction to Chinese I
Gateway to Chinese
Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning (University of Texas at Austin)
Licence: CC BY-NC 3.0
This site offers a collection of free interactive language learning resources for beginning Mandarin Chinese. Students now have the option to practice pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, listening, and reading skills at their own convenience.
Gateway to Chinese resources are designed to give students the valuable feedback they need to improve language skills in the critical early stages of learning. An extensive number of interactive exercises allow students to practice what they learn. With these tools, instructors can utilize valuable classroom time to do what they do best: teach!
Format: Online
Suggested for:
CHN 1901 Cours élémentaire de chinois I / Introduction to Chinese I
OER Beginning Chinese
Lin Hong (Central Oregon Community College)
2018
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Formats: Word, PDF, and PowerPoint
Suggested for:
CHN 1901 Cours élémentaire de chinois I / Introduction to Chinese I
German Language and Culture (ALG)
Deutsch im Blick – 2nd Edition
Zsuzsanna Abrams (University of Texas at Austin)
2017
Licence: CC BY 4.0
This textbook includes all 10 chapters of Deutsch im Blick. It accompanies the web-based first-year German program developed and in use at the University of Texas since 2008, and its companion site, Grimm Grammar. Deutsch im Blick is an open-access site with free and open multimedia resources, which requires neither password nor fees. For beginner and early intermediate students of German.
Format: PDF
Includes: Pronunciation, group activities, cultural information, reading tasks, writing activities, and games
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
ALG 1901 Cours élémentaire d’allemand I / Elementary German I
ALG 1902 Cours élémentaire d’allemand II / Elementary German II
ALG 2901 Cours intermédiaire d’allemand I / Intermediate German I
A Foundation Course in Reading German∗
Alan Ng and Sarah Korpi (University of Wisconsin)
Last updated: November 2020
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
A textbook published by University of Wisconsin-Madison and went through many versions over the years, it is designed to guide a learner who has no previous German experience to gain the ability to accurately understand formal written German prose, aided only by a comprehensive dictionary.
Formats: Online and PDF
Includes: Objectives, exercises, and answer keys
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
ALG 1901 Cours élémentaire d’allemand I / Elementary German I [as reference only]
ALG 1902 Cours élémentaire d’allemand II / Elementary German II [as reference only]
ALG 2901 Cours intermédiaire d’allemand I / Intermediate German I
ALG 2902 Cours intermédiaire d’allemand II / Intermediate German II
ALG 3901 Cours avancé d’allemand I / Advanced German I
ALG 3902 Cours avancé d’allemand II / Advanced German II
Grenzenlos Deutsch: An open-access curriculum for beginning German∗
Directed by Brigetta (Britt) M. Abel (Macalaster College) and Amy Young (Central College)
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
This full-year curriculum is intended as a no-cost alternative to current, more traditional textbooks in the field. It mixes materials rooted in real-world, contemporary communication scenarios, multimedia content, and online learning activities. The Grenzenlos Deutsch curriculum ensures that the topics of discussion in the language classroom are relevant to and reflect today’s world.
