Alicia Ramos,
Hunter College Robert L. Davis,
University of Oregon
ISBN: 0077236181 Copyright year: 2009
Feature Summary
Chapter openers provide students with stunning images from the country or region of focus as well as an advance organizer of the material to be covered in the chapter. Maps help students situate the geographical area of focus and important cities and topographical features of the region.
Vocabulario presentations are organized thematically and presented visually through line drawings, photos, and realia to illustrate culturally significant contrasts and similarities.
Grammar explanations and examples are easy to understand and are put to immediate use. Carefully sequenced activities move from form-focused exercises to those that require more creative use of language.
An Autoprueba exercise follows most grammar points to assess students' understanding of new grammatical structures before moving on to independent activities.
The Charla con... and Gente sections introduce students to thirty native speakers form from seventeen different countries, exposing students to a wide range of accents and points of view.
The concept of culture is interwoven throughout all sections of the Portafolio program. It is not tacked on as an afterthought, as can be the case in other first-year texts.
Portafolio culturalreadings and activities encourage students to examine and compare the perspective of Hispanic cultures in this country with the perspective(s) of native Hispanics and to, hopefully, dispel stereotypes about the Spanish-speaking world.
Nación readings give students a brief description of the geographical region of focus in historical, social, or geographical terms, accompanied by a box with essential facts and figures for easy reference.
The Actualidad section provides a current news story on some aspect of the geographic area of focus.
Cartelera introduces students to music, media, entertainers, cuising, and other current topics.
Gente native-speaker interviews can be compared and contrasted with the interview presented earlier in the chapter in Charla con... to give students a broader view of the region of focus.
Icono features an exploration of the symbols of cultural identity in each region of focus.
Opinión is a commentary on the geographic region of focus taken from English-speaking press sources. Students are encouraged to evaluate these articles critically, using the information they have learned throughout the chapter.
Mi portafolio is divided into two parts: Redacción and Exploración. Redacción guides students through the creation of a portfolio of their work over the course of the term, and Exploración directs students to make use of the vast cultural resouces on the web.
¡Escribe y habla mejor! boxes point out important spelling and pronunciation contrasts between English and Spanish. Accompanying listening, pronunciation, and writing activities are provided in the Portafolio de actividades.
Infórmate, Así se dice, and Lenguaje funcional boxes provide cultural, linguistic, and communicative information to help students communicate better and to become more culturally aware.
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