Synopses & Reviews
Plazas is based on the premise that true, authentic communication takes place where language and culture meet. In the real world, plazas are about meeting and connecting and are at the very heart of every Spanish-Speaking city. Likewise, Plazas is designed to bring you and your students together to communicate and interact. Invoking the metaphor of the plaza, Plazas intends to be a meeting place, a lugar de encuentro, for the Spanishspeaking world both in and outside of the classroom.
Review
"I'm really impressed with the changes you've made to Plazas. The layout and structure of the book has obviously been enhanced and improved."
Review
"Plazas is the most appealing program to teach elementary Spanish because of its vast array of electronic materials. This variety of materials make teaching and learning Spanish a world open for students' exploration and entertainment."
Review
"The authors clearly demonstrate a knowledge of how students go about learning a language and are supremely faithful to their approach. The emphasis on re-integrations of re-presentation of materials is really revolutionary for recent Spanish textbooks!"
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"I am impressed with the thoroughness of the approach. The authors have identified difficult tasks (integrating culture into the course, making grammatical explanations understandable, promoting communication) and seek to offer a variety of remedies."
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"I truly like the idea that learners are exposed to a range of models of speech."
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"The variety, scope, and number of activities makes Plazas very interesting and useful for teacher and student."
Synopsis
Each chapter of this successful beginning Spanish program weaves together solid language instruction and opportunities for real-life communication with the rich and colorful threads of Spanish-speaking cultures.
About the Author
Dr. Robert Hershberger (Ph.D., University of Kansas) is Associate Professor of Spanish at DePauw University. Before working on PLAZAS, Dr. Hershberger authored Heinle's Tu DIRaS! and INTERCAMBIOS CD-ROMs and was the lead author and project manager for the TEMAS CD-ROM. Most recently, Dr. Hershberger served as a co-author on Heinle's second-year Spanish program, RUMBOS. In addition to his teaching at DePauw, Dr. Hershberger is Chair of the Department of Modern Languages and a Tenzer University Professor in Instructional Technology. In 2005, Dr. Hershberger received the Exemplary Teacher Award by DePauw University and the United Methodist Church. In 2008, Dr. Hershberger received the Edwin L. Minar Scholarship Award for exceptional scholarly achievement in the field of foreign language pedagogy.Susan Navey-Davis is Director of Undergraduate Advising for the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at North Carolina State University and Coordinator of Lower Division Spanish courses. She has received numerous awards for teaching, advising, and extension service. In 2008, she received a Higher Education Teacher of Excellence Award from the Southern Conference on Language Teaching, in 2006 she was named Teacher of the Year in Higher Education by the Foreign Language Association of North Carolina, and she is a charter member of the Academy of Outstanding Faculty. Engaged in Extension at North Carolina State and a past chair of the executive council for the academy, she is secretary of the board of directors of an organization that provides health care in Nicaragua. In addition to being a co-author of PLAZAS: LUGAR DE ENCUENTROS, Navey-Davis is also co-author of Heinle's intermediate textbook, RUMBOS. She holds an MAT in Spanish from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Guiomar Borr?s A. received her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied Spanish language and Spanish and Latin American literature and culture. She obtained a Master of Arts Liberal Studies in Latin American Studies from Dartmouth College and a Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language and a Master in Education from St. Michael's College. Currently she is Professor of Spanish at Glendale Community College and has been working as Business Spanish Professor at Thunderbird School of Global Management. Dr. Borr?s A. was the Academic Director of the Thunderbird Intensive Language Program in 2001 and coordinated the lower division classes. Her contribution to scholarship includes Heinle's SPANISH FOR LIFE: BUSINESS WORKTEXT; INTERCAMBIOS, Fifth Edition; and PLAZAS: LUGAR DE ENCUENTROS, Second and Third Editions. She has worked and was the president of the Arizona Language Association (AZLA). She received the Thunderbird Student Government Outstanding Professor Award seven times and in 2000 received the Hacker Faculty Prize for Excellence in Teaching and Research.
