Spanish Language & Culture (Level 1) (2225.YR.011203.1)

General information

Type:	OBL	Curs:	1	Period:	S semester
ECTS Credits:	4 ECTS

Teaching Staff:

Group	Teacher	Department	Language
Year 1	Joaquin Boyero Merino	Sección Español	ESP

As this course is for beginners, there are no prerequisites.

Every class session includes activities to be carried out outside of class to help students assimilate the content through practice.

In an increasingly globalised world, business is not only undertaken at a regional level or solely with neighbouring countries, but on a much wider scale. As such, versatile and multilingual communication skills are necessary along with a broad and varied cultural background.

Globalisation also affects the job market, and there is greater competition than ever. In the case of students visiting us, the need to master a second or third language such as Spanish is fundamental, opening doors to job markets in Spain and Latin America or for job recruitment processes in Spanish-speaking firms as well as anywhere else in the world. Mastering a third language also enables students to complete their university studies abroad (such as in Spain or any Latin American country).

In terms of the programme, learning and mastering Spanish gives students the opportunity to attend classes and conferences, as well as participate in work groups conducted solely in Spanish and interact with their colleagues.

The aim of the Spanish Language and Culture subject is to provide students with the resources needed to achieve a basic level in the language and be able to comfortably interact in day-to-day situations.

Students will be able to develop learning strategies appropriate for their level and be able to converse with native speakers at an appropriate rhythm and speed.

Taking advantage of the immersive situation in which students find themselves, this course also aims to enable students to fully integrate in local social, cultural and academic life, participating actively and sharing spaces with faculty, classmates and others in their social setting.

Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:

- Understand and use common expressions found in day-to-day situations as well as simple phrases aimed at satisfying immediate needs.
- Introduce themselves and others, ask for and give basic information about their homes, belongings and the people they know.
- Interact at the elementary level so long as the other speaks slowly and clearly and is willing to cooperate.
- Understand and produce written and oral texts on immediate needs as well as habitual topics with which they are familiar.
- Communicate to carry out simple daily tasks that don't require more than the simple and direct exchange of information about questions with which they are familiar.
- Describe elements of their past and environment in simple terms as well as questions related to their immediate needs.
- Use vocabulary and expressions related to companies and the business world in simple terms

1. FUNCTIONAL CONTENT - Saying hello and goodbye. - Useful expressions to control communication. - Begin communications and react. - Introduce oneself and others. - Ask for confirmation. - Talk about habitual actions in the past (present perfect indicative). - Identify and describe: people (physical traits and personality), places, objects, nationalities, professions. - Locate objects, places and people spatially. - Express and ask about opinions. - Express and ask about tastes and preferences. - Express and ask about states of mind. - Express physical sensations. - Express knowledge and ignorance. - Express and ask about the ability to do things. - Express total agreement and disagreement. - Ask for, give and deny permission. - Talk about habitual actions in the present. - Locate objects, places and people in space. - Ask for and give directions. - Express and ask about others' opinions. - Express and ask about likes and preferences. - Express and ask about states of mind. - Ask for, give and deny permission. - Request. - Express needs and obligations. - Talk about plans and intentions. - Propose and suggest. - Agree on and change a date/meeting. - Offer and invite. - Accept and reject. - Advise. - Express best wishes. - Congratulate.

2. GRAMMATICAL CONTENT - Morphology and the use of regular and irregular verbs in the present indicative: the verb llamarse and other reflexive verbs. - Ser, estar, tener and haber. - Contrast between hay/está/están. - Gustar; saber/poder. - Tener que + infinitive. - Necesitar + infinitive. - Querer + infinitive. - Poder + infinitive. - Estar + gerund. - Periphrastic future: Ir + a + infinitive; past perfect in the indicative. - Nouns: gender and number; proper and common nouns. - Adjectives: descriptive adjectives and adjectives of place; gender and number; adjective word order; demonstrative adjectives and pronouns: gender and number; form for the neuter singular (esto, eso, aquello). - Numbers: cardinal and ordinal. - Personal subject pronouns: forms, presence/absence of tú/usted. - Possessive adjectives and pronouns. - Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns. - Adverbs. - Prepositions: a, con, de, en, entre, para, por, sin, desde - hasta/ de - a, hacia, sobre. - Morphology and use of regular and irregular verbs in the Present Perfect tense (haber + regular/irregular past participles). - Temporal markers: hoy, esta mañana, ya/ todavía no, nunca, alguna vez, siempre. - Morphology and use of the past simple: regular and irregular verbs. - Morphology and use of the imperfect tense; uses with antes and ahora. - Comparatives and superlatives: más... que, menos... que tan/tanto.... como, igual que, más/menos que. - Indefinite pronouns: algo, alguien, nada, nadie. - Direct object pronouns for the 3rd person: lo, la, los, las. - Use of se: impersonal reflexive. - Compound sentence structures: copulative, disjuntive, adversative, causal, temporal and final.

3. THEMATICAL AND LEXICAL CONTENT - Personal identification. - Classroom objects. - Class language. - Work and professions. - Countries, nationalities and languages. - Neighbourhoods and cities. - Physical states. - States of mind. - Character and personality. - Physical traits. - Parts of the body. - Adjectives to describe people and objects. - Marital status. - Likes and hobbies. - Bars and restaurants. - Sport. - Homes. - Clothing. - The family - Food and meals. - Markets and supermarkets. - Numbers. - Weights and measurements. - Time; calendar, parts of the day, the days of the week, months. - Colours. - Means of transport. - Antonyms. - More adjectives to describe people. - Adjectives to describe objects: materials and shapes. - Hotels, offices and banks. - More vocabulary related to cities and neighbourhoods. - Shopping, stores and establishments. - Codified structures to talk on the phone.

4. CULTURAL AND SOCIOLINGUISTIC CONTENT - Greetings and introductions. - Tú versus Usted. - When to use different greetings. - Different ways to greet others: kiss, shake hands, etc. - Thank, accept, excuse oneself, reject, congratulate, express condolences, toast and invite. - Schedules: food, shops, public services and work. - Punctuality. - Clothing: what's appropriate and what isn't. - Spain (autonomous communities, provinces and languages). - Linguistic markers in social situations. - Use and choice of greetings. - How to address others. - Appropriate use of por favor and gracias.

The methodology of the language courses is the following:

- