Product Description
Speaking Spanish Like a Native makes eye contact with the reader. This book will awaken the student to a more lively way of learning while spicing up their Spanish speaking ability. Written in an entertaining and colorful style, Speaking Spanish Like a Native pulls you out of the classroom and places you into the huddle with native Spanish speakers—giving you the inside scoop on words, phrases, and expressions you cannot get from textbooks. While many books merely inform, this one also teaches, and it leads by example—practical and engaging examples that show the student how to speak in the context of real conversations with native speakers.
Customer Reviews:
Great! Teacher recommendation.......2007-07-06
I teach Spanish classes to all ages, and many of my older students would ask, but I can't really SPEAK Spanish! So after the foundation of good grammar and other concepts, I enjoy giving this book as a gift to my students - they devour it! It tells you how to respond in certain situations, and helps you to think on your feet, perhaps giving you time to formulate more original sentences.
This is wonderful for any student of the language in I'd say a "level 2" proficiency. If you still struggle with pronunciation and the difference between verbs and nouns, definitely start with something else, and look forward to using this book to truly ENJOY speaking your new language!
Great Phrases.......2007-05-15
I've enjoyed going through the book and seeing what phrases are being used. I grew up in El Paso and I recognize serveral of these phrases but never "really" knowing what was meant by them.
I'm going through the Pimsleur spanish lessons, and though they are good, they are very proper or, as my grandma would say, high spanish. Nothing wrong with that. This book helps when you are speaking with spanish speaking friends. Especially if they are American from a spanish speaking families. They go in and out of spanish all the time, so you can use these and not worry about being fluent, because you can go right back to english.
Good way to learn conversational Mexican Spanish.......2007-05-13
Okay, let's face it: the Spanish of Mexico right now is the most influential and relevant variation of the language for folks in the United States (and I was educated by Argentines). Brad Kim and Erika Dominguez' guide here will do a fantastic job of helping you get familiar with many good culturally relevant phrases from Spanish speaking folks with a Mexican heritage...maybe the best you're apt to find. With some practice on pronunciation and on your listenining skills, you'll have a nice bit of linguistic and cultural know-how. You might even feel brave enough to try using some Spanish with your Spanish-speaking contacts and encounters. It may not be the most comprehensive treatise on the Spanish of Mexico, but it is a fun and very funny, easy-to-read book that's very applicable to your learning the language.
Speaking Spanish Like a Native.......2007-03-29
This was a great idea for a book! Definitely a fun read.
Speaking Spanish Like a Native.......2007-01-09
This is an outstanding book, I can't put it down. What a great complement to my Spanish vocabulary. Learning from Brad Kim is fun and easy. Wish he would write another book. I am thrilled and it so much fun and so easy. Can't wait to use my new vocabulary.
Book Description
This book and CD set is designed to help Russians achieve greater fluency in American English. The set contains over 300 of today's most commonly used idioms and phrases. Idioms are presented in 25 lively dialogues which tell the entertaining story of an American family. The set is appropriate for intermediate to advanced students of English of all ages. The book comes with an audio CD of all of the dialogues. Contains dozens of helpful exercises to reinforce the material, with convenient answer key for self-study.
Customer Reviews:
Quite useful, but still needs some editing.......2004-06-06
****
This is a fine book for classroom use with intermediate-to-advanced level Russian speakers who are acquiring English. A good selection of idiomatic American expressions is presented and illustrated through an engaging 25-chapter story involving a single family (the Johnsons); the specific situations used-- from the family's daily life, work, school and recreation-- are generally clearly delineated and are often instructive for the students in both linguistic and cultural contexts. The various exercises which accompany the texts are varied and competently assembled, and their completion probably gives the students an important sense an accomplishment (however ephemeral) that rote memorization does not by itself provide.
Some editing still needs to be done: there are too many instances of everyday expressions (which most students already understand) being offered up as "idioms"; conversely, there are also several occasions in which odd/unusual constructions go unglossed. While these are not great impediments, the CD which accompanies the book has several more serious problems: the voice of one principal character (Bob, the father) is poorly enunciated throughout [and also happens to bear an unnerving resemblance to that of Vladimir Pozner...]; and several other characters simply miss the appropriate stresses in a number of words and phrases-- as though they were reading the texts aloud for the first time. The instructor is left to explain that, well, what he/she would *actually* say in this situation sounds more like this: "..." One gets the impression that the roles were voiced by a convenient selection of local volunteers-- whereas hiring real actors for the roles could have made a significant difference.
