About the Author:
Mary Ann Blitt began her Spanish studies at the age of 13 while living in Madrid, Spain. She received her B.A. in Spanish from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and after spending a year studying at the Universidad de Granada, she returned to the university to obtain a teaching certificate. She later attended Colorado State University, where she received her master's degree in Spanish with interdisciplinary studies in French. After teaching Spanish and coordinating the study abroad program at Metropolitan Community College-Maple Woods in Kansas City for fourteen years, she joined the faculty at College of Charleston in 2014. Mary Ann has studied in Spain, Mexico, France, and Canada and has trained teachers of English as a Foreign Language in Asuncion, Paraguay. She is currently actively involved in professional development workshops.
Margarita Casas was born in Mexico City, Mexico. She completed her bachelor's degree in sciences and techniques of communication in Guadalajara, Mexico. She holds two master's degrees from Colorado State University, one in Spanish literature with an emphasis on education, and the other in Teaching English as a Second Language. Currently, she is faculty and Chair of the Foreign Language Department at Linn-Benton Community College. She has collaborated on two textbooks prior to EXPLORACIONES and has published a novel, Italia en cuatro estaciones, winner of the first literature contest of the Universidad de Guadalajara. She is an avid traveler who hopes to inspire her students to travel and see the world by themselves.
Review:
"I appreciated the fact that your book is designed to appeal to learners of all walks of life, as the classroom is becoming more and more diverse. I also enjoyed the pictures throughout the text. They were very helpful and beneficial to visual learners."
"It is easy for the student to pick out the important information and focus in on it. I also liked the connection to the real world culture, i.e., the little "C" as opposed to the big "C." In addition, I liked the way the chapter connected what they were learning to possible profession where they could use their newly found skills."
"This book will make many professors' lives easier with all of the wonderful built-ins. The En Vivo and Culture sections are enough to make me brag about this book."
"I would describe EXPLORACIONES "as one that is very complete and satisfies all the needs for foreign language instruction. [It is] a book that understands that language is not the ultimate goal but a means to promote understanding and respect of/for other cultures."
"In very few words: everything you would expect to find in a text with several innovative surprises to allow for a customizable classroom experience."
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.