Pasajes: Lengua (Student Edition)

by Mary Lee Bretz, Carl Kirschner, Trisha R. Dvorak

Book Overview

Offers a program for intermediate Spanish courses in North America. This work is coordinated by theme and by language, chapter by chapter. It can be used in various combinations. It suits a variety of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0073385239
• ISBN13: 9780073385235
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 1.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.9" x 9.9"

Customer Reviews

Tertulia

i really liked the book that i bought, It was in the good condition with a very decent price. Thanks a lot

Excellent

I received this book quickly and just as it had been described. I am very happy with everything.

A good tool for self-teaching

There are many Spanish textbooks out there, but this is one of the few that makes teaching yourself easy and interesting. (Learning at school as I did kills any enthusiasm for studying. To catch up on two chapters when I switched into Spanish IV, I studied constantly - with enthusiasm and interest - for two days and was able to learn them well enough to take the chapter tests. But as soon as I got into the class, my enjoyment of studying immediately vanished as we dragged through the lessons with much busywork and silly activities). Although it begins with the basics, this book is not designed for beginners. Rather, it reviews all Spanish from the basics to more complicated concepts for those who already have a base in Spanish. It's a fast but thorough review that gives an overview of all the rules and provides the nitty-gritty details and exceptions to help you completely master the basics, something probably not done in lower-level Spanish. It's designed for students who have already taken about two years of Spanish. The book does teach vocabulary, but its main emphasis (and strength) is in grammar, so make sure you have a solid vocabulary. Particularly helpful is the "Ojo" section, which explains common mistakes, such as words that are the same in English but different in Spanish, "false friends" (what appear to be cognates but are actually unrelated words), etc. (Examples: to work = trabajar (as in a job or labor); funcionar (as in a machine, watch, TV, etc.). Another: to support, which can be sostener, mantener, apoyar, all depending on the specific usage.) With the textbook and the workbook, you can go through the book quite quickly. Ignore the exercises in the book itself and the video sections, because the workbook is really the best way to practice what you learn. The vocabulary taught is sometimes silly but a lot more useful than certain other textbooks. However, it doesn't prepare you for actual conservations, only school-like discussions about the environment, gender roles, etc. Overall, it's a very good textbook. It's a bit expensive to buy on your own, so I'd suggest either taking a class which uses this book, or finding a cheap used copy.

Excellent text.

I've had my experiences with a wide variety of Spanish language learning materials, and out of the textbooks I've used, the Pasajes series (especially when used as a series, including the Literatura and Cultura components) ranks as the best. Pasajes strikes the perfect balance between a text for rank beginners and advanced students. It is abundantly clear to me that the authors of this wonderful work are acutely aware of the difficulties the student of Spanish -- especially intermediate Spanish -- is likely to face. As such, the text reads as more of a "conversation" between "teacher" and student, then a stern, authoratative text handing down the received wisdom to your unworthy soul. A real pleasure to work through.Although one is more likely to encounter this text as part of a college Spanish program, I would highly recommend it to any serious Spanish student intent on reaching a higher level of accomplishment.

Great Supplemental Text

I use this book with my fourth year High School Spanish class. I have been using it for 3 years and have found it to be an excellent basis for conversation practice. The content in most of the chapters is interesting to the students so they enjoy talking about the subjects and learning the vocabulary by using it in real discussions. It's a buy!