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Rating: 
Summary: Excellent teaching tool
Review: I found this book to be very difficult to follow. As a student the book jumps from one subject to the next with not much emphasis on vocabulary as I feel should be. The excercises given are obscure, and some are down-right useless. However, this book does give some extensive explinations on gramatics and usage of words. This book is best for reviewing or referencing. Using this book as the only way to begin learning the spanish language not what it was made for.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the greatest teaching tool.
Review: I found this book to be very difficult to follow. As a student the book jumps from one subject to the next with not much emphasis on vocabulary as I feel should be. The excercises given are obscure, and some are down-right useless. However, this book does give some extensive explinations on gramatics and usage of words. This book is best for reviewing or referencing. Using this book as the only way to begin learning the spanish language not what it was made for.
Rating: 
Summary: A great book- Puntos de Partida
Review: I have used this book for three years with my students. It is the best Spanish text I have used. I only had the Teacher's edition and the cassettes and it worked marvelously. How much more if I had the other materials: Video,instructor's manual slide,etc.My students love this book. At the moment, I am looking at the Instructor's manual it's very supportive. At the High School level, this book can offer great reward for students doing the National Examination in my country. To conclude, my students left the course with more confidence after using the book. The book is authentic with up-to-date vocabulary and structures easy to use and understand. I hope to use it more in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent teaching tool
Review: The book by itself would be lacking as another reviewer suggested. But it doesn't stand alone -- if you buy the package you get a lab manual, a workbook, audio CD's for vocabulary prep and for the lab work, and a software CD with more exercises. The lab manual works with audio CD's for listening & speaking related exercises, and the workbook has reading & writing exercises, plus if you do the software exercises and the additional exercises and quizzes on the website, you find you have learned the grammar and vocabulary of the chapter without having to resort to making your own flash cards or writing out sentences on your own. The volume of exercises is perfect. And the exercises in the workbook & lab manual have explanations of the purpose of the exercise, with lots of repetition. (e.g. "the purpose of this exercise is to listen for specific information. Don't get distracted by unfamiliar vocabulary").
I have not worked with other Spanish materials, but I have with German and Arabic and I think Puntos is excellent. Make sure you buy the whole package and not just the book.
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