Book Smarts 5 Tips for Selecting the Best Foreign Language Textbooks

Book Smarts 5 Tips for Selecting the Best Foreign Language Textbooks Got textbooks?If not, its time to load up!  Textbooks are a staple of any balanced language learning diet.Sure, there are lots of great ways to study a language.You can listen to music, watch  movies  or  do translation exercises.  You can even meet with a conversation partner  for a firsthand dose of the language as its spoken.Textbooks might not seem as flashy or  fun  as these other resources, but dont let that steer you away from them.Textbooks are the workhorses of all academic instructionâ€"from elementary school through collegeâ€"and for good reason.Whats more, anybody can use them.But what exactly makes textbooks so great? Reasons to Study with TextbooksWhy study with textbooks? Well, because foreign language textbooks are designed just for learners like you!  They have several cool features youll find extremely useful:Textbooks are well-designed. Textbooks are usually written by language teachers and edited  by publishers experienced in the language learning process.  Now here else can  you find a source so  thoroughly reviewed or carefully designed for  the needs of language learners!Textbooks are packed with useful content. Textbooks are treasure troves of vocabulary lists and grammar rules, along with dialogues, texts and thorough explanations.Textbooks are made to do it all. They usually present not only new words but also practice exercises and even  cultural knowledge. In some cases, they may also  offer access to audio files and online exercises.Textbooks provide a roadmap for learning. If youve ever tried to study  a language on your own, you know it can be difficult to figure out what to focus on  first and what to save for later. When you use  a textbook, you dont need to worry about this. The information has been organized into lessons for you, so all you need to do is turn the page and start studying!If youre taking a language class, you probably dont  have the opportunity to choose your textbook. But if youre learning on your own, you ge t the chance to determine your own path.One of the great things about learning with a textbook is that you can reap a lot of the same benefits as going to school, even if you dont have the time or money. Cant afford to take a class? No problem! Buy a textbook and work through at your own pace.FluentU  is another great resource that offers flexible language study for students and independent learners alike.  While you can definitely build a lesson around FluentU, the online immersion platform provides you with engaging at-home practice, with fresh new videos being added every week!Now, lets find the perfect textbook for your language learning needs.Where to Find the Best TextbooksTime to go shopping!There are lots of different options for purchasing textbooks. You can go to your favorite local bookstore, check out a nearby university bookstore or shop online.  Online options include:Large booksellers like Amazon, which sell a wide range of textbooks for  many different  languages and typically offer the option of purchasing new, used or e-book versions.Large publishers like Berlitz,  Pearson, Wiley  and Barrons, which offer quality standardized textbooks for a variety of languages straight from the source.VitalSource lets you buy and rent textbooks in e-format. You can use VitalSource Bookshelf, a reading app, to access your purchases at your convenience. To find foreign language textbooks, try searching by your target language. You can also filter by World Languages.Foreign language publishers,  which tend to focus on  full-immersion textbooks and are located in a country where your target language is spoken.Auction or secondhand sites like eBay  or Craigslist, where you can purchase  inexpensive textbooks if youre willing to settle for a less recent edition or a copy that has notes in it from a previous userIf hauling around heavy textbooks is part of your life youd rather leave behind, consider looking for an e-book  instead of a hard copy. E-books are usual ly cheaper and also more convenient, since you can bring them with you everywhere on your smartphone, tablet or PC.Unfortunately, the availability of language textbooks as e-books is variable.  Theres a decent selection available in some languages, like Spanish, but  there may be a very small or even nonexistent selection in other  languages. Fortunately, this will likely change in the future as the popularity of e-books continues to grow.So now that you know where to look, lets talk about how to look.Book Smarts: 5 Tips for Selecting the Best Foreign Language Textbooks1. Pinpoint your levelA beginning textbook will bore an intermediate student, and  an advanced textbook will overwhelm a beginning student, so its important to know your level and select accordingly.The first step is to assess your level.  If youve never studied the language before, this parts easy: Youre a true beginner and should choose  a textbook meant for people with  no prior knowledge of the language.Textbooks for beginners usually start with a pronunciation guide and an introduction to the system of writing (an alphabet or characters, depending on the language). Easy Spanish Step-by-Step,  for example,  starts with  the Spanish alphabet and guides learners through fundamental grammar concepts like masculine and feminine nouns. It also contains lists of vocabulary words you can put to use right away.If youve studied the  language before, determining your level can be trickier. Maybe you studied years ago and  dont remember much of it anymore. Or maybe you lived abroad and learned some phrases in shops and cafés but never studied formally.Take some time to browse through the textbooks at a local bookstore or an online site. Look at the content  and decide  which books seem too easy or too difficult. A general rule of thumb is that  there should be enough  new information to make you feel challenged but not so much that youre completely lost.Students who have studied a language but arent c omfortable jumping into an intermediate-level textbook should  select a book that starts with a review of the basics but moves forward quickly. Entre amis,  for instance,  is a good pick for French learners  in this situation.  