Spanish

This course strengthens the four language skills to effectively use Spanish as a means of communication. Students interact in complex communicative situations, distinguishing between different linguistic registers, and deepen their understanding of the cultural and linguistic diversity of each Spanish-speaking country. This course is at the C2 level.

This course requires no previous knowledge of Spanish and aims to develop one's communication skills. By the end of the course, participants are expected to participate in communicative interactions with Spanish speakers in social and academic settings.

The course covers the following topics: 

• Greetings, introductions and short conversations;
• Asking for and giving basic information about himself/herself, other people, things, places, etc.;
• Enact transactions in stores to receive goods and services;
• Supply and retrieve information on and from simple formats and documents;
• Identify main ideas and facts in simple texts;
• Write simple texts: notes, postcards, e-mails, etc.;
• Become aware of the worldwide linguistic and cultural diversity, and
• Perform in intercultural settings.

The course provides a practical and theoretical knowledge of spoken and written Spanish (all varieties) and to introduce the study of Spanish literature through basic texts. The module focuses on the consolidation of basic linguistic structures acquired during the first year of studies and the introduction of more complex ones at an intermediate level in order for the students to be able communicate in tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. The course is conducted mainly in Spanish. DP requirements: At least 80% attendance at lectures, tutorials, and language laboratory sessions; completion and timeous submission of all written assignments; attendance at all scheduled tests, written and oral examinations. Assessment: Students are evaluated by continuous assessment (80% of the final mark) and an end of-semester oral examination (20% of final mark). Course entry requirements: Initial Spanish B (SLL1074S) or a pass in Spanish (SC) or a 4 rating (NSC), or by arrangement with the Head of Department.

The course gives students an opportunity to revise their survival skills and acquire more sophisticated ways of dealing with practical matters. This includes revision and consolidation of vocabulary, grammar, morphology, syntax, and phonetics. Students learn to converse reasonably fluently with native speakers and discuss personal, social, and current issues using appropriate structures. Cultural awareness is further developed. Language learning skills, including autonomous learning and how to approach authentic material, are enhanced. 

This intermediate Spanish course explores the characteristics of the Spanish language while providing opportunities to develop one's communicative skills in various social and academic contexts. It requires previous knowledge of the enunciation system in Spanish: the syntax of simple and compound sentences; form and function of the parts of a sentence; indicative present tense; preterit imperfect; simple preterite and preterite perfect; future periphrastic ,aspectual,and modal verb periphrases; imperative and present subjunctive. By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to interact adequately in everyday situations, becoming aware of the cultural and social aspects of the Spanish-speaking world (CEFR A2.1).

Spanish 3 (A.2.1 level), is an elementary level at the CLS. This course offers a combination of listening and speaking practice and introduces past tenses (pretérito perfecto compuesto, pretérito perfecto simple and pretérito imperfecto) via targeted reading and writing activities. The course continues to incorporate Spanish cultural elements through representative texts and audio-visual materials.

This intermediate level Spanish course focuses on the particularities of the Spanish language. By the end of the course, participants are expected to participate in communicative interactions with Spanish speakers in social and academic settings. It requires prior knowledge of the enunciation system in Spanish: the syntax of simple and compound sentences; the form and function of the parts of speech; simple and compound tenses of the indicative; simple tenses of the subjunctive; the aspectual and modal verb periphrases, and the imperative. The student will be able to interact appropriately in everyday, academic, and work situations in Spanish, being aware of the cultural and social realities of the Hispanic world (CEFR A2). 

The course covers the following topics:

• Interact efficiently in conventional communicative contexts by introducing himself, finding lodging, using transportation, making narrations and getting involved in simple transactions;
• Ask and give information about oneself and other people, personal interests, everyday activities, likes and hobbies;
• Describe and characterize people, things, places, etc.;
• Make hypotheses and predictions about the future;
• Understand simple reading passages;
• Write simple texts, both formal and personal;
• Become aware of the linguistic and cultural diversity in the world and be able to interact in intercultural contexts, and
• Have conscious control over the psychological and affective factors that influence the learning process and use learning processes strategically.

This course requires previous knowledge of the enunciation system in Spanish syntax in simple, compound, and complex sentences; form and function of the parts of a sentence; simple and compound tenses of indicative and subjunctive; formal and informal imperative; aspectual and modal verbal periphrases; nonpersonal forms of the verb, and regulating elements and practical and stylistic resources of language. 

Learning outcomes:

• Interact in a variety of situations of social, school, and professional life
• Express opinions and agreement or opposition to ideas expressed by other people
• Make structured presentations, narrations, and descriptions
• Understand the main idea and details in structured speeches on various topics in different contexts
• Fully understand all types of texts
• Write descriptive, narrative, and argumentative texts on topics familiar to the student as biographies, work-related, and academic.

The course is for complete beginners and equips students with a basic grounding in written and spoken Spanish. Students reach approximately level A1/1+ on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.