Breaking Out of Beginner's Spanish by Joseph J. Keenan
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Book Reviews of Breaking Out of Beginner's Spanish
Book Review: Going Beyond Classroom Spanish
Summary: 5 Stars
In a change of pace from most foreign language instructional texts, this book was written not by an academic but by a native English speaker who at the time of publication had lived and worked in Mexico for 10 years and whose wife (I am guessing from the acknowledgments) is Mexican. This is a "Been there, done that, don't make the same mistakes as I did" kind of book.
The book is written in a straightforward, conversational style that is often as amusing as it is educational. The book will help you in your quest for fluency (but of course, you won't become fluent from reading the book any more than you could learn to ride a bicycle from reading about it).
Perhaps I can save you some time in reading the reviews by summing them up. Almost everyone loves this book. Most people wish the book had an index (and you will too). Most like the fact that the book has a chapter on vulgarities (if only to know what to avoid saying) while a handful flinch at seeing the topic broached in the book. Everyone agrees that this is no stuffy textbook.
This book will suit a wide range of learners, from those just beyond beginner Spanish to those who are nearly fluent. As you progress in learning the language, you will continue to find things of value in the book.
OK, so the book is great, you could learn a lot, but is it right for you? It is if you know the basics of the language and want to learn to speak more colloquially. If you need to know how to conjugate verbs, then you're still a beginnner, not ready to break out. If you're looking for a book to help you pass the next quiz in your Spanish class, this is probably not for you. But if you are ready to converse with native Spanish speakers, this could be your passport to travel out of the classroom and into the real world.
Book Review: This book will give you much more confidence speaking Spanish
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is fantastic. Amazing. Unbelievable. Lo mejor.
I was looking for a book to help me improve my usage of Spanish; this is exactly the book I was looking for. Don't let the title fool you--while it describes the objective of the book perfectly, it's far funnier and easier to read than you might think based on the cover... (I guess that's why they say, don't judge a book by it's--well, you know.)
I think that some people who have found this book unhelpful were expecting things from it that it wasn't intended to give. It's true that the book doesn't teach you tenses; it isn't supposed to. It's also true that it's not a comprehensive dictionary of idioms; it's not supposed to be. But what it's supposed to do, it does very well: It goes through some the most common mistakes that English speakers make on the road towards fluency in Spanish and helps you overcome them, while teaching you a little history and making you roll on the floor laughing at the same time. It helps you begin to stop sounding like "a small, semi-literate child," as Keenan says in the introduction.
The only problem I had was that I was cringing with embarrassment as it points out to me those silly mistakes that I have made in conversation. But that's my problem, not the book's. And it's certainly not going to make you fluent. For that, you need to spend some serious time and effort speaking Spanish day in, day out. However, it really gave me some of the confidence that I needed to let me feel comfortable using my Spanish at every opportunity that has come my way.
This helped me grow so much more as a Spanish speaker than I could have done on my own--or with any other book I have found, for that matter.
Book Review: an excellent complement to a textbook
Summary: 5 Stars
I read this book during my 4th class of Espanol at the university level. This is not an introductory book, so don't bother to read it unless you have a solid understanding of Spanish basics, including basic conjugation, the subjunctive mood, etc.This book has a lot of tips to sharpen your Spanish. Chapter 8 has "sentence starters" to help you start off your spoken Spanish; evidently these are the equivalent to English's "well..." or "the thing is..." Chapter 9 has "snappy answers" organised according to how you want to respond (e.g. in disbelief, with surprise, etc.) The answers for affirmation are quite useful (e.g. esta bien, claro, de acuerdo). Of course, you can easily get this information from any college-level textbook, but the distribution of these words into nicely organised categories is quite useful. There is also a chapter on how to swear effectively (evidently chingar is a strong word), which I never did in my classroom. An earlier chapter on how to use 64 key verbs was invaluable as well.
One particular chapter I loved was how to choose the correct Spanish word for particular English verbs. This can get tricky for some English infinitives like "to become" and "to happen." Another chapter on the history of the Spanish language was very interesting to read.
One thing I didn't like was the treatment of the subjunctive mood -- it left me a bit more confused, and my Spanish teacher actually told me that some information was incorrect. Finally, one glaring omission that I hope the author writes about in any later edition is the use of "por" vs. "para". To me, this trickiness is right up there with "ser" vs. "estar."
Book Review: Not for Beginners
Summary: 5 Stars
I personally think i bought this book to early, becuase there was alot of grey area when i first started reading the book. but i have to say while there was alot of grey i still learned alot. This book teaches you, but not like you are probably thinking, and that is why i say that you should hold off on buying this till you are getting into different tenses, etc. Because at that point you should have a decent vocabulary built along with a decent understanding of the language.
Now, on to what the book does teach you.
It makes sure that you are saying things, i guess you could say "Politically correct" things. Becuase it explains how some words in spanish and english look the same they dont mean the same thing for example, "emberazado" you might naturally think of using that word becuase in english that is what you felt, but in reality, what your telling the other person is that you are pregnant!
this book gives great explainations, and tackles all the confusing things, and also gives clarity on many others. It teaches you cussing words, and also words that might seem harmless such as huevos/eggs which could be easily seen as profanity in spanish (example: quieres mi huevos? you want my eggs? now think of male genitils, you get the idea.) anyway this book i would buy again, but i wish i had saved it for later when i had a better grasp on the language. You wont be dis-appionted with it, keep a spanish-english dictionary nearby though becuase there are some words that you might have not seen yet, and since this books has no definition index in the back you may need one.
Book Review: A concise summary
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been studying Spanish for about 40 years. I knew the basics and could communicate, but I took a great leap forward 5 years ago when I married my Mexican husband. I can so relate to Keenan's experience of learning by being around native speakers. I find it extremely interesting to read things in his book that I, too, have "learned the hard way". Of course, I'm referring to idioms and other expressions that one doesn't learn in a grammar book. He is so on-target with his usages. I don't know where all he has lived, but his "Mexicanisms" are right on the money. I really admire the way his mind cuts to the important points and leaves out all the details that confuse. It's kind of like talking to a friend. They give you the scoop. They tell you what YOU want to know. I'm not through reading the book. I'm taking my time and savoring it. I'll probably read it again when I finish it. Probably 80% of what I've read so far I already knew, but it makes it easier to connect the new knowledge. This is a great book for anyone who's familiar with Spanish, but wants to feel more at home with native speakers. I noticed on the back cover that Keenan lives in Brazil. I've been studying Portuguese, on my own, (and with the help of some Brazilian penpals) for about a year now, and I hope he has plans to write a similar book for the Portuguese language. I, personally, would buy it in a heartbeat.