That said, I recommend this book-- and look forward to a second volume (as well as to the remedial tinkering with the first). My students enjoyed it for the most part, and no doubt learned a great deal from the adventures of the Johnson family.
fun to read.......2003-06-14
This book is useful and fun. It teaches American expressions by telling funny stories, and it has amusing pictures.
Laugh and also learn English.......2003-04-27
Easy to understand and written with a great sense of humor, this book is an essential aid to improving English understanding and speech. Learn how to correctly use language of daily life (at an interview, on the job or at the store). The additional CD teaches proper pronunciation. A great help for new immigrants and also for those who want to increase their knowledge of English idioms.
Enrich your knowledge of English !!!!!.......2003-04-18
I found this book very useful and helpful; great CD too. One can learn new phrases and listen to the correct prononciation at the same time. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve his/her English skills.
Book Description
This book and CD set is designed to help native Spanish speakers achieve greater fluency in American English. The set contains over 300 of today's most commonly used idioms and phrases. Idioms are presented in 25 lively dialogues which tell the entertaining story of an American family. Idioms are defined in both English and Spanish. The set is appropriate for intermediate to advanced students of English of all ages. The book comes with an audio CD of all of the dialogues. Contains dozens of helpful exercises to reinforce the material, with convenient answer key for self-study.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Idiom Starter.......2007-06-27
This is an excellent book and CD to acquaint beginners with many American idioms. The way it is put together so coherently in short stories makes it simple to learn but at the same time efficient. The CD is also very well done. Even advanced students of English as a second language can find something to learn here.
Brilliant (Brillante).......2007-04-07
I believe this book is a must for the ESL classroom, since it is effective even while not being that expensive.
Language education.............2006-02-22
I bought this book for my girlfriend in Panama and this book has been very helpful. She knew some basic English but now is speaking English better and knows more words. She really likes the CD which she listens to in her car.
A highly recommended self-teaching tool.......2004-04-04
Amy Gillett's Speak English Like An American For Native Spanish Speakers is a combination book and audio CD especially appropriate for native Spanish speakers who are familiar with the English language, yet who seek to take their fluency to new heights by mastering common English idioms. Over 300 of the most-used American English idioms and phrases are presented, complete with examples, definitions, and engaging dialogues that serve to tell an entertaining family story punctuated with amusing cartoons. A highly recommended self-teaching tool for advance native Spanish students of English as a second language, Speak English Like An American For Native Spanish Speakers is an especially appropriate and effective supplemental resource for personal, school, and community library Language Studies resource collections.
Fun way to study English.......2003-07-04
I can recommend Speak English Like an American to you. It is a very good way to learn important and useful American English idioms and expressions. I like the fact that the idioms are used in a story, then you get another example in a sentence, and then definitions in Spanish. There are good exercises also. This is a very interesting way how to study the language. I am using some of these expressions at work and people at my office are saying, "Oh Juanita, your English is improving!"
Customer Reviews:
!!!WORTHLESS!!!.......2007-09-18
!!!THIS BOOK IS UTTERLY WORTHLESS!!! WITHOUT AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THESE TEXTS ONE HAS TO GUESS AT WHAT MUCH OF THE ARABIC MEANS, OR WORSE YET, LEAVE IT INCOMPREHENSIBLE!!! BY THE TIME YOU REACH THIS STAGE OF ARABIC YOU CAN ALREADY GET TRANSCRIPTS OF ARABIC SPEECHES ON YOUTUBE AND THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION FOR FREE!!! WHAT WERE THE AUTHORS THINKING??? ALL THEY DID WAS TRANSCRIBE SOME ARABIC CONVERSATIONS - BARELY A SERVICE!!! DON'T BUY THIS BOOK!!!
