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. This compact volume contains the Coursebook, the Workbook, the class audio recordings (mp3) and an extensive grammar summary (más gramática) with a complete table of regular and irregular verbs.
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).
This course 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. If you are unable to attend a session, please inform your tutor in advance, providing a valid reason for your absence. Being absent will result in a lowering of the participation grade with 0.5 for every absence after the first five (5) times.
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.
The BA International Studies program does not allow students to resit passed (constituent) examination(s) within the language courses. Language acquisition is, primarily, accomplished through in-class acquisition activities and practical assignments which contribute to the (final) examination. The diverse structure of the language courses and characteristics of language acquisition therefore withhold the possibility to resit a passed examination.
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.
Libro de lectura para estudiantes de español – nivel A1-A2 – (to be announced)
Lourdes Miquel y Neus Sans, Lola Lago & asociados: Sin noticias, Difusión, ISBN: 9788418032080
Online material published on Brightspace (reading texts and web classes).
Registration
Enrolment for the workgroup through My Studymap is mandatory.
No enrolment needed for the language exams.
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.