Table of Contents
PRELIMINAR: ?MUCHO GUSTO! Communicative goals: Greet others, introduce yourself and say good-bye. Exchange personal information (origin, age, address, etc.). Identify quantities of objects. Ask and answer questions. Vocabulary: Greetings and good-byes. Numbers 0 to 30. Interrogative words. The Spanish alphabet. Structures: Subject pronouns and the Present tense of the verb ser and tener. The verb form hay and numbers 1-30. Question words and inflection. The Spanish alphabet. Cultural Information: El lugar de encuentro: Las Plazas. ?Ser informal o formal? ?T? o usted? El mundo hispanoamericano. 1. EN UNA CLASE DE ESPA?OL: LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS. Communicative goals: Identify people and things in the classroom. Indicate relationships and specify colors. Describe everyday activities. Talk about academic courses and university buildings. Say what you like and dont like doing. Tell time. Vocabulary: In the classroom. The colors. Foreign languages and other academic courses and majors. University places and buildings. The time and the days of the week. Structures: Definite and indefinite articles and how to make nouns plural (gender of nouns). Present tense of regular -ar verbs. Me gusta + infinitive. Cultural Information: El espa?ol en los Estados Unidos. La educaci?n en Latinoam?rica y Espa?a. El sistema de 24 horas. 2. EN UNA REUNI?N DE FAMILIA: M?XICO. Communicative goals: Define and ask about family relationships. Indicate ownership and possession. Describe people and things. Indicate nationality. Express physical status. Count from 30 to 100. Describe daily activities at home or at school. Vocabulary: The family. Physical features and personality. Nationalities. Numbers 31 to 100. Structures: Possessive adjectives. Possession with de(l). Common uses of the verb ser. Agreement with descriptive adjectives. Present tense of -er and -ir verbs. Common uses of the verb tener. Cultural Information: Los nombres y apellidos en espa?ol. La familia hispana. 3. EL TIEMPO LIBRE EN COLOMBIA. Communicative goals: Describe leisure-time activities. Express likes and dislikes. Express plans and intentions. Describe basic actions, places and activities in town. Talk about the months, seasons, and the weather. Vocabulary: Sports and leisure-time activities. Places. The months, the seasons, and weather expressions. Structures: Gustar + infinitive and gustar + nouns. Ir a + destination or infinitive. Irregular yo verbs. Saber, conocer, and the personal a. Cultural Information: Los deportes en el mundo hispano. El caf? en Colombia y en el mundo. Revista 1. 4. EN LA CASA: ESPA?A. Communicative goals: Describe the features of your home or personal residence. Talk about furniture and appliances. Describe household chores. Make commands. State locations and describe feelings. Describe actions in progress. Count from 100 and higher. Vocabulary: Home and furniture. Appliances and household chores. Numbers 100 and above. Structures: Present tense of stem-changing verbs (e> ie, o> ue, e> i). More idioms with tener. Affirmative t? commands. Estar and the present progressive. Cultural Information: Gaud? y su obra. Viviendas en Lationam?rica y Espa?a. 5. LA SALUD: BOLIVIA Y PARAGUAY. Communicative goals: Identify parts of the body. Describe daily routines and hygienic practices. Talk about what you have just finished doing. Talk about illnesses and health conditions. Describing people, things, and conditions. Pointing out people and things. Vocabulary: The human body. Health care (illnesses, symptoms, and medical treatments). Structures: Reflexive pronouns and present tense of reflexive verbs. Acabar de + infinitive. Ser vs. estar. Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns. Cultural Information: Bolivia y la salud. Tradici?n de hierbas: Yerba mate en Paraguay y las hojas de coca en los Andes. 6. ?QUIERES COMER CONMIGO ESTA NOCHE? VENEZUELA. Communicative goals: Talk about foods and beverages for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Make comparisons. Order food in a restaurant. Describe past events in detail. Vocabulary: Food and beverages. Dining out. Structures: Comparatives and Superlatives. Verbs regular in the preterite. Verbs with item changes in the preterite. Cultural Information: La comida t?pica venezolana. Los postres venezolanos. Revista 2. 7. DE COMPRAS: ARGENTINA. Communicative goals: Talk about shopping for clothing. Make emphatic statements about possession. Talk about singular and/or completed events in the past. Make selections and talk about sizes and other shopping preferences. Describe ongoing and habitual actions in the past. Vocabulary: Clothing and fashion. Shopping. Structures: Stressed possessives. Verbs irregular in the preterite. Direct object pronouns. Imperfect tense. Cultural Information: De compras en Buenos Aires. El Tango argentino. 