While these words are easily translatable into any language, the definitions offered by the speakers reveal the diverse nature of culture and how words convey individual and collective values, which are not always obvious.

This program is a resource flexible enough to fit into almost any curriculum, by setting appropriate tasks and expectations. Words like trabajo, familia, and amigos represent concepts that are an integral part of most first-year college textbooks, while individualismo, libertad, and ambicíon lend themselves to more abstract thinking appropriate for second-year and advanced courses. Especially for students at the intermediate level and beyond, En una palabra can assist in understanding how cultural values are reflected in a language.

The CD-ROM includes the following features to assist students' cultural comprehension:

There is also a free, online instructor's manual that offers suggestions for using the CD-ROM in the classroom at different levels. The content is presented entirely in Spanish and plays on both PCs and Macs, using the free program QuickTime.