Contemporary Arabic Conversations.......2007-06-27
Shukri's Focus on Contemporary Arabic is excellent. It is a compilation of dialogues of native speakers discussing a variety of increasngly more complicated subjects. Happily, it is not another vapid audio of survival Arabic for Western tourists in the Middle East. Rather, the DVD provides ample opportunity to improve aural skills for serious students of Arabic and the book contains a complete transcript of the monologues on the DVD -- and more. The author's annotated footnotes provide insightful explanations related to grammar and colloquial speech. Virtually all of the topics are highly interesting, of great contemporary relevance and address important social issues. The book retains the reader's interest throughout. If your Modern Standard Arabic level is upper intermediate, then your frustration level will be low with the book (although listening to the DVD, depending on the speaker, is slightly more demanding in terms of aural skills than is reading the narrations in terms of reading skills). Even the Arabic print is clear and easy to read. Moreover, the book, though paperback, is well-bound, the pages are of high quality paper and the cover is aesthetically pleasing. The book and DVD are well-worth the cost. They are value-for-money.
In certain minor aspects, however, there is room for criticism. All the questions appended to the transcripts in each of the thematic chapters are in English with answers solicited in English. Why? In all likelihood, the reader already has mastery of English and has a passive knowledge of Arabic. The utility of the book and dvd is to promote an active command of contemporary Arabic; accordingly, the questions should have been in Arabic with perhaps model answers of harder questions at the back of the book. In the Exercises, the author asks for a translation of all the questions; translation is another skill set. The exercises at the end of each chapter are all very monotonous in form. For the self-learner in particular, more structured and varied exercises, with answers at the back of the book, would have proven more expedient.
The focus of the conversations is on Levantine speakers generally expressing themselves in a standard spoken Arabic (although a few speakers resort to a more colloquial way of speaking). It is good for the listener to have exposure to different speech patterns in Arabic including contrasting colloquial with standard and the author is to be commended. However, more utile would have been greater geographic diversity; Gulf speakers, for instance, are short-shrifted. Egyptians take a back-seat to Jordanians and Palestinians.
Depending on the elocution of the speaker, there are deviations in the crispness of the sound of the audio; interviews take place in a variety of settings where acoustic quality varies.
A Helpful Book.......2006-12-23
I am a student studying arabic, and I have recently started using this book and dvd to improve my listening skills. What makes it useful is that it contains a number of monologues accompanied with complete transcripts of what is said by each speaker. You can go through each listening section, and if you miss any of the words you can simply go back to the texts and see what exactly it was that you missed, no guessing. Some of the speakers speak quickly and it is not always easy to catch everything. Overall I like this very much.
A must read for the aspiring Arabic speaker.......2006-12-21
In 21 concise chapters covering both language and Middle East culture as well as Arab-American relations, Dr. Shukri Abed has finally composed the perfect text for short attention spanned aspiring Arabic speakers.
Complete with DVD, this book provides the reader with the bare essentials they might not necessarily glean in academia. For example, in the text of Chapter One, we are taught how in local dialect to explain where we live, where we grew up, where we studied--all without being able to reveal a non-native accent. The ability to click "rewind" mulitple times on the DVD remote negates the complications language students normally experience in a classroom setting, where other students don't like to be disrupted with extra-pronunciations.
I know that the US government has purchased scores of this book/DVD set for its employees headed toward the Middle East. Dr. Abed, a Harvard PHD, and a seasoned language teacher with the Middle East Institute, has finally gotten the essentials of Arabic language pedagogy down to a science. Bravo to him for this valuable addition.
Average customer rating:
- Auspicious Literary Debut by a Great American Writer of Fiction
- A very smart and conflicted book
- Would have worked better outside the "espionage" genre
- This is American Literature.
- a korean-american perspective
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Native Speaker
Chang-Rae Lee
Manufacturer: Riverhead Trade
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ASIN: 1573225312 |
Amazon.com
Korean-American Henry Park is "surreptitious, B+ student of life, illegal alien, emotional alien, Yellow peril: neo-American, stranger, follower, traitor, spy ..." or so says his wife, in the list she writes upon leaving him. Henry is forever uncertain of his place, a perpetual outsider looking at American culture from a distance. As a man of two worlds, he is beginning to fear that he has betrayed both -- and belongs to neither.
Customer Reviews:
Auspicious Literary Debut by a Great American Writer of Fiction.......2006-12-10
For a long time I have resisted reading Chang Rae Lee's "Native Speaker", even though it's been recommended to me by others on numerous occasions. I suppose that resistance is due to my reluctance to embrace fully the work of Asian-American writers, when I see myself as someone who is an American who just happens to be of East Asian descent, and thus, interested in reading what I believe is great American literature. Happily, I have read finally "Native Speaker", which I regard as an auspicious literary debut by a great American writer of fiction. Without question this was among the most memorable novels published by an American author in the 1990s, worthy of comparison to Richard Wright's "Native Speaker" and Theodore Dreiser's "An American Tragedy".
