The purpose of Qué le Duele? is to teach healthcare professionals how to communicate, in Spanish, with Hispanic patients. This highly practical text is designed to help students and practicing professionals develop their oral communication skills. Basic grammar explanations and relevant vocabulary, with an emphasis on the construction of yes/no questions, are provided. The text focuses on highly applicable and relevant material. The exercises in each chapter begin with simple drills testing the reader’s recognition and comprehension of the material learned, culminating in more involved exercises (such as role-playing) geared towards the practice of Spanish in real-life scenarios. Furthermore, a CD that can be used for at-home practice accompanies the text to help improve one’s listening comprehension skills. This book is adaptable to classes of different types and lengths. Some hospitals are providing six to eight-week Spanish courses of levels 1 and 2, with a total of twelve hours of instruction per level. This book is ideal for such a setting, as it could be divided into two parts: the first part for level 1, and the second part for level 2. For other types of courses, such as semester-long classes offered at community colleges or universities, this book is equally as ideal because, in its entirety, it provides more than enough material for such a class.
Qué le Duele? will serve as a traditional textbook for students and as a reference tool for healthcare professionals who must speak with Hispanic patients. Emphasizing practicality, this relatively small book with a soft cover and index will allow readers to locate needed material "on the spot."