Format: Website
Includes: Interactive exercises and recommended media resources
Suggested for:
ALG 1901 Cours élémentaire d’allemand I / Elementary German I
ALG 1902 Cours élémentaire d’allemand II / Elementary German II
Willkommen: Deutsch für alle: Introductory German∗
Claudia Kost and Crystal Sawatzky (University of Alberta)
2020
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Willkommen: Deutsch für alle is an innovative first-year German language e-textbook, designed as Open Educational Resource (OER), for learning German at the college/university level. It features a task-based, communicative approach which provides students with opportunities to communicate in German in a variety of contexts and situations. Through a wide range of activities, students develop and practice their language skills which they showcase at the end of each chapter by accomplishing a specific task. Willkommen: Deutsch für alle follows a blended-learning model, a combination of alternating in-class (face-to-face) instruction and interaction, and online (self-paced) individual learning. Both in-class and online activities encourage students to practice the three communicative modes (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational) and thus the four language skills in an integrated manner. In-class activities provide opportunities for students to use their interactive language skills in a collaborative environment. Online activities aim to review materials from the previous lesson as well as allow students to engage with new information at their own pace. Willkommen: Deutsch für alle takes an inclusive approach to the depiction of people, contexts, and concepts. It views language learners, instructors and a wide range of individuals interacting in German as belonging to a large German-speaking community. Pedagogical as well as authentic cultural materials emphasize the diversity of speakers of German and are purposely inclusive of sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, PDF, and MOBI
Includes: Interactive exercises
Suggested for:
ALG 1901 Cours élémentaire d’allemand I / Elementary German I
ALG 1902 Cours élémentaire d’allemand II / Elementary German II
Italian Language and Culture (ITA)
Spunti: Italiano elementare 1
Daniel Leisawitz and Daniela Viale (Muhlenberg College)
2019
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Welcome to Spunti: Italiano elementare 1 – a new, unique program, authored by the Italian faculty of Muhlenberg College, that takes the place of a traditional language textbook. Spunti is a fully designed course that a college instructor of Italian can use and adapt.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, PDF, EPUB, and MOBI
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
ITA 1911 Cours élémentaire d’italien I / Elementary Italian I
Spunti: Italiano elementare 2
Daniel Leisawitz and Daniela Viale (Muhlenberg College)
2018
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Welcome to Spunti: Italiano elementare 2 – a new, unique program, authored by the Italian faculty of Muhlenberg College, that takes the place of a traditional language textbook. Spunti is a fully designed course that a college instructor of Italian can use and adapt.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, PDF, EPUB, and MOBI
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
ITA 1912 Cours élémentaire d’italien II / Elementary Italian II
Spunti: Italiano intermedio
Daniela Viale (Muhlenberg College)
2019
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Welcome to Spunti: italiano intermedio – a unique program, authored by the Italian faculty of Muhlenberg College, that takes the place of a traditional language textbook. Spunti is a fully designed course that a college instructor of Italian can use and adapt.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, PDF, EPUB, and MOBI
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
ITA 2911 Cours intermédiaire d’italien I / Intermediate Italian I
ITA 2912 Cours intermédiaire d’italien II / Intermediate Italian II
Tutt* a tavola! Volume 1 and Volume 2∗
Stacy Giufre and Melina Masterson (UMass Amherst)
2021
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
This new open educational resource is for Elementary Italian. Our goal is for this book to be comprehensive, user-friendly, inclusive, and cost-effective. Tutt* a tavola has two parts, one for each course, with six chapters in each. Generally speaking, each chapter addresses three to four grammatical topics and includes a vocabulary section related to a cultural theme. The vocabulary is also incorporated into the grammatical presentations and exercises. There is also a short reading in each chapter regarding different aspects of culture and language, to address those questions of diversity and inclusion that are often missing from the textbooks we have used in the past. To include more culture, we have also included multimedia: each chapter begins with a song that is used as a starting point for the inductive presentation of the chapter’s content, and ends with a video (a film clip, an interview, social media) that summarizes the ideas covered.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, and PDF
Includes: Exercises
Reviews: Open Textbook Library (Volume 1) (Volume 2)
Suggested for:
ITA 1911 Cours élémentaire d’italien I / Elementary Italian I
ITA 1912 Cours élémentaire d’italien II / Elementary Italian II
Japanese (JPN)
Beginning Japanese for Professionals: Book 1
Emiko Konomi (Portland State University)
2015
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
This textbook is designed for beginning learners who want to learn basic Japanese for the purpose of living and working in Japan. Unlike textbooks written primarily for students, whose content largely centers on student life, this book focuses more on social and professional life beyond school.
As a beginning level textbook, this book includes many elementary grammar patterns (Japanese Language Proficiency Test Levels 5 and 4), but the vocabulary and situations are selected specifically for working adults. Explanations are kept concise so as to only cover key points. The main focus is on oral communication and the accompanying audio is to be used extensively. This textbook can be used for self-study, as part of an online course, or as a traditional college course.
Formats: Online and PDF
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
JPN 1901 Cours élémentaire de japonais I / Introduction to Japanese I
JPN 1902 Cours élémentaire de japonais II / Introduction to Japanese II
Beginning Japanese for Professionals: Book 2
Emiko Konomi (Portland State University)
2017
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
This textbook is designed for beginning learners who want to learn basic Japanese for the purpose of living and working in Japan. Unlike textbooks written primarily for students, whose content largely centers on student life, this book focuses more on social and professional life beyond school.
