Up With Language Series

Up With Language Series: Punctuation

Speed Up Your Chinese

Speed up your Chineseis an innovative resource that identifies and explains the common errors that English-speaking learners of Chinese repeatedly make. Speed up your Chineseorganizes the major categories of Mandarin grammar into areas that are problematic for English native speakers. Each subsection highlights a relevant grammatical point, explains why it causes particular confusion for learners and provides a case-analysis of common errors, together with explanatory corrections. Key features: basic principles of Mandarin grammar organized into coherent categories learner-oriented, problem-solving approach illustrates grammatical rules, and presents a case-analysis of approximately 150 commonly made errors, together with explanatory corrections subsections explain differences between Mandarin and English, focusing on how learners understand fundamental grammar patterns and avoid errors associated with English all subsections end with mnemonic advice that highlights the core of the discussion, reinforcing learners’ understanding of the topic erroneous case samples become grammar reviews inviting learners to test their grasp of grammar points. While Chinese examples are in simplified characters (with pinyin) in the main texts, their counterparts in traditional characters are provided in the Appendix. A unique reference and useful complement to textbooks at all basic levels, Speed up your Chineseis suitable both for classroom use or self-study, with exercises and a full answer key.

Speed Up Your Spanish

âe~Excellent book. The chapters put together and systematise a lot of material that is often taught in an anecdotal or haphazard sort of way, if at all. Students will learn a great deal from the book and have their confidence in using Spanish considerably boosted as a result.âe(tm) âe" Jonathan Thacker, Merton College, University of Oxford, UK âe~An invaluable, highly original and methodically sound approach to correcting and eliminating common, yet difficult-to-eliminate errors.âe(tm) âe" Manuel Delgado, Bucknell University, USA âe~The user-friendly format and page layout makes Speed Up Your Spanish a highly practical reference source for students and teachers.âe(tm)âe" Ma Victoria García Serrano, University of Pennsylvania, USA False friends, idiomatic expressions, gender and capitalization are just some of the areas that cause confusion for students of Spanish. Learning how to avoid the common errors that arise repeatedly in these areas is an essential step for successful language learning. Speed Up Your Spanish is a unique and innovative resource that identifies and explains such errors, thereby enabling students of Spanish to learn from their mistakes while enhancing their understanding of the Spanish language. Each of the nine chapters focuses on a grammatical category where English speakers typically make mistakes in Spanish. Each chapter is divided into sections that classify the concepts and errors into subcategories. Full explanations are provided throughout with clear, comprehensive examples and exercises to help the learner gain an in-depth understanding of Spanish grammar and usage. Key features: carefully selected grammar topics and examples based on the most commonly made errors exercises throughout to reinforce learning shortcuts and mnemonic devices providing vital learning strategies a Companion Website available at www.speedupyourspanish.com providing supplementary exercises as well as audio files. Suitable both for classroom use or self-study, Speed Up Your Spanish is the ideal resource for all intermediate learners of Spanish wishing to refine their language skills. Javier Muñoz-Basols is an Instructor in Spanish at the University of Oxford. Marianne David teaches Spanish at the Trinity School in New York. Olga Núñez Piñeiro is Senior Lecturer in Spanish at the University of Westminster.