SPN-90008 - Module Specification
Language Centre
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

Spanish 7 or equivalent (e.g. AS-level grade 7-9/ A-A*, CEFR level B1)

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25

In this module students will develop advanced communication skills in Spanish in everyday situations as well as in more complex contexts, in particular in discussing a range of topical issues in contemporary Spain and in more detail Spanish young people with their habits, aspirations, difficulties etc, all in contrast with other cultures represented in class. The main linguistic functions involve: express hope, wishes, complaints, demands, need, suggest solutions, giving advice and recommendations, etc. Students will consolidate the skills acquired at previous levels and build on them by moving beyond the situations of everyday life to more challenging and stimulating tasks such as to write an open letter to expose problems and to explore Spanish society through film, shorts, readings. In order to perform these tasks, some problematic aspects of Spanish grammar will be dealt with, including uses of subjunctive, conditional tenses, past tenses, use of connectives etc.
All language skills - reading, listening, speaking and writing as well as the pragmatic-socio cultural dimension of the language - are integrated in every tutorial. Students will also investigate the ways to learn and acquire a language, based on their own motivations and difficulties when learning Spanish.
The course book will be supplemented by a range of video material and there will be a variety of tasks and exercises during each class, such as discussion and role play; listening comprehension and reading and writing tasks and students will be required to complete a range of self-study tasks. Furthermore, students will make extensive use of Spanish/Latin American resources available on the Internet to consolidate vocabulary, grammatical structures and themes dealt with in class. There will be further self-study opportunities via the KLE. Feedback on formative and summative assessments will be provided at regular intervals.
Upon successful completion of this module and provided that students apply themselves fully to the course, by attending all classes, full use of practice materials on KLE will and engaging whenever possible with Spanish native speakers, they will normally have reached level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR - B2)

This module aims to build on students' existing knowledge of Spanish and to consolidate all areas of grammar, while at the same time expanding the vocabulary base to enable students to confidently discuss various aspects of contemporary Spanish speaking societies and follow-on social and political problems. The course is also designed to inquire in further depth about cultural differences of Spanish speaking countries.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Understand the main points of clear standard speech including radio or TV programmes on current affairs or topics of personal or professional interest: 1,3
Interpret, summarise and extract key information from a variety of written texts that consist of everyday or job-related language and description of events, feelings and wishes: 1,2
Interact and enter unprepared into conversations on topics that are familiar, of personal interest or pertinent to everyday life (e.g. studies, work, travel and current events): 3
Write clear coherent texts on topics which are familiar, of personal interest, describing experiences and impressions or expressing points of view: 1,2
Recognise and use different complex linguistic structures in the target language and compare them to the English language: 1,2,3
Demonstrate awareness of cultural issues, as well as accurate use of the language with regard to vocabulary, grammar, register and style, and of different varieties of Spanish: 1,2,3

Study hours

22 hours of contact time in class.
40 hours assessment preparation and completion.
88 hours guided independent study.

School Rules

Admission to the module must be confirmed through completion of a language level self-assessment form
Students are only allowed to take one Spanish language module per semester.

Description of Module Assessment