Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

This module is open to all students wishing to study Spanish at Beginner level (both true beginners and students with a limited prior knowledge of Spanish).
Students who have an A-Level or equivalent in Spanish cannot take this module.
Students whose first language is Spanish, and received secondary education taught in Spanish, cannot take this module.

Co Requisite Comment

None

Aims

In consonance with the overall aims of the degree offered in SML this module will:

- Focus on developing the students' communicative competence in the foreign language (including fluency, grammar and lexical accuracy, range and pronunciation);
- Prepare students for the future study of the language (written communicative and oral / aural skills);
- Facilitate students' ability to establish and maintain effective social and working relations with speakers of the foreign language in written and spoken output.
- Develop independent language learning strategies.

This module is intended for students wishing to study Spanish at beginner level, both true beginners and students with a limited prior knowledge of Spanish. This is a general language class offering students the opportunity to study and practise Spanish (speaking, reading, writing and listening skills) for four weekly contact hours. Themes and communication skills addressed in the language classes include: talking about yourself; expressing opinions: agreement and disagreement; and referring to past and future events (including plans and intentions).

Outline Of Syllabus

Examples of themes and communication skills addressed in the language classes include:

- Talking (including listening) and writing about yourself (personal information, likes and dislikes etc).
- Socializing (including both speaking and listening): making appointments, making/ accepting/ declining invitations.
- Talking (including listening) and writing about other people: family relationships etc.
- Expressing opinions: agreement and disagreement in speaking and writing.
- Making requests formally and informally.
- Referring to present, past and future events (including plans and intentions, in speaking and writing).
- Writing informal letters, descriptions, simple reports and narratives.
- Talking (including listening) and writing about landscape and climate.
- Talking (including listening) and writing about careers and professions.
- Talking (including listening) and writing about university life.
- Talking (including listening) and writing about travel.

Please note that tasks concerning talking involve both speaking and listening.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

By the end of the module, students will have had the opportunity to acquire:

- a body of vocabulary sufficient to allow the learner to communicate orally and in writing with confidence at a basic user level;
- an understanding of key traditional grammatical concepts and sufficient grasp of the functioning of the language to be to able to interact with confidence and some flexibility at the level described above and some knowledge of basic metalanguage;
- sufficient familiarity with exponents of a functional and notional syllabus to allow the learner to communicate his or her language needs simply and clearly at basic user level;
- some knowledge of the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries.

Intended Skill Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student should be able to:

- communicate his or her basic needs and opinions simply and clearly in speech or in writing with some regard to appropriateness of register;
- understand the gist of simple authentic written and spoken text and have sufficient linguistic tools to be able to use this information for his or her own purposes;
- deal with some situations which occur predictably whilst travelling in the countries where Spanish is spoken;
- relate in speech or in writing events that took place in the past;
- discuss or write about future events;
- work as a team member to solve a problem;
- make a short, simple oral presentation on a topic of interest.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Rationale:
- Linguistic knowledge and the ability to use language effectively (i.e. linguistic skills) are intrinsically linked.
- Teaching and learning these outcomes (knowledge and skills) effectively implies presenting, practising and consolidating them via language classes and private study as indicated above.

Relationship of Teaching and Learning Methods to Learning Outcomes:

- The integration of linguistic knowledge i.e. vocabulary, grammar, functions, notions and knowledge of the cultures in Spanish-speaking countries and the key skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening is appropriately served by the language classes through suitable presentations and plenty of practice through individual, pair and group work.
- In common with other foreign languages, Spanish requires substantial ’structured guided learning’ and ‘guided independent study’. Through this study:
(1) the knowledge introduced and practised in the classes is previewed, revised, consolidated and expanded.
(2) students are also given opportunities to practise further reading, writing and listening skills.
(3) students learn to evaluate their own performance and develop a range of strategies for language learning.

- To ensure the learning of the above outcomes is effective, formative feedback is given in two ways:
(1) indirectly through self-assessment e.g. through internet and commercially available answer keys and
(2) directly by the teacher e.g. in the writing skills exercises which students carry out on a regular basis.

THIS COURSE WILL BE TAUGHT AND ASSESSED IN SPANISH AND ENGLISH

If necessary, all teaching can be delivered online

*(Continued from above) Includes ‘readings from published work authored for this purpose covering key concepts and content; a curated set of external resources or activities; student tasks to support and reinforce understanding of key concepts’

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Knowledge outcomes will be assessed by each of the modes of assessment defined above.

- Reading, grammar and writing – written examination. The written examination will test students’ ability to read and understand texts in the target language, and to write in the target language. Students may be allowed to type their own answers provided that spell check/grammar check has been disabled.

-Listening – aural examination. This assessment will test students’ ability to listen and to understand audio sources and to respond appropriately in written form.

- Speaking: Oral examination. This assessment will test students’ ability to produce and present their own output orally.

These assessment methods are commonly used in language testing and are appropriate to the individual skills being assessed.

General Notes

N/A