Chang Rae Lee uses the metaphor of espionage to explore the emotional and intellectual complexity of his protagonist Henry Park. We meet Park as he is struggling to cope with his dissolving marriage to an attractive young White American woman, and his rather stoic reaction to the recent unexpected, tragic death of their young son. He finds solace by undertaking undercover work on behalf of a shadowy organization, infiltrating the staff of a popular Korean-American New York City councilman from Queens. Soon he finds himself completely immersed in the politician's corrupt, almost Byzantine, political universe, becoming an active participant in the politician's relationship with his Korean-American community. Lee accomplishes his admirable literary feat of fine writing with a crisp ear for dialogue and splendid, almost lyrical, prose, creating compelling characters like Henry Park and his estranged wife.
A very smart and conflicted book.......2006-10-14
I thought this was one of the most intelligent and honest books about the Korean American experience I have ever read. Other books, with memoir style perspectives, have explored the generational conflict and cultural and geographic displacement a Korean American may feel, but Lee does not seem comfortable speaking in the existing dialogue about immigrant experience, but instead includes that particular voice as a part of his inner dialogue--this discomfort is why the use of the espionage genre works so well.
This book is about a man who in the end does not seem to exist, but not in the "quiet Asian man" way we typically hear about in Asian American discussion; also, the main character's subversive behavior is not a reaction to feelings of frustration stemming from marginalization.
The man does not exist because he cannot face his other faces.
As a character whose occupation is to act as a spy, he finds his job natural, but also problematic. The problem is that he does not feel strongly connected to any one identity; at least, not one with a face--he crosses from hating his father as a symbol of all that is old and prideful to admiring an up and coming Korean American politician as a symbol of a "Korean Man" he would like to meet, or perhaps, become. The problem reaches its climax when both men merge and are in the end, elusive to their supposed symbols.
Native Speaker struck me as honest because it came out and said what it had to say: I cannot relate to any discussion about Korean American identity, because I believe the search for identity in these terms is futile.
I do not walk by Lee's side on this point, but I believe he's on to something, and also, that he is brave for expressing it so passionately.
Would have worked better outside the "espionage" genre.......2006-05-27
I'd like to give this novel more than 3 stars, but the unfortunate decision to have the main character be a Secret Agent/Native Informant guy really ruined it for me. Some reviewers claim that to make this criticism is to reveal oneself as a white person who just doesn't get it (I am indeed a white reviewer)--eg, the Secret Agent plot element is a metaphor for the invisibility that Asian-Americans feel as a minority group in the US. But before we explore metaphorical value and cultural commentary, let's ask, more plainly: does the espionage element work in terms of character and plot? I think it doesn't, and that this leads to a further weakness in the book's politics and mode of cultural criticism.
Where character is concerned, I can compare Native Speaker with another cerebral political/espionage novel, Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men. Warren does a good job of having a first-person narrator who is a slimeball in a lot of ways, who's lost his moral bearings. By contrast, Chang-Rae Lee has a main character who is so sensitive, so highly moral, and so completely sympathetic that you never, ever believe that he would have the venal job he has. In fact, much of Native Speaker reads like a straightforward memoir, especially the account of Henry Park's childhood. In this case, Lee has set up a perfect paradox, in that the more the reader engages with the narrator in the "memoir" passages, the more competely unbelievable the espionage plot becomes.
I also think the espionage element muddles the book plotwise, and in fact causes Lee to mishandle one of his most important themes, that of white power over and prejudice toward immigrants. Briefly, the "memoir" parts of the book concern Henry's relationship with his father, who is wealthy but lives a privatized, conformist life. As an adult Henry meets a father-surrogate, the politician John Kwang. Now, this story could have been told without the secret agent stuff. In fact, it could have been quite straightforward: a disillusioned young man, who's experienced marital troubles and has bitter memories of his father's social powerlessness, is drawn to a brilliant politician, who must defy the prejudice of mainstream white society. But again, the idea of an all-purpose spy organization that makes life hard for immigrants, and especially Asian-Americans, messes everything up. For example, perhaps Kwang's major way of establishing rapport with his constituents is to take the Korean-American tradition of the "ggeh"--where immigrants pool their money and withdraw from the fund as needed--and make it broader and multiracial, so that people can borrow money to send their kids to college, etc. I won't give away any "spoilers," but let's just say that the doings of the spy network, and the Queens, NY-based ggeh, end up being intertwined. At this point, I thought that Lee was juggling too many balls as an author: I wanted to hear more about John Kwang, and I was getting tired of annoying characters like Jack and Dennis Hoagland (the white spies).
