Amazon.com Book Description (ISBN 0618017909, Hardcover)

A proven, four-skills communicative program for introductory Spanish, ¡Claro que sí! provides a strong emphasis on developing oral proficiency and cultural awareness. This text owes its popularity and success to its grounding in several solid principles: students learn best by doing; skill integration promotes language development; language is culture and culture is reflected in language; self-expression in language contributes to attaining proficiency; recycling of material is essential to moving from learning to acquisition; and learning is enhanced when it is enjoyable.

• A chapter-opening conversation, also recorded on the Student Audio CD and Cassette, provides practice in listening comprehension and speaking, while engaging students in a continuous story line that follows the daily lives of several characters.
• Each chapter includes two Lo esencial sections, offering thematic presentations of vocabulary accompanied by illustrations and contextualized practice. Immediately following these, Hacia la comunicación features a functionally sequenced grammar presentation in English, with a variety of communicative activities for practice.
• For instructor and student convenience, the Table of Contents identifies where material is first presented, where it is recycled, and where grammar explanations appear in the Activities Manual.
• In-text icons and annotations correspond with the Activities Manual, the Student Audio CD or Cassette, the web site, and the TravelTur CD-ROM. Additional student annotations highlight learning strategies, relevant cultural information, and study tips.
• The Nuevos horizontes sections include writing instruction tied to chapter functions and vocabulary and opportunities for peer- and self-editing.
• The TravelTur Video features authentic footage shot on location in San Antonio, Madrid, Bogota, and San Juan. The Instructor's Resource Manual contains related viewing activities.
• The text-specific web site features self-tests and web-search activities.
• Grammar summaries and practice in the Activities Manual synthesize and review key grammar topics, including ser and estar, the preterit and imperfect, and object pronouns.