As a beginning level textbook, this book includes many elementary grammar patterns (Japanese Language Proficiency Test Levels 5 and 4), but the vocabulary and situations are selected specifically for working adults. Explanations are kept concise so as to only cover key points. The main focus is on oral communication and the accompanying audio is to be used extensively. This textbook can be used for self-study, as part of an online course, or as a traditional college course.
Formats: Online, PDF, and Word
Suggested for:
JPN 1901 Cours élémentaire de japonais I / Introduction to Japanese I
JPN 1902 Cours élémentaire de japonais II / Introduction to Japanese II
Beginning Japanese for Professionals: Book 3
Emiko Konomi (Portland State University)
2018
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
This textbook is designed for beginning learners who want to learn basic Japanese for the purpose of living and working in Japan. Unlike textbooks written primarily for students, whose content largely centers on student life, this book focuses more on social and professional life beyond school.
As a beginning level textbook, this book includes many elementary grammar patterns (Japanese Language Proficiency Test Levels 5 and 4), but the vocabulary and situations are selected specifically for working adults. Explanations are kept concise so as to only cover key points. The main focus is on oral communication and the accompanying audio is to be used extensively. This textbook can be used for self-study, as part of an online course, or as a traditional college course.
Audio files are also available online
Formats: Online, PDF, and Word
Suggested for:
JPN 1901 Cours élémentaire de japonais I / Introduction to Japanese I
JPN 1902 Cours élémentaire de japonais II / Introduction to Japanese II
Preadvanced Japanese
Emiko Konomi (Portland State University)
2018
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
Preadvanced Japanese is designed for students who have intermediate competency in Japanese, roughly at Level 2 on the ILR (The Interagency Language Roundtable) proficiency scale, and are working on reaching Level 3.
This textbook can be used for self-study, as part of an online course, and in a traditional classroom setting. It is comprised of four chapters, intended to be covered in one term of a quarter system. Each chapter has Drills on expressions and grammar, Kanji Drills, and Listening Exercises. These activities are to be performed using the accompanying audio.
Formats: PDF and online
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
JPN 2901 Cours intermédiaire de japonais I / Intermediate Japanese I
JPN 2902 Cours intermédiaire de japonais II / Intermediate Japanese II
Latin American Studies (ELA)
No suggested OER at this time.
Modern Languages (LLM)
No suggested OER at this time.
Polish (PLN)
No suggested OER at this time.
Portuguese (POR)
Bate-Papo: An Introduction to Portuguese
Eduardo Viana da Silva (University of Washington)
2019
Licence: CC BY 4.0
This book was developed having in mind university students who speak English as their first language. We also took into consideration speakers of Spanish by highlighting some key similarities and differences between the two languages. The main focus of this edition is on Brazilian Portuguese. Occasionally, we highlight main differences between Brazilian Portuguese, Portuguese spoken in Africa and Asia, and European Portuguese. This e-book emphasizes meaningful communicative activities for a classroom setting, focusing on everyday language in Brazilian Portuguese.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, and PDF
Includes: Interactive activities and podcasts
Suggested for:
POR 1901 Cours élémentaire de portugais I / Elementary Portuguese I
POR 1902 Cours élémentaire de portugais II / Elementary Portuguese II
Baticum! Curso avançado de português brasileiro, língua estrangeira, a partir de textos da MPB
Antonio Roberto Monteiro Simoes (University of Kansas)
2012
Licence: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 (Note: assigning sections is permitted, but adaptations are not allowed without permission)
Baticum! is a textbook for advanced learners of Brazilian Portuguese. It is divided into chapters, each with its own table of contents. This record contains the entire work in one file, as well as the work divided into chapters for easier downloading. It is anticipated that changes will gradually transform this printable textbook into an internet-based course taking greater advantage of the multimedia and interactivity available on the web.