But, even more importantly, instead of NS making me more sympathetic to the troubles of immigrants, I ended up being somewhat disturbed by the book's politics. One gets the feeling that Kwang's neighborhood association would have done just fine, if it wasn't for the interference of a shadowy racist organization with links to the IRS, INS, and so on. Now, here's my question: doesn't the ggeh represent a multicultural version of libertarianism, which sees society as the sum of individual choices and voluntary associations and wishes to limit state action? Insofar as Henry Park (and, arguably, Lee himself) valorize the ggeh, how is this political outlook any different from that of white people in the midwest who argue that they've never really owed anything to the government, that they've done just fine with hard work and the help of their neighbors? In a way, Lee has written a politically reactionary book, which has a paranoid attitude toward government. Now, you might respond that "Lee is describing, not endorsing; the spy network represents the racist forces that people of color must deal with if they want to enter the public sphere." But the point is that Lee could have handled these racist forces differently. The spy network strikes me as a very heavy-handed, "conspiracy-theory" way of thinking about oppression, and the ggeh a very privatized, anti-statist model of social action. In any case, I think the book's politics are muddled, and that NS would have been sharper in terms of character, better-organized in terms of plot, and clearer in its political outlook without the espionage element.
I certainly don't mean to say this is a bad book, and in fact it's become so canonical that people will go on buying it no matter what this-or-that reviewer thinks. All well and good. But I will say that if you're a fan of "intellectual" espionage in the vein of Warren's King's Men, Graham Greene, or John Le Carre, and you're drawn to this book because you've heard it creatively reworks the genre, be aware that the espionage element is *not* the book's strength. The descriptions of a Korean-American boyhood and adult New York life are excellent, but the "thriller" element almost kills the novel.
This is American Literature........2006-04-29
I read this book for a 2xx literature course on race and sexuality. The book started slow, laid out many unconnected ideas, and had several vague "what the hell does this have to do with the story" parts, and then WHAM! The few peices of the puzzle come together, the story takes on this all so important meaning (when to begin with I thought there was little importance --just story) and just ends up being a gre --no, really great story. I almost hate to give this book 5 stars, but it is so deserving that I must.
Chang-Rae Lee's prose is magnificent. Different somehow, slow and methodic and meaningful.
Appearantly this book won many awards. However, I would imagine the secrets this book holds will be interpreted differently by each of us, making it much more so the treasure it is.
a korean-american perspective.......2005-08-18
let's set the stage. i am a wasp. i grew up in the midwest and have very limited involvement with asian ethnicities. i do however love reading ethnic novels in an effort to learn and understand other cultures. this is my 1st novel regarding first generation koreans in america.
this book is about what it is like for this type of person growing up in america. yet it is a very american novel. where else could the protagonist marry a wasp woman and see how cultures like asian, black, and hispanic collide in an open society.
harry park is born of immigrant parents who create a successful yet disappointing life in america. he is given all the opportunties of a middle class american. he marries a white woman and takes a job as a "researcher" who surreptitiously investigates people. things go along well until the tragic death of his son. then his world starts to unravel. his wife leaves him and he begins to flounder at his job. things begin to change when he is assigned to "research" a korean-american city counselman (kwang) who is a viable mayoral candidate. kwang, who becomes a father figure to park, has all the foibles of most people. his denoument is within his control, while at the same time beyond it. the other question is whether or not park is part of it.
the story is exceptionally well written. i learned a great deal about a new perspective on life in america. the ending is somewhat disappointing but still satisfying.
i recommend it for those who want to learn more being a korean-american.
