COURSE SYLLABUS: BEGINNER SPANISH
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Partner Institution: University of Belgrano
Course Title (English): Beginner Spanish
Course Title (Spanish): Español Básico
Sessions Offered: Fall Semester, Spring Semester
Instructional in: Spanish
Classroom Contact Hours: 90 contact hours
College Credit (Semester Credit Hours): 6 credit hours
College Credit (Quarter Units): 9 quarter units
Prerequisites: none
Local Department: Programa de estudios argentinos y latinoamericanos (PEAL)
Course Code: SPAN 120
Course Description
The course introduces students systematically to the grammatical and lexical features of the language in its social context.
This course is intended to provide students with a basic knowledge of the Spanish language, in order to perform satisfactorily in their academic and social activities in Argentina. In line with this objective, we will deal with diverse lexical and grammatical contexts and carry out didactic activities so that the students can engage in communicative situations at a beginners level.
Program Schedule
Week 1 | Course introduction. Ask and respond to questions about personal information. The Spanish alphabet. Personal Pronouns and the verb ser. Questions for the class. Numbers 1-100. Communicative situation: shopping at a kiosk. |
Week 2 | The time. Questions in Spanish. Food and drink vocabulary. Communicative situation: a restaurant. Informative text: Welcome to Buenos Aires. Vocabulary: weather and seasons. Present Indicative, regular verbs. |
Week 3 | Habitual activities and expressing frequency. Vocabulary: describing people. Gender and number. Verbs ser and tener. |
Week 4 | Literary text: The Buendía Family. Possessive adjectives. Vocabulary: family members and jobs. |
Week 5 | Dialogue: We’re moving! Vocabulary: parts of the house and objects in the classroom. Describing positions in space. Verbs estar and hay. Numbers 100-1,000. A party at home: describing activities in process (estar + gerund). |
Week 6 | Uses of the verbs ser and estar. Where are we going? The verb ir. Dialogue: How do I get to the Plaza de Mayo? Ask for and give directions. What are you going to do? Talk about plans: ir a + infinitive. |
Week 7 | Dialogue: A long weekend. Verbs querer and poder. Irregular verbs in the Present Indicative with changes e>ie and o>ue. What do you have to do? Express obligations and give recommendations: tener que + infinitive. |
Week 8 | Dialogue: Shall we watch a movie? Making invitations and organizing activities. Journalistic text: First Business Trip. Use of logical connectors. The verbs gustar, encantar and molestar. Express agreement and disagreement. Use of muy and mucho. |
Week 9 | Oral practice: tastes and preferences. Vocabulary: parts of the body and health problems. Verb doler. Enquiries about the midterm. Midterm written exam. |
Week 10 | Communicative situation: shopping. Vocabulary: clothes and accessories. Direct object pronouns. Journalistic text: Argentinians and Free Time. Present Indicative, irregular verbs in the first person singular. |
Week 11 | Let’s talk about the movies: movies for yesterday, today and forever. Present Indicative, systematization of irregular verbs. Dialogue: What’s your life like? Vocabulary: routines. Pronominal verbs. |
Week 12 | Latest news: Past Perfect Simple, regular verbs. Past bingo. Verbs ser and ir in the past. Email: vacations in the north. Simple Past, irregular verbs. |
Week 13 | Life stories. Simple Past, irregular verbs. Use of ya and todavía. Anecdotes: The first time I… Temporal expressions in the past. Use of a, de, en and other prepositions. |
Week 14 | Dialogue: so long! Reactions and comments. Use of the prepositions para and por. Journalistic text: On Top of the World. Revision and enquiries about the final exam. |
Week 15 | Final written exam. Final oral exam. Revise written exams and give final grades. Signing the certificate and the “Hoja de Situación” (attendance is compulsory). |
Course Evaluation
Students are expected to actively participate in classes and to give an oral presentation (the subject and date for the presentation will be agreed with the professor during the course). During the semester the students will have the chance to turn in written assignments up to two classes late. Assignments will not be accepted after this time period. Being absent from the previous lesson does not excuse a student from completing homework. Not meeting these requirements will have a negative impact on the final grade.
Participation and attendance | 15% |
Homework and written assignments | 15% |
Oral presentation | 10% |
Midterm exam (written) | 20% |
Final exam (oral and written) | 40% |
Attending 75% of the class is required to be permitted to take the final exam. The attendance record system is electronic. The professor will also keep a manual record of attendance, since this is a part of the courses’ final grade (see Course Evaluation, below). Unpunctuality (being over ten minutes late or leaving class early) will be considered to be half an absence. If a student does not attend a lesson, it is the students’ responsibility to contact their classmates or professor to find out about and complete any homework assigned for the following class.
For more details on grade transfer to the European or North American systems consult the comparative table in the student’s manual found in the Orientation Kit (p.9).
Bibliography (Text and Materials)
- Destefanis, María Eugenia y María de las Mercedes Sanrame; El mundo en español. Nivel Básico, Buenos Aires, Universidad de Belgrano, 2009. Material didáctico para la enseñanza de E/LS.
- AA.VV.; Gramática básica del estudiante de español, Barcelona, Difusión, 2005.
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