Format: PDF
Suggested for:
POR 3901 Cours avancé de portugais I / Advanced Portuguese I
ClicaBrasil: Portuguese Language and Culture for Intermediate Students
Vivian Flanzer (University of Texas)
2019
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
ClicaBrasil was developed for intermediate-level Portuguese language courses at UT-Austin. People all over the world are now using it for different purposes: self-study, classroom instruction, tutoring, or as a pastime. The lessons in ClicaBrasil integrate reading, writing, listening and reading comprehension, grammar, vocabulary, oral communication, and cultural activities. Numerous video clips (157, to be precise!) show different Brazilians speaking about their lives, their culture, and their country support and enhance these activities.
Format: PDF
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
POR 2901 Cours intermédiaire de portugais I / Intermediate Portuguese I
POR 2902 Cours intermédiaire de portugais II / Intermediate Portuguese II
Conversa Brasileira
Orlando R. Kelm (University of Texas at Austin)
2013
Licence: CC BY 3.0
Conversa Brasileira is an online open-access site that contains a series of 35 video scenarios in which Brazilians talk about their daily activities, everything from hobbies to shopping, and from traffic jams to soccer games. These materials are designed to help intermediate- and advanced-level learners of Portuguese to analyze the way that Brazilians really talk and improve in their own proficiency and fluency. This textbook provides a hard copy of all of the online materials, including the dialog transcriptions, English translations, and lesson notes that link to the original website.
Format: PDF
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
POR 2901 Cours intermédiaire de portugais I / Intermediate Portuguese I
POR 2902 Cours intermédiaire de portugais II / Intermediate Portuguese II
POR 3901 Cours avancé de portugais I / Advanced Portuguese I
POR 3902 Cours avancé de portugais II / Advanced Portuguese II
Português para principiantes
Severino J. Albuquerque (University of Wisconsin)
2016
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Português para principiantes is a time-tested text which can be used in conjunction with a variety of approaches to the teaching of beginning Portuguese. This media-rich text is designed to provide learners with a solid grammatical basis for using Brazilian Portuguese as well as regular opportunities to practice and improve their ability to read, speak, and understand the Portuguese language as it is used in contemporary Brazil.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, PDF, EPUB, and MOBI
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
POR 1901 Cours élémentaire de portugais I / Elementary Portuguese I
POR 1902 Cours élémentaire de portugais II / Elementary Portuguese II
Russian Language and Culture (RUS)
Decoding the 1920s: A Reader for Advanced Learners of Russian
Nila Friedberg (Portland State University)
2021
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
The materials presented in this book were developed for an advanced-level content-based Russian language course at Portland State University entitled “Russian Literature of the Twentieth Century: The 1920s.” Literature of this period is a major part of the Russian canon, but is notoriously difficult for learners of Russian to read in the original, due both to its stylistic complexity and the relative obscurity of its historical, political, and cultural references. And yet, this decade is crucial for understanding Russia – not only in the Soviet period, but also today. This was the period, when Mikhail Zoshchenko, Isaak Babel, Mikhail Bulgakov, and Andrei Platonov meticulously documented the birth of the “New Soviet Man,” his “newspeak” and Soviet bureaucratese; when Alexandra Kollontai, a Marxist revolutionary and a diplomat, wrote essays and fiction on the “New Soviet Woman”; when numerous satirical works were created; when Babel experimented with a literary representation of dialects (e.g., Odessa Russian or Jewish Russian). These varieties of language have not disappeared. Bureaucrats still use some form of bureaucratese. Numerous contemporary TV shows imitate the dialects that Babel described. Moreover, Bulgakov’s “Heart of a Dog” gave rise, due largely to its film adaptation, to catch-phrases that still appear throughout contemporary Russian media, satirical contexts, and everyday conversation. Thus, the Russian literature of the 1920s does not belong exclusively to the past, but has relevance and interpretive power for the present, and language learners who wish to pursue a career in humanities, media analysis, analytical translation, journalism, or international relations must understand this period and the linguistic patterns it established.
The textbook is intended for adult learners, and contains language assignments that would, on the one hand, help students transition to ACTFL’s Advanced proficiency level (i.e., be able to create “narratives, descriptions, and summaries … using paraphrasing and elaboration” (ACTFL 2012: 12).), but at the same time promote meaningful engagement with literary texts. The assignments in this textbook are multilevel ones, and thus offer a solution for multilevel classes that include literate heritage Russian speakers, Intermediate High, Advanced, or even Superior-level readers.
