An upper-intermediate Spanish course, in which the linguistic and communicative contents of each course are based on three criteria: a) grammar, b) oral and written expression and comprehension, and c) cultural context. The specific content will be chosen based on usefulness and frequency in everyday communication, especially in a university-level academic setting.
Prerequisites:
None
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
Communication
Talk about the past (including descriptions) using imperfecto, indefinido, pluscuamperfecto;
Express hypothetical situations referring to past, present and future;
Read magazine and newspaper articles, academic texts, opinion and narrative pieces and understand the main ideas and details;
Express and understand complex ideas;
Write short essays with personal opinions and quotations;
Explain simple topics to an audience;
Use indirect speech to retell a dialogue;
Solve most situations that may arise during a trip to an area where Spanish is used;
Describe experiences, events and wishes and provide a brief explanation for the opinions or plans; express possession
Apply for a job;
Describe activities (estar + gerundio);
Invite, accept or reject invitations;
Make suggestions, give advice;
Express emotions, likes, preferences (using the subjunctive); express wishes (Subjunctive present and imperfect, Infinitive); show agreement or disagreement;
Express doubts about a future event.
Grammar
Review of personal pronouns (paying special attention on the second person pronouns: vos/tú/usted; ustedes/vosotros).
Pronouns: demonstrative, possessive, relative
Impersonal sentences: se + conjugated verb; haber.
Periphrastic future.
Use of the subjunctive to express wishes, doubt, probability, possibility, etc.; contexts of use, pretérito perfecto compuesto, pretérito imperfecto.
The imperative: its morphology, regular and irregular forms; use of the imperative to give advice, make a suggestion, give an order, etc.; the negation of the imperative: use and characteristics
Formal vs. informal register: the most frequent forms in each register to ask, request, deny, etc.
Use of written accents: rules and exceptions.
Prepositions.
Use of verbs of transformation: hacerse, volverse, ponerse, quedarse, llegar a…
Time markers: organization of a narrative.
Narrative tenses: pretérito pluscuamperfecto and condicional.
Conditional sentences: real, possible and non-real.
Method of presentation:
Lectures will be supplemented with activities and exercises, such as role plays and field studies, designed to actively involve the students in the use of language. Assignments on grammar and vocabulary, quizzes, authentic reading materials, and weekly written and oral assignments will be a regular part of the course as well. Students will complete 3 research projects, a midterm and a final examination.
Required work and form of assessment:
10% Participation
10% Daily Homework
10% Quizzes
10% Research Project 1
10% Research Project 2
10% Research Project 3
20% Midterm exam
20% Final exam
An 80% attendance is required.
content:
(This weekly schedule may be subject to change)
Week 1
Communication: Introducing oneself and other people.
Grammar: Indicative review: Regular and irregular verbs. The Pronominal system. Review of personal pronouns (paying special attention on the second person pronouns: vos/tú/usted; ustedes/vosotros).
Culture: The Study abroad experience: what do you expect from it?
Week 2
Communication: Expressing wishes
Grammar: Impersonal sentences: se + conjugated verb; verbo haber impersonal.
Culture: Porteño culture: how are the people in Buenos Aires?
Week 3
Communication: Talking about hypothetical ideas.
Grammar: Subjunctive: contexts of use, pretérito perfecto compuesto, pretérito imperfecto.
Culture: Main differences between American and Argentinean culture
Week 4
Communication: Reading newspapers
Grammar: The Imperative: its morphology, regular and irregular forms. Use of the imperative to give advice, make a suggestion, give an order, etc.
Culture: Variety within the Spanish language (accents and dialects)
Week 5 PRESENTATION OF PROJECT 1
Interview of a Porteño)
Week 6
Communication: Analyzing formal texts
Grammar: Formal vs. informal register: the most frequent forms in each register to ask, request, deny, etc.
Culture: Buenos Aires cultural offering: playhouses, cafés, art exhibitions, etc. MID-TERM EXAM
Week 7
Communication: Making plans
Grammar: Use of verbs of transformation: hacerse, volverse, ponerse, quedarse, llegar a… Periphrastic
future
Culture: Argentina and its provinces. Talk about differences between the city and the country.
Week 8
Communication: Reading short stories
Grammar: Narrative tenses: pretérito pluscuamperfecto and condicional. Time markers: organization of a narrative.