Amazon.com
As a second-generation Chinese-American, Eric Liu has grown up with an awkward relationship to race and ethnic identity. He can follow a conversation in Chinese, although he would have problems if he tried to take part in it; as for the written language, he is functionally illiterate. He would be the first person to question which of his personality traits are "Chinese" or "American," "Asian" or "white," or none of the above, and The Accidental Asian is, in fact, a rigorous self-examination--not merely about the costs and benefits of assimilation, but about whether assimilation should even be viewed in those terms.
Whether he's recalling his adolescent frustration with "Chinese hair" that just wouldn't permit itself to be styled, examining the history of Chinatown, or pondering the mixture of fear and fascination with which China is viewed by Americans, Liu writes with admirable personal intensity. It doesn't matter whether you consider The Accidental Asian to be a memoir or a batch of interconnected essays; once you've read it, you will be forced to consider for yourself what place, if any, race has in America today (but even more so tomorrow).
Book Description
What is race for? That bracing question animates every page of The Accidental Asian, a powerful work from one
of the nation's leading young voices. In these personal and poignant reflections on assimilation,
Eric Liu articulates a vision of American identity that will provoke and inspire. For Liu, the price of
assimilation became clear when he tried to read a memorial book about his father's life, composed in Chinese,
and found himself staring at a blur of indecipherable characters. There in his hands was the measure of his
inheritance. Liu, meanwhile, has watched with both wonder and concern as a pan-ethnic Asian American
identity has taken shape. Here now is a race that offers a new source of roots--but also tightens the hold that
color has upon our minds.
Like so many in the second generation, Liu doesn't know whether to embrace, resist, or redefine assimilation--
and ends up doing all three at once. He speaks candidly about his journey from a fierce pursuit of racelessness to a slow
rapprochement with race. He is not afraid to reveal his ambivalence. At bottom, Liu is an "accidental Asian"--someone who has stumbled upon a sense of race, who is not always sure what to do with it.
Weaving narrative and analysis into a series of elegant essays, Liu addresses a broad range of questions:
¸ Is whiteness America's fundamental race problem?
¸ Are Asian Americans really the New Jews?
¸ Should we fear the rising might of China?
¸ What does a journey through Chinatown
reveal about our own lives?
¸ What might intermarriage mean for Asian
Americans--and for the future of race itself?
The clear voice in these pages will resonate with Americans of every hue. Beyond black and white, conservative and liberal,
native and alien, lies a vast and fertile field of human experience. It is this field that Liu, with insight and compassion, invites us to explore.
Customer Reviews:
A Self-orientalized book .......2006-06-21
I accidentally read this book but unfortunately found I dislike it. As a Chinese who speaks and write imperfect English, I have read lots of books on Asian American history and memoirs. But I found Eric Liu, while trying to show off his ability to be assimilated and his desire to be accecpted by White American culture, does not really try to understand other Chinese including his own families. For example, when he describes his grandma, he does not show interest in her story and experience and share her opinions, because for what she talks about-Chinese and Taiwanese politics,Hong Kong pop stars, etc., he did not have interest. And he did not speak and read Chinese very well himself. He describes the grandma who has a rich experience, opinion and courage as if she was a mummy, just because she was not well adjusted to the new environment as himself. When Eric Liu describes New York's Chinatown, it seems that he was more American and Americans--it was noisy, "they" looked funny, everything there was exotic...He looks at Chinatown not as a native Chinese who respects and sympathizes people living there, in spite of their somewhat unbecoming habbits, but like cityboy going to the countrysiade for the first time and cried,oh, they are so dirty. "we are Chinese, but we still outsiders", he said. He obviously exaggrated the diffrence between his family and Chinatown people. But if his own family was so elitist, why was he never trained by parents to write a thank you note?
To be sure, I agree that American born Asians should identify with American culture and be more involved in politics, as Liu sugguests. But Liu is just too proud and pretentious. For Chinese American exprience, I would rather read Joy Luck Club.
what is asian-american identity?.......2005-11-04
Eric Liu wrote a memoir - he's entitled to his opinions - and he is not a self-hating Asian. Most of our problems stem from too much emphasis on race and race identity. I think we should all celebrate culture (not race) and diversity of culture (and not deny our culture) - but for those of us who feel that we're losing our parents' culture, we shouldn't feel too bad about it - because we're gaining another culture or developing a new kind or blend of culture (1.5 generation, etc.). Eric Liu mainly explores the question of what exactly Asian-American identity is. What's the point of trying to put ourselves into a box? It ends up being more restrictive and confining - and unnecessarily so. If you're Chinese or Taiwanese or Korean or whatever - learn to be comfortable with that - and with the fact that you're also American. In fact, to be American should not nullify your Chineseness. If you have been blessed with the opportunity (or the desire) to learn (and retain) your parents' language while growing up, be thankful for it and use it to help immigrants who really need help assimilating and adjusting to life in America. I think the group that needs advocacy is not the generation of Asians who have grown up as Asian Americans but the recent immigrants.