Format: PDF
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
RUS 4905 Cours avancé de russe III / Advanced Russian III
“The Death of Ivan Ilich”: An Electronic Study Edition of the Russian Text
Gary R. Jahn (University of Minnesota)
2020
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
The Russian text of “The Death of Ivan Ilich” is presented for study in various formats: accompanied by an English translation; fully glossed, with explanatory and interpretive annotations; and supplemented by introductory remarks and an extensive bibliography.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, and PDF
Suggested for:
RUS 2102 The Age of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy
Spanish (ESP)
Acceso: University of Kansas Collaborative Digital Spanish Project
Amy Rossomondo (KU Open Language Resource Center)
2019
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
Open-access, digital learning environment designed to promote the acquisition of Spanish and the development of cultural understanding of the varied groups of people who share Spanish as a common language.
Format: Online
Suggestion for:
ESP 2911 Culture espagnole contemporaine / Contemporary Spanish Culture
Antologia Abierta de Literatura Hispana∗
Edited by Julia Ann Ward (University of Oklahoma)
2017
Licence: CC BY 4.0
A critical anthology of literary texts from the Spanish-speaking world. A focus on canonical authors and an attempt to include voices that have been marginalized. Each text includes an introduction and annotations created by students.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more
Includes: Excerpts of literary texts, annotations, author biographies and bibliographies
Reviews: Open Textbooks Library – BCcampus
Suggested for:
ESP 3934 L’Espagne dans sa littérature (20e et 21e siècles) / Spain in its literature, (20th-21st centuries)
ESP 3935 L’Amérique latine dans sa littérature (20e et 21e siècles) / Latin America in its literature, 20th-21st centuries
ESP 4901 Étude avancée en littérature latino-américaine / Advanced Study of Latin American Literature
ESP 4902 Étude avancée en littérature espagnole / Advanced Study of Spanish Literature
A parar bien la oreja: cuaderno de comprensión auditiva∗
Juan Carlos Rocha Osornio, Daniela Maldonado Castañeda, and José Eduardo Villalobos Graillet (University of Toronto)
2020
Licence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (Note: assigning sections is permitted, but adaptations are not allowed without permission)
A parar bien la oreja: Cuaderno de comprensión auditiva es un esfuerzo colaborativo para crear y poner en práctica recursos didácticos que permitan a los estudiantes de español como lengua extranjera (ELE) acercarse a la comprensión auditiva desde un enfoque interactivo a través de recursos educativos abiertos (REA). Sin duda, la enseñanza y aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras hoy en día implica una relación estrecha con la tecnología, tal y como lo propone el Marco Común de Competencia Digital Docente (2017).
Format: Pressbooks webbook
Includes: Interactive exercises
Suggested for:
ESP 2991 Cours intermédiaire d’espagnol I / Intermediate Spanish I
ESP 2992 Cours intermédiaire d’espagnol II / Intermediate Spanish II
Beginning Spanish ¡Empecemos por aquí!∗
Jenny Ceciliano and Lisa Notman (Portland State University)
2021
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
Beginning Spanish ¡Empecemos por aquí! focuses on the development of communication skills in interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational modes while centering student voices. Activities engage learners in real exchanges of information on topics that are relevant to adult students. In addition to language-acquisition learning outcomes, this text supports learning outcomes in diversity, equity, inclusion, cultural sustainability, and social justice.
Formats: Online and PDF
Includes: Audio files, exercises, glossary
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
ESP 1991 Cours élémentaire d’espagnol I / Elementary Spanish I
ESP 1992 Cours élémentaire d’espagnol II / Elementary Spanish II
¿Cómo suena? Fonética y fonología del español
Alejandra Escudera, Nicole Barreca, and Alyssa Carbone (SUNY Oneonta)
2021
Licence: CC BY 4.0
An online companion text for the SUNY Oneonta course “Spanish Phonetics and Phonology”.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, and PDF
Suggested for:
ESP 4933 Grammaire différentielle de l’espagnol et de l’anglais / Contrastive Grammar: Spanish and English
Hola a Todos: Elementary Spanish I∗
Mariana Stone, Elizabeth Combier, Kristi Hislope, Valerie Hastings, Rosaria Meek, and Alvaro Torres-Calderon (University of North Georgia)
2018
Licence: CC BY 4.0
A textbook for introductory Spanish.
