Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Spanish for Reading and Translation by Annette Cash and James Murray is said to be designed for graduate students who need to demonstrate a reading knowledge of Spanish as a requirement for a graduate degree; it presents concepts for RECOGNITION only, followed by AMPLE activities and reading .
The organization of the 12 chapters is as follows :
* a reading passage preceded by pre-reading activities focused on skimming and scanning, followed by post-reading activities
* vocabulary building information and exercises
* grammar rules and exercises
* a final reading passage, preceded by pre-reading activities to engage the student in the skills of skimming and scanning, then post-reading activities focused on translation and content
There are No exercises to PRODUCE grammatical structures , the exercises are there to RECOGNIZE the grammatical structures.
The readings increase in difficulty throughout chapters.
A preliminary chapter focuses on pronunciation , reading strategies, cognates, and use of the dictionary.
The text includes three built-in review chapters after 1-4, 5-8, and 9-12.
A very detailed index is provided, together with ( in my opinion a real TREASURE ) an appendix on reading and translation resources : dictionaries,newspapers, magazines, and journals.
A total of 174 pages , rather dense, and I would suggest you take the time(30 days) to go through and not rush.
All that said, in about one month of regular daily study, you will achieve the results promised. I know I did TREMENDOUSLY improve my Spanish reading of academic texts.
I have completed about 60% of the book and here is a sample of what I am able to read : " Las mujeres de esa ciudad (Chiapas) se quejan constantemente de una flaqueza de estomago tan grande, que no podrian acabar de oir una misa rezada y mucho menos la misa mayor y el sermon sin tomar una jicara de chocolate bien caliente y alguna tacilla de conserva o almibar para fortalecerse. "
Two missing features of this book : answers are not given for the exercises though it should be easy to get them on your own if you really study the text; the second feature not related to the text is the high price for the book; it should have been retailed around 20 dollars to increase its sales .
But you will get the results promised and that is why I granted 4 stars.
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Spanish for Reading and TranslationSpanish for Reading and Translation is designed to prepare students to be able to read in Spanish, particularly for students enrolled in universities thatcall for a reading knowledge of a foreign language as a requirement for a graduate degree. Requiring only a recognition knowledge of Spanish, this text prepares students to answer content questions about passages and to translate English text into Spanish.
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