With a book like this, you can spend as much time as you need relearning the fundamentals but can also jump in and learn  new information when youre ready.If youre solidly at the intermediate level, select a book that will present increasingly complex vocabulary and grammar. At this level, a book with a strong grammar focus can  be helpful. German learners may enjoy the no-nonsense grammar approach of German Second and Third Years.At the advanced level, you should look for  a textbook written entirely in your target language. Russian: From Intermediate to Advanced  presents vocabulary lists and grammar information entirely in Russian but uses a straightforward style  that enables you to feel confident jumping into  full-immersion learning.2. Look for textbook s that give you lots of practiceMost textbooks excel at vocabulary lists  and grammar explanations. But some are better than others at providing opportunities for good practice.Ideally, a textbook should  offer not only lists of new words  but plentiful examples of how those words are used in different contexts, as well as exercises to help you practice using them. The more practice you get, the better you retain information, so  its important that your book offers a lot of it.Consider what  type of exercises you like best as well as which ones will benefit you the most. Some textbooksâ€"like Lehr- und Ãœbungsbuch der deutschen Grammatik  for  intermediate and advanced German learnersâ€"include grammar exercises involving sentence diagramming and practice selecting the correct  noun cases. Othersâ€"like Teach Yourself Turkishâ€"offer a more laid-back approach, with  fill-in-the-blank and matching exercises related to practice dialogues and even fun games  like word-find puzzles.If a textbook doesnt offer a lot of practice exercises, investigate whether you can  purchase a supplementary workbook to accompany it.Some workbooks, like the Beginning Japanese Workbook: Your Pathway to Dynamic Language Acquisition,  draw on the vocabulary words and grammar rules learned in your  primary textbook to provide additional fill-in-the-blank, short-answer, matching and translation exercises.Keep in mind that some exercises are easy  to do on your own, while others require help from a teacher or conversation partner. Fill-in-the-blank and short-answer questions help you memorize new information and enable you to check yourself with an answer key. On the other hand, paragraph and  essay writing can be very useful for overall language practice but usually require help from someone who can  correct your mistakes.3. Seek out textbooks that offer an audio componentMore and more textbooks are starting to offer audio to supplement the written text. This is important because listeni ng is a crucial skill often overlooked by language learners.Some textbooksâ€"like Colloquial Icelandic  or the New Practical Chinese Readerâ€"come with CDs you can  use with the textbook. Others, including the French  Contacts: Langue et culture françaises, do not come with audio exercises but offer the option to purchase a supplementary CD.There are also textbooks that provide  access to online audio files. The Spanish Conexiones: Comunicación y cultura  offers free online audio exercises, and the  French Deux mondes  has online  audio as well as  fill-in-the-blank exercises. Many other textbooks offer similar options.If you can find a textbook that offers an audio component, you should take advantage of it! Listening to the supplementary audio will give you an opportunity  to get comfortable listening to native speakers and help reinforce the vocabulary words and grammar structures youre studying.But if you fall in love with a textbook that doesnt offer an audio component, dont fret! There are many ways to supplement textbook learning, including free access to audio files from other textbooks or talking with a conversation partner.4. Align textbooks with your goalsEvery textbook is going to have a slightly different focus.Someâ€"like Colloquial Chineseâ€"focus on everyday speech and teach through dialogues. Othersâ€"like En Activo: Practical Business Spanishâ€"teach words used in business exchanges and provide opportunities to practice reading and filling out common business forms.Still othersâ€"like Learn French with Stories: 7 Short Stories for Beginner and Intermediate Studentsâ€"take a fun literary approach and teach through passages from short stories or novels.Theres no right or wrong approach. But youll grow  frustrated if your textbooks focus doesnt match your personal goals.Assess your reasons for learning a foreign language and determine what goals  you want to focus on first. Then make sure to select a textbook that will help you achieve those g oals.5. Ask teachers and fellow language learners for suggestionsWho knows textbooks best?  The people who use them!This includes teachers and language learners  like yourself. Reach out to your language learning network and ask which textbooks people find useful and which they dont recommend. Teachers will know which books worked  best  for their students and which had errors or poor design. Fellow students will be able to tell you if a particular textbook was hard to follow or outdated.You can also do an online search for information. If you know of a university or language center well regarded for its language courses, see if you can find electronic versions of course syllabi to find out which textbooks are used.For example,  the  intermediate Spanish course at  Tulane University  uses the textbook Enlaces: Nivel Intermedio,  while the same class at the  University of Washington  uses Gente: Nivel básico.Some course syllabi provide more than  than just the names of textbooks. T he website  for first-year Russian courses at Middlebury College not only gives information about the textbook usedâ€"Beginners Russianâ€"but also includes links to  practice exercises and other resources. A Turkish course syllabus from the University of Georgia includes links to the instructors blog and an online Turkish-English dictionary. A little online detective work can score you some sweet bonus material!You can also search for online forums where people discuss language learning. Read through other peoples  comments and post questions to get advice. Use their experience and expertise to get more info on what books are out there.Take some time, shop around and find  the best textbook for you.Most textbooks will provide you with lots of beneficial opportunities to learn and practice your skillsâ€"so  get started soon!And One More ThingIf youre digging these learning tips, youll love using FluentU.FluentU makes it possible to learn languages  from music videos, commercials, new s and inspiring talks.With FluentU, you learn real languagesâ€"the same way that natives  speak them. FluentU has a wide variety of videos, like movie trailers, funny commercials and web series, as you can see here:FluentU App Browse ScreenFluentU has interactive captions that let you tap on any word to see an image, definition, audio and useful examples. Now native language content is within reach with interactive transcripts.Didnt catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover your mouse over the subtitles to instantly view definitions.FluentU Videos with Interactive CaptionsUnder the Vocab and Dialogue tabs, youll find words and phrases from the video and a complete interactive transcript.Interactive Transcripts on FluentUYou can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentUs Learn Mode. Swipe left or right to see  more examples for the word you’re learning.FluentU Has Quizzes for Every VideoAnd FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’re learni ng. It uses that vocab to give you a 100% personalized experience by recommending videos and examples.Start using FluentU on the website  with your computer or tablet  or, better yet,  download the FluentU app from  the  iTunes  or  Google Play  store.