The more important question is why this constant yearning for a sense of identity in all of us? And where do we truly get our sense of identity in a world of constant flux and change? If we fix our sense of identity on our culture, culture's bound to change, too. "On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand!"
A few flaws, but an otherwise excellent book........2004-12-06
The author gives an account of growing up in America as the child of Chinese immigrants from Taiwan. He mentions his awkward teenage years, attending Yale University, and choosing a career path different from that of the stereotypical Asian-American: Marine officer, political staffer, television commentator, and essayist.
The first essay is a well-written, powerful tribute to the author's father, who immigrated to the United States and ultimately spending a majority of his life in his new country. This essay alone would prompt me to recommend this book to all immigrants and their children, Asian or otherwise.
This book is at its best when the author reflects on his own life and identity. However, when he drifts into pondering questions on assimilation and "omniculturalism," he forgets that he speaks only for well-educated, upper-middle class Asians born in the United States. To uneducated fishermen, indentured domestic servants, restaurant workers, and other blue collar Asians, assimilation will be far more difficult, if not impossible. Because the author appears to ignore this and other barriers to assimilation, I have to disagree with his theory that today's Asians are the "New Jew."
Overall, the book was a good read, and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in Asian-American culture. However, this book is hardly an authoritative look at Asian-Americans, and it only provides one man's perspective.
A++ book.......2004-10-06
That accidental asian by Eric Liu is a very well written memoir, he talks about the second generation of asian american which is very unusually you would find that most books out there are about the first generation of asian american. He talks about he experiences as he finds himself choosing between being asian or being american. There two culture are very different as he tries be both he finds himself being a banana like many of the second generation asians. he also talks about not being label as a typical asian so he tries to separate by having white friends but in the end he is put into the area as being a regular asian. This book was very fun to read and I recommend it to anyone that wants to read something new.
pretty good.......2004-04-24
This book is honest and the author doesn't try to say more than he knows. Nothing exotic thrown in for effect or drama. He writes for Asians and for himself which is uncommon.
It's not perfect but I gave it five stars anyway.
Customer Reviews:
Begining Cherokee.......2007-10-05
I enjoyed this book up to chapter three where I threw up my hands and gave up on trying to learn the language. In my case it was a very confusing language to learn. A lot of memorizing involved. And the structure is not evident. But for someone who is determined to learn the language this is a good starting point.
Good Book but..........2007-01-07
It is a good book but I wish it came with cds! Need to hear it sounded out to make it stick!
Informative but not terribly user-friendly.......2005-10-24
This book was actually purchased for my 9 year old daughter, who is enthralled with the Cherokees. It appears to be chock-full of information about the Cherokee language, however I don't know how she has the patience to read any of it; the font appears to be from an old typewriter, and it's just not a very readable book. That having been said, it seems to be quite thorough in its treatment of the language of the Cherokee and for someone wanting to learn the language there is plenty of material here to study. It would be wonderful to see this book updated -- there is simply not that much out there that we've been able to find on this subject.
The best of the bunch.......2004-11-12
There are very few resources from which to learn Cherokee, and this is the best of the bunch. That being said, it is not perfect.
It seems to be a pretty amateur work, put together by someone with very little knowledge of the theory of learning languages. I have no doubt that this is indeed the case, and I am very grateful to Ms. Holmes for writing this manual, but I do wish that the publishers had perhaps hired a linguist to work with her. There is little cohesion between chapters, and I did not feel that the lessons built on the previous ones.
I think that this book would be very good in a classroom setting, where an instructor can add some more structure to the lessons. A student learning Cherokee on his or her own will probably have some more trouble, but this is still the very best book to use.
I don't see the tapes being sold on Amazon, but I did purchase them at a local language bookstore, and I would recomend not buying them. It seems that they are for a previous edition... many of the lessons do not match up with the book, and they resulted in creating a great deal of confusion for me.