Format: PDF
Includes: Grammar and vocabulary pre-class activities, lectures, and post-class homework
Suggested for:
ESP 1991 Cours élémentaire d’espagnol I / Elementary Spanish I [as supplementary text]
ESP 1992 Cours élémentaire d’espagnol II / Elementary Spanish II [as supplementary text]
JUNTXS: Introductory Spanish
Adriana Diaz (University of Queensland)
2021
Licence : CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
JUNTXS is an open-access educational resource that can be used in conjunction with a variety of approaches to support beginning learners of Spanish. This media-rich learning resource is designed to guide learners in their Spanish language learning journey through a critical and intercultural lens and to provide regular opportunities to explore, practice, and improve their ability to read, speak, and understand this language as it is used across the Spanish-speaking world.
Format: Pressbooks webbook
Suggested for:
ESP 1991 Cours élémentaire d’espagnol I / Elementary Spanish I
ESP 1992 Cours élémentaire d’espagnol II / Elementary Spanish II
Introducción al Español∗
Rita Palacios (Conestoga College)
2019
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Introducción al Español is a basic Spanish language textbook designed to develop reading, writing, and speaking skills of college students in classrooms across Canada. Different topics will be used to support the use and development of correct grammar skills and vocabulary. The material is presented in a reader-friendly, accessible way, with audio files accompanying vocabulary lists to reinforce correct pronunciation and H5P interactives included to engage and reinforce learning.
Format: Pressbooks webbook
Includes: Audio files, interactive exercises
Suggested for:
ESP 1991 Cours élémentaire d’espagnol I / Elementary Spanish I
ESP 1992 Cours élémentaire d’espagnol II / Elementary Spanish II
La lingüística hispánica: Una introducción
Ashwini Ganeshan (Ohio University)
2019
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
This book, a work in progress, is aimed at students of Spanish in universities in the USA and intends to offer a brief and simple introduction to the field of Hispanic Linguistics. It includes basic concepts in linguistics, essays that address topic of social relevance connecting linguistics to everyday life, and exercises to practice the concepts. Links to relevant material across the internet are also provided. The book is entirely created from texts and materials authored by mainly undergraduate students and it also includes the work and effort of student-editors, as part of a long-term open pedagogy project.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, PDF, EPUB, and MOBI
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
ESP 3943 Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics
Leyendas y arquetipos del Romanticismo espanol, Segunda edicion∗
Robert Sanders (Portland State University)
2017
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Leyendas y arquetipos del Romanticismo español is an introduction to nineteenth-century Spanish literature with a thematic focus on legends and archetypes. It presents Romanticism in the context of nineteenth-century literary and social movements. It is designed as a first anthology for intermediate Spanish students at American universities. Although brief, it includes poetry, drama in verse and short story. The works have been selected for their literary interest and the social importance of their themes. They are all by canonical authors.
Formats: Online and PDF
Includes: Annotations, vocabulary notes, comprehension and discussion questions
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
ESP 4902 Étude avancée en littérature espagnole / Advanced Study of Spanish Literature
Libro Libre: Beginning Spanish∗
Erin Huebener and Jessica Steinberg (Spokane Community College)
2018
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
A textbook for introductory Spanish that has been positively reviewed.
Formats: PDF; online text at LibreTexts
Includes: Activities and videos
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
ESP 1991 Cours élémentaire d’espagnol I / Elementary Spanish I
ESP 1992 Cours élémentaire d’espagnol II / Elementary Spanish II
¡Que viva la música!: Repaso de conversación en español∗
Norma Corrales-Martin (Temple University)
2021
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
¡Qué viva la música! Repaso de conversación en español, or Long Live Music! Spanish Conversational Review is an open textbook intended for conversational review, typically a fourth-semester Spanish class. The textbook is organized around nine different songs that provide students opportunities to practice, aurally and orally, as well as in writing, the main communicative goals and key grammatical structures learned in previous classes. It can also be used in similar high school classes.
