* New! A video still from the corresponding episode of the new Video to accompany Motivos de conversación, Fifth Edition, appears on each chapter-opening page, along with introductory text and questions that serve as a pre-viewing activity and introduce students to the chapter themes.

* Motivo cultural (cultural note) provides insights into cultural phenomena and customs in the Hispanic world.

* Situaciones presents and practices useful conversational idioms related to the lesson’s vocabulary.

* Para resumir y repasar, concluding each Grámatica esencial section, synthesizes the vocabulary and grammar of the current and previous lessons.

* New! Para ver de veras poses questions to students that take them back to the chapter-opening video still in order to discuss it in more detail.

* De la vida real presents realia from Hispanic publications that illustrate the grammatical points and vocabulary of the lesson in context and provide a point of departure for personalized communicative activities.

* New! Videotemas contains individual comprehension questions as well as a partner/pair discussion about the video episode.

* New! Poetry selections in Viaje por el mundo hispánico are also recorded on the Listening Comprehension Program (available on audiocassette or audio CD) packaged with the student text.

* Ampliaciones contain authentic readings, Repasos visuales (visually cued reviews), and Exámenes de repaso (self-tests). Each reading includes a prereading section (Antes de leer) that presents reading hints and strategies and a postreading section (Después de leer) with comprehension exercises.

* Useful appendices include verb charts (Appendix 1); information on punctuation, capitalization, and syllabication (Appendix 2); and answers to Para resumir y repasar and Exámenes de repaso exercises (Appendix 3).

* Spanish-English and English-Spanish vocabularies are found at the end of the book.