Product Description

This book exemplifies learning the Spanish language within its cultural context—an approach that incorporates the products, perspectives, and practices important to understanding the Hispanic culture, while including the vocabulary and structures that are required to communicate within it. It contains fifteen lecciones, topically organized and designed to encourage communication and offer insight into the language and culture of over 300 million people. Chapter topics include Spanish names and nicknames; universities in Spanish speaking countries; shopping; reading advertisements; making travel arrangements; expressing wishes and daily routines; persuading others; exchanging money at the bank; and the media. For individuals interested in learning the culture behind the vocabulary and grammar of the Spanish language.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1053504 in Books
• Published on: 2000-07-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 608 pages

Language Notes
Text: Spanish, English

From the Publisher
¡Arriba!, Second Edition, is a complete and versatile first-year Spanish program designed to offer a balanced approach to language and culture. Rich in pedagogy and supported by carefully integrated supplementary materials, the program is the result of years of development and class testing. ¡Arriba! contains fourteen lecciones, topically organized and designed to encourage communication and to offer insight into the language and culture of over 300 million people. ¡Arriba! is unabashedly eclectic in its pedagogical approach. Its highly flexible format and superior ancillary package offer each instructor a range of choices to suit individual curricula, student interests, and methodological preferences.

From the Back Cover
This book exemplifies learning the Spanish language within its cultural context—an approach that incorporates the products, perspectives, and practices important to understanding the Hispanic culture, while including the vocabulary and structures that are required to communicate within it. It contains fifteen lecciones, topically organized and designed to encourage communication and offer insight into the language and culture of over 300 million people. Chapter topics include Spanish names and nicknames; universities in Spanish speaking countries; shopping; reading advertisements; making travel arrangements; expressing wishes and daily routines; persuading others; exchanging money at the bank; and the media. For individuals interested in learning the culture behind the vocabulary and grammar of the Spanish language.

Customer Reviews

Grammer and rule oriented text - Es muy mal. or mal muy?
If you like reading the following paragraph, you will love this book.

In constructions that use the infinitive or the present progressive forms, direct objects may either preceede the conjugated verb, or be attached to the infinitive or the present participle (-ndo). Note that when you attach the direct object pronoun to the -ndo form, a written accent is used on the vowel before -ndo.

Is it any wonder kids are turned off by school?

Here is another example.
The auxiliary verb haber agrees with the subject of the sentence. The past participle, however, is invariable when used in the perfect tense.

wow. What kind of fool teaches a language like this? Does the author really think that people remember these rules as they speak?

This author has a major love affair with grammatical rules. Rules, exception to rules, and then some more grammer rules.

terrible book
this book is a disaster. the authors really did a sloppy job editing it, and having to shell out a hundred bucks for it only added insult to injury. very early on, all kinds of undefined vocabulary is thrown in, creating great confusion. an entire chapter on the verbs poner, salir, traer and ver, which was filled with details about conjugation and usage, somehow managed to leave out the DEFINITIONS of those words. information is introduced in a really fragmented way-- for instance, indirect pronouns are explained several chapters after direct pronouns; it would be much more logical to connect the two concepts. the polite command form is explained without even mentioning that it is really the subjunctive form until 100 pages later. it's as though you're in the CIA and information is given to you on a need to know basis, with no overview. the book is also filled with embarrassing, condescending cartoons that make one ashamed to open it on the subway. if any teacher is reading this, PLEASE use another book if you can.

Great
this book really taught me a lot in my first year course and i use it now to teach spanish