Cinema for Spanish Conversation, Fourth Edition , engages students in Spanish-language study through the use of feature films from across the Spanish-speaking world. Sixteen films, four new to this edition, motivates students in conversation, writing, and listening skills in addition to providing them with a broad and real-world experience with the culture of the Spanish-speaking world. New to the Fourth Edition: Four new critically-acclaimed films , including the groundbreaking documentary Presunto culpable (2008) about the Mexican criminal justice system and the Oscar-nominated No (2012) about the 1988 Chilean national referendum on Pinochet's presidency Updated information about each film, its actors, and directors Color screen shots of the characters in the film to help students remember who's who and to help them discuss the actions and qualities of the characters A new section of questions (Opiniones) at the end of each chapter that ask students for their opinions on themes related to the film, sometimes on controversial ones, in order to facilitate active conversation A filmography appendix , which provides a list of additional films for each chapter that have similar themes or are from the same region
"Cinema for Spanish Conversation is already a classic pedagogical text, geared for those students seeking to improve their verbal fluency in the Spanish language while exploring complex issues relating to contemporary Spanish-speaking societies and their diaspora through the lenses of the film industry. The text provides both students and instructors multiple pedagogical tools to achieve its goals and objectives. Each section has been designed carefully, is comprehensible and thorough and it is conceived in such a way that the instructor can have the liberty to delete or highlight some sections over others depending on the preparatory level of the students. That level of flexibility is an added-value to the text. The background information on directors, actors, the historical context and main characters of each film is an important resource that cannot be ignored. The easily access to related electronic or digital resources is another element that makes this text very attractive and successful... The film selection is excellent and representative of the many diverse contemporary concerns, techniques and countries..." -- Asela R Laguna, Rutgers University, Newark
"Students love watching films in general, and using a series of high quality films that are very rich in cultural content keeps them interested and actively involved in the class. [Cinema for Spanish Conversation] provides much needed structure for analysing and discussing the films. If I were left to my own devices for creating activities to discuss the same films, my efforts would probably lack the structure that students need to assimilate new vocabulary and to analyse themes and express their opinions... I think it is a great idea to include screen shots of the actors for exercises involving descriptions and identifications! Such photos, particularly in colour, certainly facilitate discussion and help to make the text a bit more visually appealing." -- Ruth Owens, Arkansas State University
"The new exercises challenge students and prompt them to think critically, to learn more about pressing questions in the Spanish-speaking world, and to produce their own ideas in the target language... The new chapter on "También la lluvia" is excellent. It takes advantage of the film's context (a struggle over water rights in Bolivia and the re-enactment of the conquest) to not only include film analysis and relevant vocabulary but also teach colonial history." -- Elizabeth Guerrero, Bucknell University
