Understanding Spanish-Speaking Cultures. Selected Concepts, That May Be Developed at Spanish Level I

The hypothesis underlying this volume is that certain cultural facts are necessary to understand and use a language correctly. The book was prepared to instruct the language teacher on concepts of Spanish and Latin American (chiefly Mexican) culture to be taught in a beginning Spanish class. The concepts are cross-referenced to be used with five major Spanish texts. The first four chapters of the manual are devoted to defining culture and examining cultural phenomena, values of cultural study and methods of teaching culture. The rest of the book contains instructional essays for the teacher of 42 aspects of life in Spanish-speaking countries, from use of titles and nicknames through social amenities, restaurants and eating customs, sports, theater and movies, the Spanish calendar and use of certain vocabulary. Essays are followed by suggestions for class discussion and drill. A bibliography on teaching culture is appended. (CHK)