Formats: Manifold book, EPUB, and PDF
Includes: Exercises
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
ESP 2991 Cours intermédiaire d’espagnol I / Intermediate Spanish I
ESP 2992 Cours intermédiaire d’espagnol II / Intermediate Spanish II
Recorridos por la literatura hispana: Aventuras de don Quijote de la Mancha
Betsy Arnold and Pose Potter (University of Texas at Austin)
2017
Licence: CC BY 4.0
The language of the Siglo de Oro can be an insurmountable barrier for many readers. This textbook provides historical information, narrative techniques, lists of characters, themes and keywords before they begin to read each chapter of Don Quixote. While reading, vocabulary glossed in comprehensible Spanish appears in the margin opposite challenging words. Cultural references and proverbs from the work facilitate a deeper understanding. Each chapter contains checks for understanding and ends with activities to build vocabulary. It includes required chapters 1-8, 10, 17 and 74 for AP classrooms.
Format: PDF
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggestion for:
ESP 4919 Le roman espagnol / The Novel
Social and Regional Dialects of Spanish
Emily Kuder (Connecticut College)
2023
Licence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (Note: assigning sections is permitted, but adaptations are not allowed without permission)
This book presents an intermediate-advanced level course that employs preexisting resources and materials created by the author to facilitate the learning of topics related to hispanic dialectology and sociolinguistics through openly available content. The book can be used by learners as a self-guided course or by a group of learners in a conventional class as a textbook.
Format: Pressbooks webbook
Suggested for:
ESP 3941 Les variétés de l’espagnol / Varieties of Spanish
Spanish I: Beginning Spanish Language and Culture
Matthew Dean (Humbolt State University)
2020
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
This peer-reviewed textbook is designed for the true beginner with U.S. college students in mind. It contains themed chapters, which are divided into 8 sections. Each section has its own set of learning objectives, and is further separated into three types of assignments, Para estudiar en casa (with detailed explanations), Para practicar en casa (homework exercises), and Para practicar en clase (paired and group classwork activities). The explanations and primary input are written to be easily comprehensible. The individual exercises are geared towards acquisition of form and function, and the communicative classwork exercises promote interpersonal exchanges between students. The digital copy includes some embedded audio files, and we are developing a website to house many more resources.
Format: PDF
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
ESP 1991 Cours élémentaire d’espagnol I / Elementary Spanish I
ESP 1992 Cours élémentaire d’espagnol II / Elementary Spanish II
Spanish Grammar in Context∗
Jaqueline Larsen Serigos and Adriano Trovato (Spanish in Texas Project, Centre for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning, University of Texas at Austin)
2014
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Spanish Grammar in Context is a unique website that provides detailed grammar explanations and examples of the Spanish language with accompanying practice questions. Unlike traditional reference grammars, each topic is explained using authentic video examples. These examples come from the Spanish in Texas project, which profiles Spanish as it is spoken throughout Texas today. Online practice quizzes are included for each grammar section.
Format: Online
Includes: Audio files and quizzes
Suggested for:
ESP 1991 Cours élémentaire d’espagnol I / Elementary Spanish I
ESP 1992 Cours élémentaire d’espagnol II / Elementary Spanish II
Yo puedo: para empezar∗
Elizabeth Silvaggio-Adams and Ma. Del Rocío Vallejo-Alegre (SUNY Geneseo)
2021
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
You have learned two words in a second language just by reading the title of the book. Think about that for a moment and reflect upon your prior foreign language experiences. Often, students enter language classes with previously acquired skills, be they from secondary school or another college. Many say, “I have studied Spanish for years and don’t know how to speak or write it,” while others are a bit anxious about taking a second language for the first time, but all are overwhelmed by the expensive textbooks and online packages that don’t seem to be practical or relevant. We sought to change these common complaints by creating materials that take a new approach to learning a second language based upon the skills that we deem most useful and that will enable our students to confidently express themselves in Spanish. The text is designed for beginning Spanish language students. The pedagogical approach incorporates the flipped classroom methodology.