Culture: Biographies of Argentine writers
Week 9
Communication: A Film or book review
Grammar: Argumentative techniques: showing agreement, disagreement, doubt. Use of the subjunctive in reported speech.
Culture: watch an Argentine film
Week 10 PRESENTATION OF PROJECT 2
(Theme: city/country, students will present on a chosen topic (a museum, food and drink, parks, art, a TV show, traditions, soccer, etc.))
Week 11
Communication: Debating in Spanish
Grammar: Argumentative devices: connectors and discourse markers.
Week 12
REVIEW
Week 13 PRESENTATION OF PROJECT 3
(Presentation of a cultural topic of the students’ choice—ex. something learned in a field-study, IES Abroad trip, another IES Abroad course, cultural activity, etc)
Week 14 FINAL
Required readings:
Reading materials are chosen according to Spanish level: signs, magazines and newspaper articles, short stories, reviews, biographies, manuals, poems, lyrics, recipes, papers, short novels, etc.
An upper-intermediate Spanish course, in which the linguistic and communicative contents of each course are based on three criteria: a) grammar, b) oral and written expression and comprehension, and c) cultural context. The specific content will be chosen based on usefulness and frequency in everyday communication, especially in a university-level academic setting.
None
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
Communication
Grammar
Lectures will be supplemented with activities and exercises, such as role plays and field studies, designed to actively involve the students in the use of language. Assignments on grammar and vocabulary, quizzes, authentic reading materials, and weekly written and oral assignments will be a regular part of the course as well. Students will complete 3 research projects, a midterm and a final examination.
10% Participation
10% Daily Homework
10% Quizzes
10% Research Project 1
10% Research Project 2
10% Research Project 3
20% Midterm exam
20% Final exam
An 80% attendance is required.
(This weekly schedule may be subject to change)
Week 1
Communication: Introducing oneself and other people.
Grammar: Indicative review: Regular and irregular verbs. The Pronominal system. Review of personal pronouns (paying special attention on the second person pronouns: vos/tú/usted; ustedes/vosotros).
Culture: The Study abroad experience: what do you expect from it?
Week 2
Communication: Expressing wishes
Grammar: Impersonal sentences: se + conjugated verb; verbo haber impersonal.
Culture: Porteño culture: how are the people in Buenos Aires?
Week 3
Communication: Talking about hypothetical ideas.
Grammar: Subjunctive: contexts of use, pretérito perfecto compuesto, pretérito imperfecto.
Culture: Main differences between American and Argentinean culture
Week 4
Communication: Reading newspapers
Grammar: The Imperative: its morphology, regular and irregular forms. Use of the imperative to give advice, make a suggestion, give an order, etc.
Culture: Variety within the Spanish language (accents and dialects)
Week 5
PRESENTATION OF PROJECT 1
Interview of a Porteño)
Week 6
Communication: Analyzing formal texts
Grammar: Formal vs. informal register: the most frequent forms in each register to ask, request, deny, etc.
Culture: Buenos Aires cultural offering: playhouses, cafés, art exhibitions, etc.
MID-TERM EXAM
Week 7
Communication: Making plans
Grammar: Use of verbs of transformation: hacerse, volverse, ponerse, quedarse, llegar a… Periphrastic
future
Culture: Argentina and its provinces. Talk about differences between the city and the country.
Week 8
Communication: Reading short stories
Grammar: Narrative tenses: pretérito pluscuamperfecto and condicional. Time markers: organization of a narrative.
Culture: Biographies of Argentine writers
Week 9
Communication: A Film or book review
Grammar: Argumentative techniques: showing agreement, disagreement, doubt. Use of the subjunctive in reported speech.
Culture: watch an Argentine film
Week 10
PRESENTATION OF PROJECT 2
(Theme: city/country, students will present on a chosen topic (a museum, food and drink, parks, art, a TV show, traditions, soccer, etc.))
Week 11
Communication: Debating in Spanish
Grammar: Argumentative devices: connectors and discourse markers.
Week 12
REVIEW
Week 13
PRESENTATION OF PROJECT 3
(Presentation of a cultural topic of the students’ choice—ex. something learned in a field-study, IES Abroad trip, another IES Abroad course, cultural activity, etc)
Week 14
FINAL
Reading materials are chosen according to Spanish level: signs, magazines and newspaper articles, short stories, reviews, biographies, manuals, poems, lyrics, recipes, papers, short novels, etc.