Platiquemos FSI Spanish Course The world's best Spanish course just got better! "The course that works" has been completely revised and improved by Don Casteel, the author of Platiquemos and a former Foreign Service officer who is well trained in the FSI method and fluent in several languages. This edition has improved audio, with both male and female voices, more than 200 illustrations, and trivia. The content is more contemporary than ever, while retaining the language and grammar that have made this the most widely sold course on the language market.
Eight levels are available to lead you to mastery of Spanish. Once completed you will be able to understand spoken and written Spanish; it will also allow you to actively engage in conversations with an abundant vocabulary of several thousand words.
We also feature a Spanish On The Go! package with the iPod!
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Platiquemos Overview | Pricing and Specials | Contents of Platiquemos | Testimonial and Bios Schools Using Platiquemos | Platiquemos/Pimsleur Comparison | Spanish On The Go! iPod Package
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Platiquemos was prepared specifically to train officers of the Foreign Service and of other United States Government agencies who are involved in foreign affairs and who need to learn to speak Spanish. This course has been adapted from its original format and modified to make it applicable to a wider audience and to make it easy to read and use. The original FSI Basic Course in Spanish, consisting of four volumes with a total of well over 2,000 pages, has been divided it into eight levels. The original text has been reformatted for clarity and simplicity and modified to make it relevant to nongovernment students. New cultural information and illustrations have been added. Each level includes approximately 175 pages of text, and 6 to 8 audio CDs that supplement the drills and exercises found in the text.
The Platiquemos method is known as "guided imitation." It may appear to be new, but it has been used by a considerable number of teachers for many years. As used in this program, guided imitation combines elements of the "direct," "audio-lingual," "communicative," and "grammar/translation" methods; other methodologies, such as "total physical response," can also be used with the program. The goal is to teach students to speak easily, fluently, and with very little accent, and to do this without conscious effort - just as one speaks one's own language without conscious effort.
There are two very important aspects of this method. The first is learning a relatively small body of material so well that it requires very little effort to produce it. This is called "overlearning." If students overlearn every dialogue and drill as they goes through this program, they will almost certainly make rapid progress in learning the language.
The second aspect is learning to authentically manipulate the sounds, sequences, and patterns of the language. The important implication here is the reality of both the model and the imitation. The model (teacher, recording, etc.) must provide Spanish as people really speak it in actual conversations, and the student must be helped to create an accurate imitation. Above all, the normal tempo of pronunciation must be the classroom standard; slowing down is distortion in this context.
The first two units are focused primarily on pronunciation problems. Drills on other aspects of the language are deliberately postponed because of the importance of developing good pronunciation habits from the very beginning of the course. The importance of pronunciation cannot be overemphasized; it is the basis of all real fluency. Students will be able to understand anything they can meaningfully say themselves if there is a close similarity between the way they hear it and the way they say it. The more similar the two, the greater the ease of comprehension.
Given the fact that Spanish is spelled very phonetically, and that the differences between English and Spanish phonetics are fairly easily learned, Platiquemos has dispensed with the phonetic alphabet. The most important aids to listening are hearing the compact discs that replicate the major parts of the text, listening to the Spanish radio broadcasts and watching Spanish TV, and engaging in conversation with Spanish speakers (where practical).
Good pronunciation is first of all the result of careful listening and imitation. Additional help can be obtained from the initial pronunciation drills and descriptions and from the cues provided from "aids" such as radio, TV, or conversations between native speakers. It is well to remember that an investment in pronunciation practice early in the course will pay handsome dividends later; correct pronunciation safely relegated to habit leaves one's full attention available for other challenges of learning the language.
Every unit (after the first two) is organized in the same way: Part One is the basic dialogue with a few pertinent notes; Part Two is grammar drills and discussion; Part Three is a set of recombination narratives and dialogues; Part Four (beginning with Unit 16) is selected readings.
