A Methodological Route for Teaching Vocabulary in Spanish as a Foreign Language Using Oral Tradition Stories: The Witches of La Jagua and Colombia’s Linguistic and Cultural Diversity

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

In the abstract and introduction the paper claims to have two objectives- to argue for the inclusion of oral literacy texts in SFL classrooms and designing effective materials for vocabulary teaching. These objectives are clearly met in the paper, however this reads more like a book chapter of the process they used to develop materials and not as much as a study of how they did this- what they found useful when doing this type of work and what they learned in the process etc.  I would be interested in learning, How did you come about the oral literacy stories that you incorporated? What was that process like? What did you have to think about in creating this as a pedagogical tool? How were the vocabulary words selected- did they do that with the community in which they found the oral stories? The paper reads more like a didactic, scripted way on how to bring oral literacy texts into classroom. I think readers would be interested in learning more about the process (which is often messy), how did they know how to use it and when to use oral literacy texts, did they have any challenges in bringing that oral tradition in ways that also were textual- because they use text to demonstrate how to use it- so what is lost or gained in adding more multimodal aspects to the strictly oral traditions/texts? What if teachers/users are not familiar with oral literature- how would they find it? etc. Consider these questions as you revise the chapter.

Then, there are some specific questions along the way. One major one is with the word didactic. There are several times this word is used and I'm wondering if this in English is the word you want to use- from reading your text, it seems like you mean teaching or pedagogy and pedagogical, when I read didactic while it does mean to teach and often teach a moral lesson (which I'm not sure all oral stories do), but it is also more fixed and unwilling to change or interpret- so to me it is more like the way we would interpret biblical references. If it is meant to be this way, then keep it throughout.

Here are a list of other questions:

-Intro p.2 line 43/44 are there studies that demonstrate the inconsistency in the use of oral literature stories? If so can you provide citations.

-p. 3 line 113 when you mention digital storytelling- I wonder if you have considered that this form is also multimodal and that the critical thinking and creativity is also linked to the multimodal nature of this form?

-p 5 line 219, Can you say more about what a complex project or task would look like?

P. 10 line 366, You make a very good point about how oral literacy stories and traditions offer more access to indigenous and Afro-Columbian ways of knowing and are more inclusive- can you make a stronger link here or say more about how this is also connected to decolonizing the curriculum and the link to more equity.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer, I hope you are doing well and enjoying this summer time (or Winter, depending on what part of the world you are now).

Thank you for your thoughtful and constructive feedback. I appreciate the time you took to read my manuscript and to give me  suggestions for improvement.

You are absolutely correct that the original structure did not follow conventional research paper guidelines. Based on your recommendations (as well as those from the second reviewer), I have completely restructured the manuscript. This new submission presents a more coherent framework that better addresses the process-oriented questions you raised about material development (Intro, method, results, discussion, conclusion).

In this revised version, I have repositioned the material design process as the main objective, adding more details on how vocabulary words were selected, the rationale behind specific activity designs, and the challenges encountered during implementation. I believe this approach better addresses your interest in understanding the “messy” process that comes with any kind of material design.

Regarding your questions,

You were absolutely right about my misuse of the word “didactic”. This is a very common concept in Spanish, and although I’ve seen it used in papers on “didactic materials”, I have replaced this term throughout with more appropriate alternatives such as “pedagogical” and

“teaching materials”.

I have added several new references that address both the underutilization of oral literature in language classes and provide additional support for the benefits of incorporating these texts into language instruction.

About Digital storytelling, after consideration, I decided to remove the discussion of digital storytelling entirely, as it was not thoroughly explored in my research and risked diluting the focus of the paper.

I have also strengthened the discussion on Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities. While the specific story I analyze focuses on campesinos worldviews, I now elaborate more thoroughly in the discussion section on how this approach can serve as a model for developing pedagogical materials that highlight the stories and legacies of campesinos, Afro-Colombians, and indigenous cosmogonies as part of a broader decolonizing curriculum effort (which is the main axis of this Special issue).

Thank you again for your careful attention to both the structural and substantive aspects of my work.

Wishing you a happy and healthy rest of your week,

The author

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Summary and General Comments: This article has two main goals. First, it argues for the inclusion of oral literature in Spanish as a Foreign Language (SFL) classrooms, specifically, in the Colombian university education context. In this case, the oral literature/tradition is seen as a way to engage with Indigenous knowledge(s) beyond Western onto-epistemologies. Second, it aims to provide guidance for language instructors on designing effective materials for vocabulary teaching. 

While both these goals are addressed, there is a lack of connection between the choice of the teaching material (the story), pedagogical sequence presented to learn vocabulary and a lot of the background literature discussed regarding decolonial thought and perspectives. 

The key strength of the paper is the originality of the resources/materials designed, and the pedagogical sequences shared, all underpinned by a vision informed by relevant scholarly literature. The main weakness is that the author(s) provide too much discussion of background literature with not enough contextualisation and unpacking of HOW the materials they designed reflect the principles discussed. Furthermore, while the author(s) advocate for teacher agency in the creation of learning materials, there is no information about the teacher, their positionality and locus of enunciation, etc. OR the audience and their learning needs. There is also the issue of the platform through which learners engaged with the material, it was not clear whether this was an interactive online platform or simply PowerPoint slides... the author(s) mention "digital storytelling" as well but it's not clear whether/how this relates to the material. 

ABSTRACT - Revise to ensure readers are provided with some general context before specifying that the study is set in the Colombian higher education context. 

