SPN-90007 - 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

Students must have completed Spanish 6 or equivalent (e.g AS-level grade 6-9 / A-B, CEFR level B1).

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25

This module is designed for students with a good knowledge of Spanish who have completed Spanish 6 (or equivalent). It will develop advanced communication skills in everyday situations as well as in more complex contexts, in particular in discussing a range of topical issues in Spanish or understanding contemporary Spain and the Hispanic world. Students will study some aspects of Latin American countries through their oral presentations and others like Chile, Sahara, etc more in detail in class.
Students will consolidate the skills they have acquired at previous levels and build on them by moving beyond the situations of everyday life to more challenging and stimulating tasks such as how to write a letter of presentation for a job, imagine the future and robotica, to set rules in given contexts etc. Students will extend their vocabulary base and be introduced to the more complex grammatical Spanish structures, including the contrast of past tenses, the use of periphrasis, to express conditions and future hypothesis, obligation, prohibition, impersonality, 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, extensive use will be made of Spanish/Hispanic resources available on the Internet to consolidate vocabulary, grammatical structures and themes dealt with in class. There will be further self-study opportunities via Keele Learning Environment (KLE). Feedback on formative and summative assessments will be provided at regular intervals.
There is also a Spanish club once a month led by students where to meet Spanish native speakers and learn further aspects of Spanish and Hispanic culture. Languages exchanges are also organised by the school.

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, the language level of this module corresponds to work leading to initial steps of Level B2 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR -B2).

This module aims to build on students' existing knowledge of Spanish and consolidate all areas of grammar, while at the same time expanding their vocabulary base. The module aims for the students:
- to develop an advanced mastery of Spanish and to enable communication, in both written and oral mode, in more formal areas of Spanish.
- to acquire a better understanding of contemporary Spanish society (such as education and social and political issues) as well as to introduce them more thoroughly to the various cultures and varieties of Spanish in the Hispanic world.
- to reflect on the language learning process and deploy language learning strategies appropriate to their level of competence.

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 when the delivery is relatively clear: 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. family, hobbies, 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