Marty Knorre Thalia Dorwick Ana María Pérez-Gironés,
Wesleyan University William R. Glass Hildebrando Villarreal,
California State University, Los Angeles
ISBN: 0073534420 Copyright year: 2009
The Eighth Edition
New regional organization gives students an overview of the broad groupings of Spanish-speaking countries world-wide. Through a series of photo essays in the six new Introducción cultural sections, students are introduced to five broad areas of the Spanish-speaking world: the United States, Mexico and Central America, the Caribbean, the Andean countries and the Southern Cone. The final photo essay introduces students to the birthplace of Spanish—Spain—in both a historical context and a vision of a more globalized future. The country foci of the eighteen main chapters have been modified to reflect the new regional organization. (Please refer to the table of contents for a complete listing of countries as they correspond to each chapter.)
New chapter opening pages have been redesigned to be more visually engaging with three photos and questions to provide a better thematic and cultural springboard into the chapter and function more effectively as an advance organizer for the upcoming chapter’s content.
The country foci of the eighteen main chapters have been modified to reflect the new regional organization. Please refer to the table of contents for a complete listing of countries as they correspond to each chapter.
New illustrations for all Vocabulario: Preparación presentations reflect instructor requests for greater visual clarity in the vocabulary presentation, to better help students prepare for class and study for testing.
New Así se dice features after Vocabulario: Preparación sections introduce regional variations on theme vocabulary from around the Spanish-speaking world.
Focused grammar: Many grammar points are introduced with short lists or narratives that focus student attention directly on the structure to be presented. Students see the grammar point at a glance, in a natural context, making the upcoming grammar presentation more meaningful and understandable. (At least one grammar point per chapter continues to be introduced with a short dialogue that shows the grammar used in a natural conversational setting.) Use of red type has been expanded to the short dialogues, lists and narratives that introduce the grammar points, thus helping students more easily see the target structure in context.
Many grammar presentations have been revised, reorganized, and simplified to make them more accessible to students. More grammar paradigms have been added as needed for clarity, and care has been taken to include more chapter vocabulary in the corresponding chapter’s paradigms.
New exercises have been added to the Práctica, Conversación, and Un poco de todo sections for practicing the meaning of new types of verbs before students are asked to manipulate their forms, and when appropriate, grammar analysis activities have been added, to focus students’ attention on the grammar point they are learning.
More opportunities for recycling of content: Vocabulary presentations now consistently list previously-learned theme vocabulary, and there are more ¿Recuerda Ud.? recycling boxes so that previously-explained grammar points on which the new grammar point is based are always reviewed.
Better structured conversation: Conversación activities are now organized into a series of pasos that encourage students to prepare themselves for conversation, then converse with a partner or group, and finally share information with the whole class or their instructor.
More writing opportunities: At least three new optional writing activities per chapter that instructors can assign as part of a semester-long writing portfolio project or as individual assignments to be completed at home and shared with a partner or with the class.
The new Perspectivas culturales section in each chapter highlights the county or countries of focus through demographic information, a map, and up to five photos with paragraph-length captions. A new Música de... feature that presents a brief introduction to the unique musical style of each country. (In most chapters, this new Música de... feature is augmented by a new music CD, Ritmos y sonidos.)
New Vocabulario personal feature in the end-of-chapter vocabulary listing invites students to record new theme-related words that they may have used in class or while doing homework, and that are of personal interest to them.
Many grammar explanations have been significantly refreshed and updated to make them simpler and easier to grasp for today’s students.
New, engaging readings in the Lectura section of Capítulos 4, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, and 15 are all chosen from sources written for native speakers of Spanish.
New music CD, Ritmos y sonidos, with popular and traditional music from most Spanish-speaking countries, is available to instructors for use in the classroom.
New DVD format of the Video Program is now available for instructors that only have access to DVD players in their classrooms. It contains all video for the Puntos program. Follow-up activities are available on this Online Learning Center, both as student quizzes and in the Instructor’s Manual, found on the instructor’s portion of this site.
New online ActivityPak: The Interactive CD-ROM from the Seventh Edition has been redesigned and is now offered as a virtual ActivityPak on the Online Learning Center. The ActivityPak consists of interactive activities to practice the vocabulary, grammar, and culture presented in the textbook. Students can purchase a passcode card that will allow them to access the rich, robust practice material found within the ActivityPak. (Instructors have free access via the Instructors Edition of the Online Learning Center.)
New Test Generator, similar to the one from the Seventh Edition, allows instructors to create multiple tests for each chapter, selecting different questions of a variety of types. Instructors can save tests, modify them, randomly generate new tests, and even add their own test questions to the test bank.
This revised Online Learning Center includes a wealth of activities and resources for students and teachers alike. Some of these features include: new Cultural PowerPoint presentations; electronic files of the Instructor’s Manual, Testing Program, and Instructor’s Resource Kit; digital transparencies of the new Vocabulario: Preparación art; and more!
To obtain an instructor login for this Online Learning Center, ask your local sales representative.
If you're an instructor thinking about adopting this textbook, request a free copy for review.
2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education