BA French and Spanish / Course details

Year of entry: 2024

Course unit details:
Spanish Language 1

Course unit fact file
Unit code SPLA51011
Credit rating 20
Unit level Level 1
Teaching period(s) Semester 1
Available as a free choice unit? No

Overview

The course unit consists of intensive language tuition in spoken and written Spanish at ab-initio level. Focussing on a variety of topics (food, customs, weather, music, professions, etc.) and using a range of teaching methods and audio-visual as well as printed media, the course aims to equip students with the language skills needed for basic spoken and written communication in common everyday situations. 

Pre/co-requisites

Medium of language: Spanish

Aims

  • to provide students with thorough grounding in Spanish grammar and syntax; 

  • to enable students to achieve basic communication in Spanish, through a range of written, oral and comprehension exercises, allowing them to interact with reasonable ease in structured situations and short conversations on familiar everyday topics. 

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course students will be able to perform at Level A2 of the Common European Framework (CEFR) for Languages.  

Knowledge and understanding

By the end of this course students will be able to perform at Level A2 of the Common European Framework (CEFR) for Languages. 

  • Passive and active knowledge of a range of grammatical structures of the Spanish language. 

  • An awareness of the nature and extent of cultural diversity within the Hispanic world. 

Intellectual skills

  • Use of the target language with the skills acquired at a basic level. 

  • Extract and synthesise basic key information from written and spoken sources. 

  • Organise and present ideas within the framework of a structured argument at levels of appropriate difficulty. 

  • Develop deductive reasoning. 

Practical skills

  • Communicate in written and oral Spanish. 

  • Manage time and work to deadlines. 

  • Work creatively and flexibly with others as part of a team. 

Transferable skills and personal qualities

  • Communication and presentation skills: oral, written and IT.  

  • Self-management and study skills, including learning how to learn through self-reflection activities and self-evaluation.  

  • Self-confidence, empathy and understanding others. 

  • Intercultural awareness.  

Employability skills

Other
- Communication and presentation skills developed through frequent presentations and teamwork. - Self-management skills which are promoted through independent work. - Problem-solving, decision making and creative skills, fostered through a variety of tasks such as creative writing, simulations, translations, etc. - IT skills through web and computer assisted language learning.

Assessment methods

Assessment task Formative or Summative Weighting within unit (if Summative)
A grammar, reading and writing examination  Summative 60%
One piece of ACW (grammar test)  Summative 15%
An oral examination   Summative 25%
Weekly take-home coursework and online tests  Formative  

 

Resit Assessment

Assessment task
A grammar, translation & essay writing examination

Feedback methods

Feedback method  

Formative or Summative 

Students will regularly receive individual written feedback on completed and marked assignments and oral presentations plus face-to-face discussion if desired. The tutor will also provide in-class comments on homework, presentations and other exercises. 

Additionally, global feedback (delivered orally in class/posted to Blackboard/as a hand-out) on frequent errors or omissions will be provided to the whole class to indicate problem areas and allow questions and discussion.  

Finally, the collaborative group/pair work used in class to practice presented language also facilitates peer feedback. 

Formative 

Written feedback on the in-class test and on oral exam performance. 

One-to-one feedback by request on written exam during office hours or by appointment during the School’s allocated feedback period. 

Summative 

Recommended reading

Set texts:   

  • F. Rosales et al., Campus Sur, Libro del Alumno (Barcelona: Difusión) 

  • P. Muñoz and M. Thacker, A Spanish Learning Grammar (London: Arnold) 

  • Diccionario Oxford español-inglés, inglés-español (O.U.P.)  

Recommended texts:  

  • E. Spinelli, English Grammar for Students of Spanish (Arnold) 

  • R. E. Batchelor & M. A. San José, Using Spanish Vocabulary (Cambridge University Press)  

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Seminars 55
Independent study hours
Independent study 145

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Beatriz Macia Vega Unit coordinator

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