Open Door to Spanish: A Conversation Course for Beginners, Book 1

by Margarita Madrigal, Madrigal

Margarita Madrigal's books have been used by thousands of readers around the world. Former readers applaud the Madrigal its simplicity, its copious use of cognates, and its humor. The conversations, explanations, exercises, activities and tapes in Open Door to Spanish teach readers to recognize the large number of words and expressions that are alike in English and in Spanish (cognates), strategies and rules for converting English words to Spanish, hints for identifying large numbers of new words in Spanish, formulas to help readers use Spanish verbs to describe events in the past, present, and future. The book has been thoroughly revised and updated and incorporates current language use. Vocabulary lists have been added to the end of each chapter. Cassettes have been newly recorded and use a variety of voices from Latin America. Grammar explanations and exercises are easier to read and the format of the book has been enhanced with a new design and illustrations.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

From Wikipedia: Margarita Madrigal (May 15, 1912 – July 23, 1983) was a Costa Rican American author and language teacher best known for the Madrigal's Magic Key to... and An Invitation to... series. During her career, she wrote 25 books covering seven languages.[1][2]

Biography
Background
Margarita Madrigal's parents met in Kansas City while her father, Ezequías Madrigal (an operatic baritone from Costa Rica) was on tour in the United States. Before he was set to perform, his accompanist became ill. When he heard that a local girl, Carolyn Wilhelm of Winchester, Kansas, was an excellent concert pianist, he communicated to her to perform with him for the evening. She initially refused, but agreed after being asked in person. "The romance went on from there," as Margarita related in an interview.[3]

Reviews

[carl theaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

El mosquito es poquito! Got it!

Mmm, just noticed the author also authored my German conversational book from 20
years before this, she gets around.

[Karenb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a first edition and still enjoy reviewing this book. It was my first Spanish book in college.

[Irish · Rating 4 out of 5]

It doesn't have many advanced words.Good for beginners.