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Repase y Escriba: Curso Avanzado de Gramática y Composicion, 6th Edition
This perennial best-seller is written for Advanced Grammar and Composition or Advanced Composition and Conversation classes. Repase y escriba combines solid grammar coverage with contemporary readings from a variety of sources, including literature, magazines, and newspapers. Readings are preceded by a short passage introducing the author and the context and is followed by vocabulary, comprehension questions and conversation prompts. The Seccion lexica teaches students proverbs, idioms, and word families. There are also topics for creative compositions with guidelines. With updated literary and cultural readings, Repase y Escriba includes an "oral exchange," to make the text more useful when stressing conversation.
464 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 12, 2017
I have now used this textbook in two different Spanish courses, and both professors said they disliked it but there was nothing better available.
Some of the key weaknesses:
1. The book is heavy on vocabulary, which is not a bad thing by itself, but the vocab isn't integrated into the text in any meaningful way. Instead we get long lists of words, sometimes with English translations and sometimes without, but invariably missing the genders. You had better have a good dictionary with you (I recommend Oxford Spanish Desk Dictionary: Spanish-English/English-Spanish), because you will spend a lot of time looking stuff up.
2. It's highly technical. I don't know whether Dominicis is a linguist by trade, but her writing is loaded with dry academic analysis. A typical paragraph: "The verb soler (ue) is used in the present and imperfect tenses of the indicative and, rarely, in the present and imperfect subjunctive and it means to use to when the subject is a person and to be customary or frequent when the subject is inanimate" (10).
3. There are lots of typos, at least in the English-language portions.
4. It's depressing. By the end of the course you will have learned more about domestic violence, suicide, political oppression and genocide than any healthy person should ever know.
On the plus side, the exploration of Spanish grammar is extremely thorough. If you take the time to really work through the exercises you can learn a lot, but it's painful getting there. I would have preferred a more narrative approach, with side-by-side English and Spanish texts, and footnotes on the differences between the languages. But that would be a completely different style of teaching.
Some of the key weaknesses:
1. The book is heavy on vocabulary, which is not a bad thing by itself, but the vocab isn't integrated into the text in any meaningful way. Instead we get long lists of words, sometimes with English translations and sometimes without, but invariably missing the genders. You had better have a good dictionary with you (I recommend Oxford Spanish Desk Dictionary: Spanish-English/English-Spanish), because you will spend a lot of time looking stuff up.
2. It's highly technical. I don't know whether Dominicis is a linguist by trade, but her writing is loaded with dry academic analysis. A typical paragraph: "The verb soler (ue) is used in the present and imperfect tenses of the indicative and, rarely, in the present and imperfect subjunctive and it means to use to when the subject is a person and to be customary or frequent when the subject is inanimate" (10).
3. There are lots of typos, at least in the English-language portions.
4. It's depressing. By the end of the course you will have learned more about domestic violence, suicide, political oppression and genocide than any healthy person should ever know.
On the plus side, the exploration of Spanish grammar is extremely thorough. If you take the time to really work through the exercises you can learn a lot, but it's painful getting there. I would have preferred a more narrative approach, with side-by-side English and Spanish texts, and footnotes on the differences between the languages. But that would be a completely different style of teaching.
November 25, 2019
So, I'm cheating on this because we only used half the book for class. I liked the way the info was lined out and the exercises were decent. I would have been totally lost without a professor though.
February 23, 2017
Really great resource to improve my Spanish. Presents advanced topics well to improve grammar and fluency.
December 2, 2009
Mi libro de español ahora mismo
April 24, 2009
Best advanced Spanish book out there.
July 4, 2011
My love for this text book knows no bounds. It is highly detailed and a wonderful stepping stone from "traditional" high school Spanish into the world of nuanced proficiency.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews