- This book is the outcome of teaching Spanish for several years to different types of pupils. The author's purpose has been to supply a useful book to English-speaking students of Spanish.
- Usefulness has therefore been the standard in determining the arrangement of the material. The introductory lessons are easy and progressive, assuming little or no general knowledge of grammar and language. They attempt to take advantage of the strength of first impressions; for example, the use of usted is given prominence at the outset so that the pupil will be less likely at a later period to employ and the second singular in business correspondence. Other features of the book are,
- (1) exercises specially designed for drill on peculiarities of grammar that require habit to fix ;
- (2) ample material for oral work ;
- (3) a progressive vocabulary that attempts to include the commonest and hence most im- portant words and phrases with many colloquial expressions that are necessary in social intercourse;\
- (4) an order of development that has been proved of practical value.
- In the first few lessons, sentences illustrative of the grammatical topic of the lesson have been given before the explanation, as it is intended that these sentences should be committed to memory before proceeding to the explanation. Special vocabularies to each lesson have been omitted because the preparation of such a special vocabulary is a useful exercise that is too often sacrificed in elementary books.
- Part I furnishes an introduction to the chief characteristics of Spanish and is sufficient for a good working knowledge of the language. Part II takes up in systematic order those details of grammar that were neglected or hastily passed over in the first part. As the second part will not be studied until the pupil finds his reading in a continued text, no Spanish exercises are given. On the other hand, abundant material is provided for the translation of English to Spanish.
- The sentences in these exercises are short, according to the author's principle of presenting to the pupil only a few difficulties at one time with ample practice on the point under discussion. As the English sentences are mainly translations of colloquial or literary Spanish, their rendering by the student should result in characteristically idiomatic expression.
- The purpose of the illustrations is to teach pictorially some ideas about Spanish civilization and history in Spain and America.
- The text accompanying the pictures may be used as translation exercises on which the teacher may base questions in Spanish similar to those suggested. In order that early use may be made of the illustrations, the first questions are framed in simple language. The later pictures are inserted in historical order so as to give a brief survey of the most important events in Spanish history. The teacher who desires to use only Spanish in the classroom will find at the end of the book a brief summary in Spanish of the rules discussed in Part I. This will supply not only the proper grammatical terms but also idiomatic language to use when talking about grammar with the pupils. The author wishes to thank Mr. E. S. Harrison for his suggestions and kindness in reading the manuscript and proof.
- Author:Alfred Coester
- Publication date: 1917
A Spanish grammar with practical introductory lesson
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