Bøger af 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.

Secrets, Dexter thought. We all have secrets. He looked at her and an idea began to form in his head. He was, after all, The Reader. "Yeah, it's true that we don't know each other," he said. "But from what I gather, we're it right now. Just you and me." He took a sip on his vodka, rattling the ice as he did. Memories started colliding in his head, and he stared off into nothing, several long seconds ticking off. "Pain is a nasty thing," he finally said, his attention still fixed on some faraway place and time. "We carry it inside, wrapped around our hearts, letting it slowly squeeze the life out of us. If we don't let it go, we slip into mere existence. We perform the motions, but there is no joy in anything we do." From the story "Pair of Strangers"In this collection of nine stories, VanPatten deftly captures the pain and hope that is the human existence. From all walks of life and from different times, the characters confront life-altering events and learn what it means to make choices. The Whisper of Clouds promises to both haunt and intrigue you.

Written by award-winning teacher and scholar Bill VanPatten, "Daniel" is the third story in the bridge literature series ("Ángel", "Elena"). At the center of the story is a young Latino man about to graduate from college in Chicago. His life is interrupted as he begins to have visions. Afraid to confide in his grandmother, afraid to confide in his new romantic interest, Daniel begins to navigate a new world-with help from a surprising friend of the family. Where will his visions take him? And why does he have the same one over and over?

"Escribo desde la clínica. El psicólogo dice que escribir es buena terapia. No estoy segura. Además, no necesito terapia. No estoy loca. No estoy enferma. De todos modos, hago lo que el psicólogo dice."So begins "Elena," written by award-winning teacher and scholar Bill VanPatten. Elena is a seventeen-year-old girl who claims to hear the Virgin's voice. Concerned, her parents and priest think it's wise to put her under psychiatric care. But does Elena really belong in a clinic? Defying stereotypes and taking us into the mind of an intelligent teenager, "Elena" is a story that hits all the right notes for students of Spanish. "Elena," consisting of nine segments plus a prologue and an epilogue, is just the right length for students of intermediate and advanced Spanish.

"Me llamo Diego Torres, pero mi madre siempre me dice "Ángel." No sé por qué. No soy religioso, y ahora que tengo 19 años, no me gusta ese nombre."So begins "Ángel," written by award-winning teacher and scholar Bill VanPatten. Diego Torres is a student at UC Berkeley. Smart but quiet, he harbors a secret until circumstances force him to reveal what he's hiding. Poignant, timely, and defying stereotypes and genres, "Ángel" is the story that every student in Spanish should read. "Ángel" is a captivating text for both intermediate and advanced students of Spanish that consists of nine segments plus a prologue and an epilogue.

Welcome to a new concept for learners of Spanish: flash fiction written just for them! Flash fiction consists of super short stories, under 500 words in length. In Cuentos cortos: Volume 1, we bring together five unique stories plus follow-up tasks and actvities. But don't think that flash fiction means short on depth or meaning. Including dramatic, comical, and even eerie topics, these five stories are sure to please, causing students to ponder and reflect. Bonus material included after the stories. See what readers are saying."We love the great stories that BVP has provided!""Cuentos cortos have provided my students and me level appropriate, but deep, reading materials. The accompanying tasks and embedded questions have lead to real discussions in class that my students can easily take part in.""Cuentos cortos! Love, love, love!" Free instructor notes for classroom use available for departmental, school, or district adoptions. Contact us at contact@classroomtapas.com.

Welcome to a new concept for learners of Spanish: flash fiction written just for them! Flash fiction consists of super short stories, under 500 words in length. In Cuentos cortos: Volume 2, we bring together five unique stories plus follow-up tasks and actvities. But don't think that flash fiction means short on depth or meaning. Including dramatic, comical, and even eerie topics, these five stories are sure to please, causing students to ponder and reflect. Bonus material included after the stories. See what readers are saying."We love the great stories that BVP has provided!""Cuentos cortos have provided my students and me level appropriate, but deep, reading materials. The accompanying tasks and embedded questions have lead to real discussions in class that my students can easily take part in.""Cuentos cortos! Love, love, love!"Free instructor notes for classroom use available for departmental, school, or district adoptions. Contact us at contact@classroomtapas.com.

Why a book on the nature of language? The answer is surprising in this new book by Bill VanPatten. Language just isn't what most of us think it is-and because of that, the need to know about the nature of language takes on new importance for teachers who really want to teach for acquisition, who truly want to teach for communicative ability and proficiency. It provides teachers with one of the important arguments for striking out on their own and exploring new methods and alternative curricula and assessments. Engaging and reader friendly, this book will challenge every teacher's ideas about what winds up in learners' heads. It will lead teachers to question the content of most current textbooks and the practices contained in them.

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.

This textbook uses a 'key questions' structure to introduce and break down the main issues in second language acquisition, using clearly defined terms and avoiding jargon. It is perfectly suited to students with no background in linguistics or psycholinguistics, as well as teachers of English and other second languages.

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.

This module explores the nature and consequences of a particular definition of communication: the expression and interpretation of meaning in a given context. Special attention is given to context (i.e., physical setting, participants, purpose of communication) and how these impact how we think about communication in language classrooms.

This module provides the novice and experienced teacher alike with a broad and accessible picture of language as a formal system. It covers topics such as the nature of words, sounds and syntax, particularly emphasizing the abstract, complex nature of language and how it does not resemble typical pedagogical rules often used with language learners.

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.