Somos vecinos

Exploring Latino culture in the U.S., this book will enable learners to acquire not only a knowledge of the linguistic features of Spanish language, but also an understanding and appreciation of the people who speak it.Nine chapters give readers the opportunity to learn about and listen to Latinosthrough interviews, short stories, cultural selections, and DVD video, acquire the vocabulary needed to discuss cultural themes, and communicate with Latinosvia actual or simulated interviews and e-mailabout the topics presented in a particular chapter.For individuals and Spanish speakers interested in the Latino culture throughout the United States.

Somos vecinosis based on a "new" concept: that to function in the 21 st century you will need the language skills and the cultural know-how to interact with Latinos* in your daily life. Although many Latinos are second generation and speak English as their native language, others are more recently arrived from Spanish-speaking countries. In either case, they share a cultural heritage that is becoming a significant part of the United States. The image of the "melting pot" has been replaced by that of the "salad bowl" where ingredients are part of a mixture but still bear their distinguishing characteristics. As intermediate students of Spanish, you have studied the language and cultures of Hispanic countries and begun to feel comfortable in communicating your interests, needs, and observations. As members of the world community, you have no doubt witnessed the rise in population of Hispanic Americans in the United States. Like most Americans, you probably enjoy eating tacos, enchiladas, and flan, and are familiar with the merengues of Mark Anthony, the acting of Salma Hayek, and the batting average of Sammy Sosa. Nevertheless, no matter how visible these stars are in the media, it is highly unlikely that you will be speaking with any of them personally. What is inevitable, however, is that you will have direct contact with members of the growing Latino population not only in your school but in your career as well. We invite you to learn more about these individuals (and yourself, too) as you meet them in Somos uecinos. The core of the text is a series of interviews with Latinos from different parts of the United States like those who can be found in your own community. Although these people are not famous individuals, we found that they have interesting stories to tell. They speak about their reasons for coming to the United States, how being bilingual has affected them, what their goals are for the future, and how they''re happy to be part of the United States. You will read cultural selections that reflect such timely topics as Spanglish,recertification of Latino professionals, celebrating a bicultural Thanksgiving, and preventing school dropouts. There are also literary readings by a new crop of Latino authors who speak about growing up in a bicultural environment. We hope to dispel some of the stereotypes that people in the United States hold toward Latinos and their culture. You will find that Somos vecinosdisplays a unique approach toward vocabulary and grammar since both are based on the biographical sketches and commentary of the individuals interviewed in each chapter. In both sections, there is a view toward practicality. Lists of vocabulary relate to the theme of the chapter but also furnish you with the "tools" needed to discuss the topics at hand. Activities for the vocabulary section range from those in which you fill in one or two words to those that are more open-ended. The vocabulary will help you understand the reading sections, and hopefully enjoy them, and will give you the tools that you need to express yourself in discussions, writing, and role play activities. For your convenience, there are concise grammar explanations in English in every chapter along with examples that illustrate each of the primary grammar structures presented. They are followed by exercises that will help you to assess your mastery of the structures. If you need more detailed explanations and additional practice of the primary grammar structures, you will find them in the workbook. A review of several secondary grammar structures is also included in the workbook along with practice exercises. In chapter two, for example, the main grammar structure in the textbook provides an overview of narrating in the past using the preterite and imperfect tenses, while the workbook introduces additional practice exercises with a more detailed explanation of the tenses including how to form regular and irregular preterites and imperfects. One of the most exciting features of Somos vecinosis the auditory comprehension sections and the virtual interview that offer you an opportunity to see and hear Latinos talking about themselves, their lives, their jobs, hobbies, interests and opinions. The CDROM contains these two components for each of the text''s six chapters: 1) the auditory comprehension activity meant for use and discussion in class; and 2) a "virtual interview," which is offered to you as an alternative to a live interview. Like those interviewed in the text, the Latinos on the videos are not famous people, but represent a wide variety of ages and experiences in the United States as well as a broad range of national origins. These people are not reading scripts, but speaking spontaneously. Although they often address you directly and generally speak at a deliberate pace, you should expect them to occasionally pause and repeat phrases as we all do in normal conversation. This may come as a bit of a surprise to you if you are not used to hearing authentic speech, but you will soon become accustomed to it and find that it is helping you understand native speakers in your face-to-face conversations. To offer you further help in using the Entrevistas Virtuales,we have included a guide to each in the corresponding chapter of the workbook. These include comprehension check questions and a directed writing activity. Among the Latinos you meet on the CD-ROM are: a Cuban-American grandmother who came to the United States over thirty years ago and recalls for us the excitement she felt the first time she saw snow; two young Guatemalan-American construction workers who speak with great pride and eloquence about their work here and their arduous journey through Mexico; and, a four year old Cuban-American girl who talks about playing with her toys and speaking Spanish. To help you in working with Somos vecinos,the following is a list of the sections of the text and a brief explanation of their content. Chapter Outline Primer encuentroconsists of a reading intended to introduce you to the theme of the chapter. The selection is followed by check questions, small group discussion questions, and a process writing assignment. Vocabulario esencialbegins with a list of important words and phrases related to the theme of the chapter. Vocabulary lists are followed by activities ( Practica), intended for both oral and written practice, that will help you to process the vocabulary found in the reading and to use these words in the discussion, writing, and role play sections. Activities range from highly structured to open-ended and communicative practice. Culturawill acquaint you with some important issues in the bicultural world. Selections are taken from newspapers articles found on the Internet. Each section begins with a reading strategy to help you understand an actual article intended to be read by native speakers of Spanish. After the cultural reading are content questions ( Comprension) and questions for further discussion ( Discusion). A conocerconsists of readings based on individual interviews of 3-4 Latinos. These provide the content for both the grammar and the communicative activities of the chapter. A presentarprovides some background about the individuals presented in the chapter. As a prereading activity you will be asked to make predictions about what you will read. A conocercontains the actual reading passages or interviews. Each interview is followed by Comprension,post-reading questions that serve to check content. Discusionallows leads you to develop listening/speaking skills while exploring your feelings and opinions of what you have read. A repasaroccurs at the end of the set