COURSE SYLLABUS: BEGINNER SPANISH I

Location: Granada, Spain

Partner Institution: University of Granada

Course Title: Beginner Spanish I (Español Principiante A)

Level: 1 (A1)

Program Title: CILE (Curso Intensivo de Lengua Española - Intensive Spanish Language Course)

Instruction in: Spanish

Contact Hours: 

        4 Weeks (80 hours – 4 hours of class per day)

        2 Weeks (40 hours - 4 hours of class per day)

• Depending on the Easter holidays, the CILE course in March or April is 60 hours instead of 80. In December only a 40 hour program is offered.
• During the months of June, July and August students who need 90 or 45 contact hours for credit may add on 10 extra hours of Spanish as part of the program.

Note: The program for Spanish Courses complies with the content description set out in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. A level test is given at the start of the program.

General Description

To understand and express oneself in daily situations and those situations related to the learner’s personal experience, with basic linguistic resources. To exchange simple and direct information.

Objectives

Listening comprehension: To understand the meaning of conversation held between two native speakers whose topic is related to the personal experience of the learner.

Oral production: To express oneself by means of simple linguistic structures in daily situations and topics related to the experience of the learner.

Reading comprehension: To understand the general meaning of short texts related to daily life and to the personal experience of the learner.

Writing skills: To make out lists, write notes and short texts related to daily life and to the personal experience of the learner.

Course Content

Communicative Content:

• Communication control: how to say, how to pronounce, how to write or translate text.

• Express purpose.
• Give and ask for information about one’s name, nationality, age and profession.
• Identify, define, classify.
• Give and ask for information about the location of objects and places.
• Give and ask for information about quantities, exact and approximate.
• Express and ask about preference.
• Refer to the characteristics of objects: use, weight, origin
• Make comparisons.
• Contrast information.
• Identify objects in a collection by their shape, brand, color, location, etc.
• Describe people on a basic level by their physical appearance and their character.
• Speak about similarities.
• Evaluate activities.
• Speak about plans and projects.
• Speak about the past.
• Express likes and interests.
• Show agreement and disagreement.
• Emphasize the important elements of something.
• Propose an activity: offer, invite, accept and refuse.
• Conversations in a restaurant situation

Grammatical Content:

• Alphabet and spelling
• Relation between writing and pronunciation
• Infinitive forms in the three conjugations.
• ‘Para’ noun and infinitive
• Intonation in interrogative phrases
• Subject pronoun: presence/absence.
• Definite and indefinite articles
• Present indicative of the most frequent regular and irregular verbs: tener, querer, haber, hacer, ser, ir, conocer, saber, poner, estar, salir, traducir, parecer, conducir, crecer.
• Diphthong and vowel alternation of the present in ‘e’, ‘ie’, ‘o’, ‘ue’, ‘e’, ‘i’, ‘u’, ‘ue’, :preferir, poder, seguir, jugar.
• Interrogative phrases with yes/no answers.
• Co-ordination of elements with y, o, pero
• Numerals
• The time: asking and responding.
• Gender and number of the qualifying adjective
• Forms and uses of the demonstratives
• Forms and uses of the possessives
• Forms and uses of the interrogatives: qué, quién/quiénes.
• Preposition de + topic, material and possessor.
• Relative clauses: que, donde.
• Uses of the verb ser : identification, definition, classification.
• Most frequent reflexive verbs: llamarse, parecerse.
• Nationalities and their gender
• Professions and their gender
• Resources to refer to a set of objects or to its components: (casi)
• todos, la mayoría, muchos, algunos, no muchos.
• Uses of estar and hay

Cultural Content:

• General norms of behavior in Spanish society
• Elemental phrases for communication: expressive resources.
• Body language: distances.
• Stereotypes:

• How do the Spanish consider foreigners?
• How do foreigners consider the Spanish?

• Daily life:

• Timetables: work, business and leisure time.
• Meals and food

• The family: general characteristics.
• Geographical situation and general characteristics of Spain
• The Democracy:

• The autonomous regions
• The Monarchy

• Introduction to the main Spanish cultural artistic expressions:

• Flamenco
• Bullfighting

Evaluation

Assessment is on a continuous basis and progress is also evaluated in the end-of-course exam.

The final exam is divided into two parts:

1. Written exam (2 hours)

1.1. Listening comprehension (20 minutes)
1.2 Reading comprehension (30 minutes)
1.3 Written expression (30 minutes)

1.4 Linguistic competency (40 minutes)

2. Oral exam (10 to 15 minutes if done with a partner or 5 to 10 minutes if done individually)

2.1 Oral expression

2.2 Oral interaction

Listening comprehension: 20% of final grade

Reading comprehension: 20% of final grade

Written expression: 20% of final grade

Linguistic competency: 20% of final grade

Oral expression: 20% of final grade

Contact Information:
SOL EDUCATION ABROAD
EMAIL: info@soleducation.com
WEB: www.soleducation.com
PHONE: 512.380.1003
FAX: 512.287.4886
MAIL: 503 Oakland Ave. Austin, TX 78703