Beggars can't be choosers.......2003-09-15
Of the limited selection of Cherokee language materials available, this is by far the best and most comprehensive. Having said as much, we must acknowledge its many weak points. The chapters in this book are chock full of vocabulary, but the words, phrases and chapters are presented in a way that keeps each unit more or less isolated from the others. There is no real cohesive progression. In addition, the vocabulary of the book is very noun oriented. Cherokee is a very 'verb language'. After much study with this book, you are likely to know many, many words and still be generally confused as to how to create your own sentences from them. The book doesn't devote enough time to teaching the all important and challenging (to european language speakers) verb prefixes and suffixes. This book also lacks units that allow the study of the language beyond one word or phrase. Some paragraphs or stories would have been useful if they were appropriately graded. The text has several typos which cause some confusion. The syllabary is introduced, but the book never abandons phonetic spellings. Yet inspite of these many shortcomings, this text is a must for any serious student of the cherokee language. It also might be of interest to those interested in contrastive linguistics.
Customer Reviews:
Complete and comprehensive.......2001-09-28
I bought this book a few years ago and it has become my handbook for teaching in China. Don Snow has done a superb job of consolidating and organizing a large amount of information into a very readable text. Under three general headings (Preparing to Teach, Aspects of Language Teaching, and Living Abroad) he has tucked 16 chapters and four appendices that cover the spectrum. In the "Aspects" section he's included listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary, grammar, teaching culture, and even a "trouble-shooter's guide to the classroom." And it's all eminently practical. Appendices include long lists of ideas for conversations and writing assignments as well as course planning pointers and suggested supplementary books.
All in all, if you have to take just one book when starting teaching English as a second language (or even in mid-career), this is the book to take. No, I have no stake in its sale. I just appreciate sound advice presented simply and practically.
A Great Help.......2000-06-11
I got this book before coming to Japan to teach English. It's been great. When I first got here it helped me understand language learning in another country and offered practical advice on adapting to my new home. I continue to consult it for ideas and information. It touches upon all the areas a teacher or volunteer needs to consider before and during an overseas teaching experience. It also provides helpful suggestions for further reading.
Book Description
If you're a native Chinese speaker active in the English-speaking business world, this is the system for you! Speak Business English Like an American for Native Chinese Speakers teaches over 300 of today's most important American English business expressions - complete with Chinese translations of each expression. This is the new book and audio CD reviewers are calling: "the ultimate instructive guide to the hundreds of expressions and idioms heard at the workplace."
Customer Reviews:
A "must" for any non-native business English learner.......2007-09-06
Although many of the idioms and expressions Ms. Gillett brings to the page are typical in non-business usage, the huge number of idioms and expressions related to American business English (as opposed to British business English--in some cases they are quite different!) is an asset to any student of this subject.
The contents are grouped in chapters by common subject, e.g. Discussing a New Ad Campaign, Motivating A Co-Woker, and Conducting a Performance Review. Learning new idioms and expressions is made simple by an easy-to-read dialog that demonstrates (and can be used with a partner) the usage of each idiom, and then is followed by self- or partnered-checking and review. The accompanying CD clarifies pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation.
I highly recommend this text to all--native or non-native speakers of English--who want to fast-track themselves into usage of the American business vernacular.
My qualifications to review this book? I teach this subject, among others, at UCSC Extension.
An excellent book for improving business English.......2006-06-29
I used this book and CD system with my students, a group of adults in an ESL class at a community college. They really enjoyed it! They found the dialogues interesting and realistic. The idioms in this book are excellent. The exercises are helpful too, and we appreciated being able to go to the publisher's website (Language Success Press) and getting supplementary exercises for this book for free.
The ultimate instructive guide to the hundreds of expressions and idioms heard at the workplace daily.......2006-03-09
Enhanced with the addition of an audio CD, Speak Business Like An American is the ultimate instructive guide to the hundreds of expressions and idioms heard at the workplace daily. Amy Gillet's provides the language student wanting to gain fluency in doing business in the American marketplace with consistent, easy to use constructs that are accurate, appropriate, and effective. Speak Business English Like An American is very highly recommended for those new to the business workplace and in need of being able to communicate fluently in standard American English.
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