The basic dialogues are the core of each unit. These dialogues are recreations of the real situations students are likely to encounter, and the vocabulary and sentences are those they are most likely to need. The dialogues are set in a mythical country called Surlandia, which is described as a typical Latin American republic - insofar as it is possible to extract common features from so diverse an area. To provide further information in context, many of the notes suggest regional differences in both the language and the culture that will be encountered in various areas of Latin America and Spain. Platiquemos also provides authentic period illustrations based on a rough timeline from pre-Hispanic to modern times, with sometimes rather extensive explanatory captions. The purpose of these illustrations and captions is to spark interest in and discussion about some of the facets of the Spanish-speaking world's fascinating history and cultures.
In the first part of the text, new vocabulary is introduced in the basic dialogues. Occasionally, new words are introduced in the illustrations of grammatical points, to fill out patterns needed to do the exercises. New words are always clearly indicated by being placed them on a separate line, indented between the lines that are complete sentences. Since each new word is introduced in this fashion only once, the student should make every effort to learn each word as it is presented. The authors have taken pains to make sure that each word introduced will reappear many times later in the course, to help the student assimilate each word in a variety of contexts.
The student should very carefully learn both the literal meaning of each new word or phrase and the meaning that appears in the full sentences. The meaning of a word in the context of a sentence may be strikingly different from the literal meaning, but this should not be cause for concern. In the construction of each dialogue, the Spanish was written first, and the corresponding English is its closest equivalent in meaning - not necessarily a literal translation. (Platiquemos provides literal translations for basic sentences for comparison purposes.) You should therefore not be surprised if the Spanish does not seem to "follow" the English perfectly - or sometimes not at all.
Each unit can in some ways be likened to a musical theme with variations: the basic dialogues are the theme, and the drills provide the variations. Structure patterns that have been learned in the basic sentences are expanded and manipulated in the drills.
There are four kinds of drills in each unit (three before Unit 6). Of these, two are designed to systematically vary selected basic sentences within the structure and vocabulary the student has already learned. A further two provide a systematic coverage of all important patterns.
All of these drills are planned to be easily and rapidly answered, and can be done orally. If a student finds a particular drill to be hard, the difficulty probably arises out of inadequately mastering the dialogues and earlier drills. The drills are not problems to be worked out like mathematics. There are no tricks in them, and they are not intended as tests.
Pattern drills are presented in a format that provides both practice and explanation. First there appears a presentation of the pattern to be drilled, then various kinds of drills, and finally a more detailed discussion of the pattern.
The presentation consists of a listing of basic sentences (and a few new sentences when necessary) that illustrate the grammar point to be drilled. Then, in a two-dimensional chart, an the relationships involved in the pattern are extrapolated and further explained by a short note or two. This presentation should provide sufficient clues to enable the student to understand and use the pattern correctly in the drills that follow.
These drills are mainly exercises in substitutions, responses, and translations, and highlight the grammar points covered. They are devised as oral answers to oral stimuli.
After the drills, there is a more detailed discussion of the pattern drilled. These descriptions are written in a condensed and somewhat technical fashion. While an effort was made to keep these discussions clear and readable, it must be recognized that a description of a language is a technical subject, and simplification can only be attained by sacrificing accuracy. Students who work through these discussions carefully will find that they are acquiring a set of analytical tools that will be useful throughout the remainder of their career in language learning.
The conversation section of each unit is designed to help bridge the gap between the more-or-less mechanical stimulus-response activity of the drills and the skill of free conversation, which is the ultimate aim of the course. These recombination monologues and dialogues extend the abilities of the student into ever more natural situations. The narrative is an anecdotal description of an event or situation that is then recast as a directed dialogue in which the instructor acts as a prompter for students, who take the parts of actors. The prompter gradually withdraws so that, in the end, the conversation is carried on freely.
Beginning with Unit 16, reading materials are introduced for outside preparation, with perhaps some classroom discussion of the questions provided. These readings can also be used to provide content information for oral summaries. Up through Unit 30, the readings tell a continuing story about an American family living in Surlandia, and expand on matters of interest hinted at in the basic dialogues. These readings require no new vocabulary except for easy and obvious cognate words that can readily be guessed. From Unit 31 through Unit 55, the readings are much longer and introduce a considerable number of new words. This vocabulary is introduced through basic sentences that summarize the content of the following reading. The readings are designed to provide information of interest and value about the culture, and to provide insight into the practical problems an American is likely to encounter in adjusting to life in a Spanish-speaking country.
