All year

Unit(s) of Assessment	Weighting Towards Module Mark( %)
Coursework: short reading, writing and listening comprehension tasks, selected from all the students’ coursework.	30%
Coursework: oral tests (an oral presentation and a debate) in semesters 1 and 2.	20%
Coursework: a grammar in-class test at the end of semester 1.	10%
Coursework: a listening in-class test at end of semester 2.	10%
Exam: a 2-hour written examination (grammar and reading/writing skills) at the end of semester 2	30%

Qualifying Condition(s)
A weighted aggregate of 40% is required to pass the module

This is a level 1 intensive module for ab initio Spanish students, focused on developing the four language skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing), and grammar, to a B1+/B2 level. It is taught over 22 weeks, 4 hours a week.

Beginners and false beginners of Spanish.

The aim of this module is to develop the students’ linguistic abilities to approximately B1+/B2 (in the Common European Framework) by the end of the first year in the four language skills and grammar.

It is expected that on successful completion of this module students will:

• demonstrate communicative competence in the four skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing in Spanish at an upper intermediate level.
• understand and manipulate the grammatical patterns of modern Spanish necessary for an upper intermediate level of communicative competence

This is a language module which entails the use of all four skills:

• Reading for gist and detail in a variety of registers.
• Listening for gist and detail in a variety of registers.
• Writing letters, essays, reports, articles, narrative/discursive genres, etc.
• Speaking in a variety of social situations; telephone conventions; presenting orally and debating.

Topics will include:

• Personal information
• Social interaction
• The world of work
• Leisure
• Geography
• Time & spatial relationships
• Culture & Society in the Spanish-speaking world

Functions will include:

• Greetings
• Describing people, objects, places, events
• Giving information
• Giving instructions
• Locating people, objects, places
• Comparing and contrasting
• Expressing likes/dislikes, interest
• Talking about present/future/past events
• Talking about habits in the present/past
• Talking about plans for the future
• Arranging a meeting
• Giving and reacting to opinions
• Giving advice
• Offering and requesting
• Expressing wishes and making/accepting/rejecting suggestions
• Expressing hypothesis
• Agreeing/disagreeing

• Gender, number and verbal agreement
• the various uses of ser/estar
• regular and irregular verbs in the present, future and past tenses
• conditional tense
• subjunctive mood (Present and introduction to Imperfect)
• reflexive verbs
• imperatives
• active and passive voices
• demonstrative/possessive adjectives and pronouns
• comparisons
• prepositions and adverbs
• word order

Seminars will focus on the four skills and on grammar. Each week, students will be set tasks to do outside of class, including reading comprehension (from selected texts and larger readings), listening comprehension (to do in the language resource centre or in the language labs), specific writing tasks and preparation for oral tasks/debates in class. The students are asked to read a book as part of their reading tasks.
The students are encouraged to use online materials and multimedia packages to support their learning outside of class.. Attendance to classes is compulsory.

Textbook for the course:

• Miquel, Lourdes and Sans, Neus. Rápido, rápido. Libro del alumno. Barcelona: Difusión. ISBN: 84-8443-065-0

In addition, students should purchase:

• Pilar Muñoz and Mike Thacker (2001) A Spanish Learning Grammar; Arnold, London

Recommended bilingual dictionaries:

• The Collins Spanish Dictionary (latest edition) & The Oxford Spanish Dictionary (latest edition)

JULY 2009