![](https://www.pearson.com/store//pmccommercewebservices/v2/medias/size-W370-A1030-00-26-98-A103000269834-A103000269834-Lrg.jpg?context=bWFzdGVyfGltYWdlc3wxNDA5NDF8aW1hZ2UvanBlZ3xzeXMtbWFzdGVyL2ltYWdlcy9oZDMvaDFkLzEzMDg1Nzc2OTM2OTkwL3NpemVfVzM3MF8vQTEwMzAvMDAvMjYvOTgvQTEwMzAwMDI2OTgzNC9BMTAzMDAwMjY5ODM0X0xyZy5qcGd8YzRmMjg3ODI2MjA3N2YzOTg2NTc2ZTg4NmM1ZTMzYmE5ZTZkZmYzMjVhN2Y1ZTZlMjA1YzIxMzQyMjUwYjZlNg)
Gente: A task-based approach to learning Spanish, 4th edition
Published by Pearson (June 17, 2020) © 2021
- María J. de la Fuente George Washington University
- Carola Goldenberg George Washington University
- Ernesto J. Martín
- Neus Sans
For courses in Elementary Spanish.
Help students learn by doing
Gente helps students achieve a high level of oral proficiency as they learn by doing through a task-based approach. Rather than presenting explanations about the language, the authors immerse students in the actual experience of speaking, listening to, reading and writing Spanish. The text's consistent instructional sequence guides students to progress from a focus on input to a focus on output.
The 4th Edition offers updates based on extensive instructor and student feedback and new research in the language learning field. More task-based writing instruction and revised cultural and grammar coverage are also included.
Hallmark features of this title
- Consistent instructional sequence and task-based approach foster learning.
- Chapter-opener and Acercamientos sections intro the chapter theme, a global task for students to carry out, and the country that will serve as the chapter's cultural focal point.
- Vocabulary appears in the context of guided activities and in chapter-ending lists. Target structures appear in context via guided activities connecting form and meaning.
- Pair- and group-work focus on meaning and develop interpersonal oral discourse skills. Role-play activities prompt authentic interactions.
- Chapter-ending collaborations apply skills, reflect chapter goals and check progress with steps of varying difficulty.
- Discourse-based, strategic reading and writing develop comprehension skills with content-based tasks and pre- and post-reading activities.
New and updated features of this title
- NEW: Learning objectives start each chapter as “can-do” statements (aligned with ACTFL standards) to give students clear, specific goals.
- UPDATED: Chapters and tareas incorporate new and updated themes relevant to today's students; and activity revisions allow for completion within class time.
- UPDATED: Writing sections apply a more process-oriented approach to real-life writing tasks, with linguistic tools featured in boxes throughout; while post-writing sections include guided peer review and self-assessment to enrich the editing process.
- UPDATED: The testing program is pedagogically aligned, task- and performance-based throughout. Tasks assess productive language skills and are integrative (i.e. incorporate 2+ skills, such as reading to complete a speaking/writing task). Assessment rubrics provide task accomplishment and language proficiency criteria.
- UPDATED: The grammar scope and sequence has been revised to better help students learn how to use grammar practically.
- UPDATED Comparaciones culturales sections encourage further exploration of Spanish-speaking cultures and societies in the United States and globally by providing cultural content about the entire Spanish-speaking world, the focus country and its people's influence in the US. New activities foster comparisons and cross-cultural awareness.
- Gente que estudia español
- Gente con gente
- Gente de vacaciones
- Gente de compras
- Gente que estudia
- Gente que trabaja
- Gente que viaja
- Gente que come bien
- Gente de ciudad
- Gente extraordinaria
- Gente e historias
- Gente, salud y deportes
- Gente y lenguas
- Gente con personalidad
- Gente que se divierte
- Gente innovadora
- Gente y derechos
- Gente de negocios
- Gente y desarrollo
- Gente y medio ambiente
About our authors
María J. de la Fuente is a Professor of Spanish at The George Washington University, where she teaches all levels of Spanish, from elementary to content-based, advanced language classes. Her general area of research is instructed (classroom) second language acquisition (ISLA). One of her main research areas is Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) and the role of pedagogical tasks in second/foreign language learning. The results of her research have appeared in refereed journals such as Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) and Language Teaching Research. Her teaching interests include task-based language pedagogy, content-based language pedagogy (sustainability-based) and the use of case studies in language teaching. She is the author of 2 Spanish textbooks. At The George Washington University she was the recipient of a 2008 Bender Teaching Award and she is a founding member of the GW Academy of Distinguished Teachers.
Carola Goldenberg has more than 20 years of experience in second language acquisition. She started her career teaching at the highest corporate and government levels in Europe, including CEOs of major multinational companies and Cabinet ministers in the UK. She was responsible for the design, standardization and production of curriculum development and evaluation courseware in 26 languages for the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council in Brussels as well as the Foreign Common Office in the UK. In addition, she was in charge of the recruitment and training of world language instructors around the world. Since 2014, she has been teaching and coordinating Spanish courses at The George Washington University, where her excellence in teaching was recognized with a runner-up position for the Bender Teaching Award in 2019. Her research interests focus on instructed second language acquisition (ISLA), particularly in the role of the first language in the second language learning process, the mental lexicon and task-based learning. The results of her research have been presented at several domestic and international conferences such as the American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL) and Second Language Research Forum (SLRF). She started her career in Argentina as a bilingual translator and interpreter with a degree from Emilio Stevanovitch’s Interpreters’ School and then moved to the UK to continue her studies where she earned a Master of Arts in Bilingual Translation from the University of Westminster and a Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics and Foreign Language Teaching from the University of Nottingham.
Need help? Get in touch
![Video](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TCIok0KnHDc/hqdefault.jpg)
Pearson eTextbook: What’s on the inside just might surprise you
They say you can’t judge a book by its cover. It’s the same with your students. Meet each one right where they are with an engaging, interactive, personalized learning experience that goes beyond the textbook to fit any schedule, any budget, and any lifestyle.