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 has a communicative approach: attention will be paid to the use of the language in practical everyday situations. The focus will be on reading and listening, but also on speaking (production and interaction) and writing. For this purpose, vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar and the most important standard phrases will be taught as the key elements of this course.
Aula Internacional 1 is an action orientated Spanish course that 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, and online resources to supplement learning (web 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 timetable is available on the BA International Studies website.
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.
Course Load
Total course load for this course is 10 EC (1 EC = 28 hours), which equals 280 hours, broken down by:
| Component | Estimated time |
|---|---|
| Attending classes | 72 hours |
| Assessment hours (exams) | 6 hours |
| Preparing for classes, exams and extra activities | 202 hours |
Assessment method
Assessment & weighing
| Partial grade | Weighing |
|---|---|
| Participation & Quizzes (grammar and vocabulary) | 20% |
| Midterm Exam (listening comprehension & reading comprehension & written production) | 30% |
| Final Exam (listening comprehension & reading comprehension & written production) | 30% |
| 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.
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used for this course. Students are requested to enroll on Blackboard, but only after correct enrolment in uSis.
Reading list
Corpas, García, Garmendia, Aula internacional 1 Nueva edición, Difusión 2013.
SKU: 9789463250009
Teresa Alonso y Marina Rabadan, Aula Internacional 1, Grammar and Vocabulary Companion, Difusión 2014.
SKU: 9788415846888
Online material published on Blackboard (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.
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable
Contact
Drs. M.J. Pérez Rodríguez (coordinator)
When contacting lecturers or tutors, please include your full name, student number, and tutorial group number.
Please use your University email-address (uMail) when communicating with any person or department within Leiden University.
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.