Voces Y Vistas

Rating:
Summary: A good educational book, but teachers don't need it.
Review: I think that schools are wasting time buying these language books when a teacher can teach just as good without one. A teacher can put the vocabulary for the chapter on the board and the children can just as easily copy them from the board. Also, the workbooks that are made from this same company are more useless. They are not needed at all, a teacher hardly ever assignes an assignment from them. In addition, the Tape manual in the back of these workbooks are hardly, if ever, used in the course of the year.

Rating:
Summary: A great resource
Review: In today's society, parents complain that teachers don't use enough resource material when attempting to instruct all students in the various multiple intelligences. Gone are the days when we can simply require students to copy vocabulary from the board, and gone are the days when parents would allow their students to attend a class conducted without a textbook. This book illustrates the vocabulary, gives in depth explanations for grammar topics and exposes the student to culture as well. It also provides an excellent opportunity for students to listen and react to native speakers via audio activities. This book is a also good source for extra practice. The clothing styles are hopelessly out of date, but that doesn't matter when the main goal is speaking and writing proficiently in the target language. Our school has been using this series for quite some time, and our students average a score of 4 on the AP exams.

Rating:
Summary: this is a good book
Review: This book explains things, and leaning another language is more than vocabulary. You have to understand how to conjigate verbs and why this word son't go with that one but will go with that one. At the end of the year, you have learned more than you thought you did!

Rating:
Summary: I remember Voces Y Vistas
Review: This book was my first venture into learning foriegn languages 13 years ago when I was freshman in high school. I started off in Voces Y Vistas (year 1), moved onto Pasos Y Puentes (year 2), then capped off with Arcos Y Alamedas (years 3 & 4). This series as a whole went into great detail to teach not only vocabulary and culture but I remember conjugating verbs early on as well. A great textbook is no replacement for an excellent teacher (which I had for all 4 years) or a student with a willingness to learn. Luckily all three pieces were there. This series got me so well prepared that I was able to test out of having to take a foriegn language when I got to college. Once again, I think this is a great series. My only complaint are the workbooks that go with it (they were kind of dry compared to the text) and the kind of creepy people featured on the covers of all three.