Böcker av Bill VanPatten

From award-winning author, Bill VanPatten . . . Jesse Pérez's fifteen-year-old pregnant niece from Texas shows up on his doorstep in Central California seeking help. Still grieving from the death of his husband while raising their ten-year-old son alone, Jesse is plunged into the politics and legal issues of post-Roe America. Violent forces threaten the peaceful life he has built with his son-putting him on the path to a showdown with his estranged evangelical family in Lubbock, Texas.

WINNER OF THE BRONZE MEDAL FOR THE 2022 SELF-PUBLISHING REVIEWS BOOK AWARDS. GRAND PRIZE FINALIST FOR THE ERIC HOFFER BOOK AWARD 2023. ". . . hard to put down. . ." -Reedsy Discovery ★★★★ ". . . a stellar family drama with a compelling mix of contemporary issues, powerfully emotive writing, and twist-driven mystery." -Self-Publishing Review, ★★★★★ "A LITTLE RAIN is a textbook slow-burn storyline where author Bill VanPatten peels back the details in a deliberately methodical . . . narrative." -Readers' Favorite ★★★★★ Sixteen-year-old Alexander Chance's love of another boy has turned into an obsession-and the consequences have pushed his family to the brink. Sitting in a courtroom, he reflects on the past four months and what led him to the present situation. His father watches a quiet and dissociated son during the proceedings, forcing him to confront his own secretive past and the repressed sexuality that destroyed a happy home. Alexander's mother keeps a diary and confesses how her sublimated rage at her ex-husband drove a wedge between her and Alexander, and to a pill-popping, wine-drinking existence. In the end, the judge listens to expert testimony and must determine Alexander's fate. But Alexander is hiding a secret-a secret that would have profound consequences on the judge's decision.

While We're On the Topic: BVP on Language, Acquisition, and Classroom Practice is from one of the leading figures in the field of second language acquisition and second language teaching, While We're on the Topic... offers an up-to-date overview of six principles underlying contemporary communicative language teaching. In a conversational style, Bill VanPatten addresses principles related to the nature of communication, the nature of language, how language is acquired, the roles of input and interaction, tasks and activities, and focus on form ("grammar"). Each principle is informed by decades of research yet all are presented in a manner accessible to veteran and novice educators alike.This book is a must read for all interested in 21st century language teaching. With special features such as Foundational Readings, Discussion Questions and Food for Thought, "I..." statements for self-assessment, and While We're on the Topic reflection boxes that invite the reader to ponder related topics, this book can easily be used as the foundation for any course on contemporary language teaching.

This Element explores the roles of explicit and implicit learning in second language acquisition. The authors lay out some key issues that they take to underlie the debate on the extent to which second language acquisition involves explicit learning, implicit learning, or both. They also discuss what they take to be an oversight in the field: namely, the lack of clear definitions of key constructs. Taking a generative perspective on the nature of language, while addressing alternative approaches at key points, they refocus the discussion of explicit and implicit learning by first asking what must be learned (i.e., what is this mental representation we call "e;language"e; that all functioning humans possess?) The discussion and research reviewed leads to the conclusion that second language acquisition is largely if not exclusively implicit in nature and that explicit learning plays a secondary role in how learners grapple with meaning.

Suitable for beginning Spanish language learners, this title tells the story of a Chilean family and their winery, and of a young US Latino businessman who finds himself intricately involved with the family as his company tries to buy their land.

Presents a video-based text for "Beginning Spanish" that offers language materials. Based on 26 hours of a video drama, this program is meant for use in Spanish classes, as a college course for distant learners, and by individuals studying on their own.