GENERAL CONTENT: 

Please see comments, questions and suggestions in the body of the paper to help enhance the content of the submission. Basically, section 4 needs to be expanded (and the previous sections reduced) in order to unpack and link the development of the material presented in the paper to explicitly relate all the key points discussed (especially about decolonial perspectives) to the material itself. The author(s) should take into account international readership unfamiliar with the Colombian context, the significance of the story for the Colombian national identity they discuss and the adaption of the story to the audience, which the readers also have no information about. Currently, there is no way for readers to grasp the significance of the story "Una bruja en el tejado" or to relate it to the literature discussed (e.g., is this an example of Afro-descendant worldviews?). 

Reading the call for submissions, I believe section 4 should also provide stronger links to the development of critical intercultural competence and the literature cited by Guest Editors, as well as the "otherwise" highlighted in the conceptualisation of the Special Issue. 

Addressing these aspects would significantly enhance the "overall merit" of the paper. 

Scholarly literature: the references cover a wide range of sources, many local (Colombian) literature and sources in Spanish, which reflects a critical perspective. However, I would also encourage the author(s) to refer to literature that refers to decolonial teaching approaches, and the development of critical intercultural competence in Spanish language teaching contexts: 

Fuertes Gutiérrez, M., Márquez Reiter, R., & Moreno Clemons, A. (2023). Descolonización y enseñanza del español. Journal of Spanish Language Teaching, 10(2), 79-91.

Risager, K., & Fernández, S. S. (2024). Analizar las representaciones culturales en manuales de español desde perspectivas transnacionales y decoloniales. Journal of Spanish Language Teaching, 11(2), 152-166.

Tecedor, M. (2024). A social justice approach to develop intercultural communicative competence. Journal of Spanish Language Teaching, 11(1), 1-19.

Veliz, L., Díaz, A. R., & Heinrichs, D. H. (2024). Introduction to the Special Issue: Pluriversalizing the Teaching and Learning of Spanish. Critical Multilingualism Studies, 11(2), i-xvi.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this paper. I hope these comments and revisions help author(s) enhance their submission.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Overall, the submission is well-written. Written expression is dynamic and engaging. There are only a few instances (expressions and word choices identified in the attached document) that require careful revision.  

 

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you for such a careful and detailed review. This has been one of the kindest reviews I've received in my short experience as an academic author, and I deeply appreciate your thoughtful guidance. I was unfamiliar with any of the references you suggested, and I read them all carefully. At the time you submitted your review, I was working on a different project (a book chapter on Hispanic sociolinguistics about the usage of textbook to teach Spanish in the U.S.), and these references happened to be a valuable addition to that paper as well. Thank you very much for your comments and the recommendations.

You were absolutely right about the structural issues, this was also highlighted by the other reviewer. I have completely reorganized the manuscript to address these concerns - As you'll see, not only the structure of the document changed, but also the title and the abstract were updated.

Following your recommendation to expand Section 4 while reducing the earlier sections, I followed a more classic structure for articles (intro, method, results, discussion, conclusion). I limited the introduction to a brief explaination of previous works on SFL and expanded section 4, which would be the discussion section. I believe this new version provides much more detailed analysis of how the materials specifically embody decolonial perspectives, rather than simply presenting them alongside theoretical discussions. I have also strengthened the connections to critical intercultural competence development (I added some new references as well) and gave a guided explanation of each section as suggested.

You raised an excellent point about readers’ ability to grasp the story’s significance. I have substantially expanded the discussion of how “brujas” function in Colombian folklore, including the semantic shifts these figures underwent during colonial times and what they represent in contemporary campesino worldviews. I found interesting literature that I was not aware of before (this exercise forced me, to some extent, to go deeper into my own understanding of the figure of the witches) - I've added it to reflect on the importance of witches in Colombian folklore and provided more context about how this particular story reflects campesino cosmogonies rather than Afro-descendant worldviews, tho explaining how the pedagogical approach could be adapted for materials highlighting indigenous and Afro-Colombian perspectives (something that was also suggested by the other reviewer).

Now, to clarify the platform confusion, I should specify that these are physical teaching materials presented in PDF format. The materials are available for free educational use by contacting me directly, and I am exploring the possibility of including them as an annex to the article if the publisher agrees. I added a note at the end of the manuscript “Data Availability Statement: The complete version of the material is available in a PDF format, free of use of use and can be obtained by contacting the author.”

I have also significantly strengthened the explicit connections between the theoretical framework and the actual materials, demonstrating concretely how the vocabulary selection, activity design, and pedagogical sequences reflect decolonial principles (mostly following the references you suggested – Again, TAHNK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS!!!). In addition, following your suggestions, I have incorporated stronger links to the development of critical intercultural competence, drawing on the literature you recommended and connecting it more explicitly to the material design and expected learning outcomes.

Your feedback and comments has been crucial in helping me transform what was essentially a theoretical discussion with attached materials into a more cohesive examination of how decolonial principles can be practically implemented in language teaching materials. Thank you for the time and the effort you put into reading my manuscript. As I said, your comments were very thoughtful and kind and I appreciate them all. The revised manuscript now, I hope, provides the concrete analysis and contextual information that international readers need to understand both the significance of the materials and their broader implications for language pedagogy.

Thank you very much.

Wishing you a happy and healthy weekend and summer (or winter, depending on where in the world you are),

The author

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript was much improved and included many more details that helped detail the development of the materials and why they were important to the field of Spanish as a Foreign Language from a variety of perspectives. 

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I would like to thank the author for the thoughtful and well-considered response to the review report. It’s clear the author engaged deeply with the feedback, and the revisions reflect a genuine commitment to strengthening the work.

From my perspective, all concerns have been addressed satisfactorily. The revised manuscript is much stronger and offers a valuable contribution.

Looking forward to seeing it move ahead in the publication process.