Format: PDF
Includes: Presentations and videos in Yo Puedo 1 Online Companion
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
ESP 1991 Cours élémentaire d’espagnol I / Elementary Spanish I
Yo puedo: segundos pasos∗
Elizabeth Silvaggio-Adams and Ma. Del Rocío Vallejo-Alegre (SUNY Geneseo)
2021
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
Perhaps you remembered what the title of your book means from your previous experiences with Spanish. That is a great start! As you begin the equivalent of a second semester Spanish course with these materials, some of you might think about how long it has been since you studied Spanish while others may come to the class with some background knowledge. We want you to know this book has been designed with many types of learners in mind. Our goals were to address the need for students to achieve the ability to communicate in written and spoken form. We sought to address a common statement by students that may have previous experiences, be they from secondary school or another college that say, “I have studied Spanish for years and don’t know how to speak or write it.” We also sought to present a reasonable alternative to the expensive textbooks and online packages that don’t seem to be practical or relevant. We sought to enhance second language learning by creating our own materials that take a new approach, the flipped classroom model, to learning a second language based upon the skills that we deem most useful and that will enable our students to confidently express themselves in Spanish–tú puedes con Yo puedo 2.
Format: PDF
Includes: Presentations and videos in Yo Puedo 2 Online Companion.
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
ESP 1992 Cours élémentaire d’espagnol II / Elementary Spanish II
Yiddish (YDD)
No suggested OER at this time.
World Literatures and Cultures (LCM)
The Anthology of World Literature 1650-present∗
Kathleen Hohenleitner (University of Central Florida)
2021
Licence: CC BY 4.0
By engaging with this resource which presents texts by diverse world writers from 1650 to the present, learners will: (1) engage with diverse world writers in translation, including canonical and less canonical texts, and (2) identify literary conventions and trends across genres. The texts are in chronological order, but can be adapted by the faculty in whatever way they see fit. Each text is introduced with a brief discussion of author, original language and time period, and the literary conventions the students can expect to see in the text.
Format: Pressbooks webbook
Includes: Question sets
Suggested for:
LCM 3103 World and Transcultural Literatures
Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning – Materials∗
COERLL (University of Texas at Austin)
Under various Creative Commons licences
The Center for Open Educational Resources & Language Learning (COERLL) is a National Foreign Language Resource Center funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The overall mission of these federally-funded centers is to improve the teaching and learning of foreign languages by producing resources (materials and best practices) that can be profitably employed in a variety of settings.
COERLL’s work is organized around seven basic areas: Applied linguistic research, Teaching materials Language assessment, Teacher development, Less commonly taught languages, K-12 initiatives, and Outreach and dissemination.
Languages covered include Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
Formats: Various
Suggested for:
LCM 1101 How to Learn Foreign Languages
Introduction to World Literature Anthology∗
Christian Beck (University of Central Florida)
2021
Licence: CC BY 4.0
The texts contained in this anthology each perform a particular purpose and represent an aspect of the rich cultures that populate our world. By attending to the cultural significance of literary texts from around the world and connecting them via a unifying theme, we can begin to identify cultural similarities that make the world a more dynamic and interesting place to live. This anthology seeks to show the unity of world literature through a form of radical familiarity, while at the same time preserving and admiring the different cultures from which the literature was produced.
Format: Pressbooks webbook
Includes: Question sets
Suggested for:
LCM 3103 World and Transcultural Literatures
World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650∗
Edited by Laura Getty, Kyounghye Kwon, Rhonda Kelley, and Douglas Thomson (University of North Georgia)
2015
Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0
Since the dawn of language, humankind has exchanged stories, either through storytellers around a hearth or through scribes tirelessly copying various texts. This literature allows modern audience a window through which we can peer into the distant past. It provides vital clues for the interpretation of history, language, and culture. It is through literature that one may compare and gain a greater understanding of other civilizations.
This anthology comprises three comprehensive collections that provide samples of literature from around the world and across the ages, ranging from some of the oldest tales that have survived into modernity to works from the 1650s. These texts provide an opportunity for readers to engage in extensive analysis of the works themselves and the societies that influenced and were influenced by them.
This peer-reviewed World Literature I anthology includes introductory text and images before each series of readings. Sections of the text are divided by time period in three parts: the Ancient World, Middle Ages, and Renaissance, and then divided into chapters by location.
Format: PDF
Includes: Question sets
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
LCM 3103 World and Transcultural Literatures
