A First Spanish Reader
Este libro es un manual de lectura para principiantes que empiezan a estudiar español. Roessler y Remy reúnen lecturas breves y sencillas que, en las primeras selecciones, emplean solo el presente y evitan construcciones difíciles. El alumno avanza desde escenas cotidianas —la escuela, el discípulo, la sala de clase, la familia, las estaciones, los días y los meses— hacia textos sobre países hispanoamericanos, anécdotas, proverbios, adivinanzas, fábulas de Iriarte y canciones populares. Cada selección va acompañada de preguntas y de un vocabulario que ayudan al estudiante a preparar sus lecciones, leer en voz alta y conversar sobre lo leído.
Su valor reside en combinar la simplicidad con la variedad, ofreciendo material gradual que cultiva la lectura, la pronunciación y la expresión oral desde el comienzo del curso. Mediante temas familiares, pinturas de la cultura española e hispanoamericana, y abundantes ejercicios de repetición, el Reader convierte el aprendizaje en una práctica activa y conversacional, sentando las bases del idioma con claridad y amenidad.
How it begins
This Reader is the outgrowth of a desire for a textbook that combines simplicity with variety. To make it available for use almost at the very beginning of the Spanish course only the present tense has been employed in the first twenty-three selections and difficult constructions have been consistently avoided. With one or two exceptions, many changes have been made in the selections taken from Spanish authors in order to adapt them to the needs of the beginner. The greater part of the reading material, however, is either original or adapted from other languages. The questions are intended to aid the pupil in the preparation of his lessons. Teachers may alter or amplify these questions as they see fit. Suggestions as to the method of treating the text may seem impertinent to some. The authors however merely wish to suggest a method which they have successfully employed: I. Regular preparation of the advance lesson should be made as follows: a . Reading of the text by the teacher, a sentence at a time. Each sentence to be translated by a pupil after the new words have been explained by the teacher, in Spanish if possible. b . A second reading by the teacher, followed by chorus reading of the class. II.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain.