Admission requirements
This course is only available for students in the BA International Studies programme.
Description
This is a language course for students with no previous knowledge of Spanish and the first of three language proficiency courses. The course aims to give students a basic knowledge of listening, reading, written and spoken skills in a communicative way: attention will be paid to the use of the language in practical everyday situations. The focus is on accuracy as well as communication.
The textbook Aula makes the classroom the perfect context for quick learning with a balance between developing receptive and productive skills that maximizes student interaction.
Besides the textbook, we will use the Grammar and Vocabulary Companion, that includes more than 100 exercises of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation; the beginners course also has its own online resources (web grammar classes).
Course objectives
This course aims to provide students with no previous knowledge of Spanish with an introduction to simple everyday language and culture of the Spanish-speaking countries. It enables the student to achieve a good level A1 (A2 for reading) of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).
Spanish 1 Beginners is the first course in a series of three language acquisition courses within the International Studies program. The final objective of this course series is to obtain an intermediate level of proficiency in Spanish, aimed at communication with people in the region in everyday social situations and enabling students to follow current affairs in the region via various media.
| Skill | CEFR Level |
|---|---|
| Reading | A2 |
| Writing | A1 |
| Listening | A1+ |
| Speaking | A1 |
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Tutorials
Three two-hour tutorials every week, with the exception of the midterm exam week. Attending all tutorial sessions is compulsory. For this reason, if you are unable to attend a session, it is required that you inform your tutor in advance. Please note that being absent at any tutorial session may have a negative impact on the grade of the assignment due for that particular tutorial session. This is at the discretion of the tutor.
Assessment method
Assessment & weighing
| Partial grade | Weighing |
|---|---|
| In-class participation and homework, quizzes (grammar and vocabulary) | 20% |
| Midterm Exam (listening comprehension & reading comprehension & written production) | 25% |
| Final Exam (listening comprehension & reading comprehension & written production) | 35% |
| Oral Exam (presentations and interview and interaction with another student) | 20% |
End Grade
To successfully complete the course, please take note that the End Grade of the course is established by determining the weighted average of the in-class oral and listening performance, and written exams.
The End Grade needs to be a 6.0 or higher to pass the course.
Resit
If the End Grade is insufficient (lower than a 6.0), there is a possibility of retaking the full 80% of the exam material (reading, writing, speaking, and listening). No resit for the tutorial (participation) is possible.
Exam review and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
Corpas, García, Garmendia, Aula Internacional Plus 1 Libro del alumno + MP3 versión Talenland (edición Premium). SKU: 9789463251341.
Teresa Alonso y Marina Rabadan, Aula Internacional 1, Grammar and Vocabulary Companion, Difusión 2014. SKU: 9788415846888.
Online material published on Brightspace (reading texts and web classes).
Registration
Enrolment through uSis for Tutorials is mandatory.
Students will be enrolled for Exams by the Administration Office, as long as they have a valid Tutorial enrolment.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Student Affairs Office for BA International Studies
Remarks
Passing this course is an additional requirement for a positive Study Recommendation at the end of the year.
This course uses an integrated communicative language learning method. Therefore active participation in the classroom activities is essential for successful learning outcomes.