Details
Code 20088
Level of study First Year
Credit value 10
Semester Across both
Pre-requisite modules 15729 or equivalent
Other pre-requisites Free standing module
Module description
Structures:
The aim is to help you to improve your style when speaking and/or writing in Spanish. The course content will be drawn from some of the following key aspects of advanced Spanish grammar.
Use and understanding of:
Past tenses.
Indicative vs Subjunctive.
Participle, gerund and infinitive constructions.
Indirect speech.
Adjectival sentences.
Advervial sentences.
Prepositions.
Prefixes and suffixes (word formation).
Grammatical and stylistic aspects of translation from Spanish into English will be an additional option.
Topics:
The course will focus upon analysis of socio-cultural aspects of Spanish speaking cultures which will be selected from topics listed below:
History: from dictatorship to democracy, an overview of Spanish politics since the 1930’s.
Spain as a multicultural society: immigration.
The arts:
cinema in Spanish speaking countries and its role in the world of arts.
new writers in the Spanish speaking world and their contribution to literature
The media: its influence on the changes in Spanish society as a whole.
Current affairs: various topical social, cultural, economic and political events in the Spanish speaking world as they occur.
Language functions:
Debate and discuss with confidence in a Spanish-speaking environment.
Understand and evaluate spoken and written Spanish from a variety of authentic sources
including TV and Internet.
Develop your awareness of the society and culture of contemporary Spanish speaking
countries.
Express attitudes to issues and opinions both orally and in writing.
Sustain a conversation about or a discussion on general topics.
Translate short texts.
Develop oral presentation skills.
By the end of the module you should be able to:
read and understand long authentic articles
listen to and understand native speakers of Spanish
express opinions on and discuss topics covered in the course
deliver a short oral presentation from notes, in Spanish
understand more advanced topics in Spanish grammar
work independently with a variety of Spanish sources
write extensively in Spanish
display knowledge of selected key aspects of society in Spanish speaking countries
Teaching and learning methods
Practical language classes involving both whole-group and small group/pair work activities, with emphasis on communicative settings, use of visual aids and audio/video recording and the Internet. Language laboratories may be used where appropriate