From former Secretary of State of the United States Lawrence Eagleburger: "I am a firm believer in the Foreign Service Institute's Spanish language program. I took the course early in my Foreign Service career, and thanks to the quality of the teaching methods used, was able to go from no competence in the language to an almost bilingual facility in only a few months. I know of no method of teaching a foreign language that even approaches the quality of the FSI program." Lawrence S. Eagleburger April 1998
Guide Review - Platiquemos FSI Language Program: Basic Course Level 1 "The Platiquemos Language Program is designed for the student who is serious about learning the language, and those who take the time to go through its numerous exercises will be able to speak the language well...This course is modeled after the Foreign Service Institute Program and emphasizes verbal proficiency. The program materials suggest use as part of a course taught by a native speaker, although it has more resources than do most "do it yourself" courses." Gerald Erichsen, About.com Guide Reviewer
Biography of the editor of Platiquemos, Don Casteel Don Casteel spent over twenty years in the U. S. Foreign Service, retiring with the rank of consul general. Raised in a completely monolingual environment in Wyoming, Don achieved during his career full professional proficiency in five languages, including Spanish, as tested by the State Department's Foreign Service Institute. He spent much of his career in Latin America, and is a graduate of the Foreign Service Institute in Finnish and German (as well as Spanish). He also served as deputy director of professional development at the Foreign Service Institute. His experience in Latin America includes tours of duty at the American Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as well as at the American consulates in Monterrey, Mexico, and Guayaquil, Ecuador, where he held the office of consul general. He also served as director of counter-terrorism programs in Latin America for the U.S. Government. Don has tried to bring both his language-learning experience and his experience with the Latin culture to Platiquemos's students and to those who use reference works (such as Ensenemos). Among his innovations are using authentic historical illustrations to give an authentic cultural flavor to Platiquemos's works. Don considers his work with Platiquemos as a continuation of a lifetime of public service.
Now for a limited time get all eight levels of Platiquemos for $649 and save over $140 off individual level pricing! Check below for other specials on prices...
Platiquemos Level 1 now available for only $79! - save $20! $79 Level 1 - CD version
Platiquemos Levels 2 to 8 Please note: Levels 5-8 are only available on CD. $99 Level 2 - CD version Level 3 - CD version Level 4 - CD version Level 5 - CD version Level 6 - CD version Level 7 - CD version Level 8 - CD version
Platiquemos FSI Spanish Levels 1 and 2 Save $19 over buying the levels separately! $179 Levels 1 and 2 - CD version
Platiquemos FSI Spanish - 4 Levels Save $47 over buying the levels separately! This pricing is available on any four levels, e.g. order levels 5 through 8 for the same low price! If you wish to substitute levels, please call us and specify when ordering. (Note: We currently are only offering CDs for the last four levels, so the combination package for Levels 2 through 5 and above come only in the CD version.) $349 Levels 1 through 4 - CD version Levels 2 through 5 - CD version Levels 3 through 6 - CD version Levels 4 through 7 - CD version Levels 5 through 8 - CD version
Platiquemos FSI Spanish Levels 1-8 on CD. (Priced separately at $99 each - save over $100!) $669
Platiquemos FSI Spanish Course - Digital Version 1 disk per level. Audio is in MP3 audio file format, text is as a PDF file. Please note that this version cannot be used without a multimedia-capable computer. $55 Level 1 - Digital CD version Level 2 - Digital CD version Level 3 - Digital CD version Level 4 - Digital CD version Level 5 - Digital CD version Level 6 - Digital CD version Level 7 - Digital CD version Level 8 - Digital CD version
Platiquemos FSI Spanish Levels 1-8 - Digital Version. 8 disks. Audio is in MP3 audio file format, text is as a PDF file. Please note that this version cannot be used without a multimedia-capable computer. $399
Platiquemos FSI Spanish Course Instructor's Manual In Spanish, 62 pages. $15