8. FIESTAS Y VACACIONES: GUATEMALA Y EL SALVADOR. Communicative goals: Talk about holidays, events and activities in the beach and the countryside. Describe changes in emotion. Narrating in the past. Inquire and provide information about people and events. State indefinite ideas and quantities. Talk about periods of time since an event took place. Vocabulary: Parties and celebrations. The beach and the country. Structures: Preterite vs. imperfect. Affirmative and negative expressions. Hace and hace que. Cultural Information: Santo Tom?s de Chichicastenango. El arzobispo Oscar Arnulfo Romero. 9. DE VIAJE POR EL CARIBE: LA REP?BLICA DOMINICANA, CUBA Y PUERTO RICO. Communicative goals: Talk about air travel, other types of transportation, and lodging. Simplify expressions with indirect and double object pronouns. Talk about getting around in the city. Give directions and express desires. Make informal requests. Vocabulary: Airline travel. Hotels. Directions. Structures: Indirect object pronouns. Double object pronouns. Prepositions and adverbs of location. Formal and negative t? commands. Cultural Information: La Rep?blica Dominicana: Santo Domingo, la primera ciudad de las Am?ricas. Cuba: Escuela Latinoamericana de Ciencias M?dicas. Puerto Rico: Estado Libre Asociado. Revista 3. 10. LAS RELACIONES SENTIMENTALES: HONDURAS Y NICARAGUA. Communicative goals: Talk about relationships and courtship. Describe recent actions, events, and conditions. Describe reciprocal actions. Talk about receptions and banquets. Qualify actions. Vocabulary: Personal relationships. Receptions and banquets. Structures: Present perfect. Reciprocal constructions with se, nos and os. Adverbs and adverbial expressions of time and sequence. Relative pronouns. Cultural Information: Los novios en los pa?ses hispanoamericanos. Las bodas en el mundo hispano. 11. EL MUNDO DEL TRABAJO: PANAM?. Communicative goals: Talk about professions, the office, and work-related activities. Make statements about motives, intentions, and periods of time. Describe the job hunt, benefits, and personal finances. Express subjectivity and uncertainty. Express desires and intentions. Vocabulary: The professions. The office, work, and the job hunt. Personal finances. Structures: Por and para. Subjunctive mood and impersonal expressions with the subjunctive. Formation of the present subjunctive and statements of volition. Cultural Information: El canal de Panam?. Protocolo en los negocios en el mundo hispanohablante. 12. EL MEDIO AMBIENTE: COSTA RICA. Communicative goals: Talk about rural and urban locales and associated activities and problems. Express emotion and opinions. Talk about the conservation and exploitation of natural resources. Hypothesize and express doubts and uncertainty. Talk about a nature preserve, animals, and endangered species. Vocabulary: Rural and urban geography. The environment. Animals and the wildlife preserve. Structures: Subjunctive following verbs of emotion, impersonal expressions, and ojal?. Subjunctive to state uncertain, doubtful, or hypothetical situations. Cultural Information: Costa Rica: Puros igredientes naturales. Costa Rica: Estaci?n biol?gica "La Selva". Revista 4. 13. EL MUNDO DEL ESPECT?CULO: PER? Y ECUADOR. Communicative goals: Talk about television and other forms of popular culture. Talk about anticipated actions. Talk about the arts and the vocations of artists. Talk about unplanned or accidental occurrences. Describe completed actions and resulting conditions. Vocabulary: Television programs and movies. The arts and artists. Structures: Subjunctive with purpose and time clauses. Se for unplanned occurrences (No-fault se). Past participle (as adjective). Cultural Information: La cinematograf?a en Latinoam?rica. Oswaldo Guayasam?n. 14. LA VIDA P?BLICA: CHILE. Communicative goals: Talk about politics and elections. Talk about future events. Talk about political issues and the media. Express conjecture or probability. Vocabulary: Politics and voting. Political issues and the media. Structures: The future tense. The conditional tense. Present perfect in the subjunctive mood. Cultural Information: El gobierno de Chile. La libertad de la prensa. 15. LOS AVANCES TECNOL?GICOS: URUGUAY. Communicative goals: Talk about home electronics and computers. Make statements in the past with the subjunctive mood. Talk about hypothetical situations. Vocabulary: High-tech appliances. The computer. Structures: Past (imperfect) subjunctive. Imperfect subjunctive in hypothetical statements. Cultural Information: Las telecomunicaciones en Uruguay. Equipos: En la palma de la mno (Es una nueva realia sobre las agendas electr?nicas). Revista 5.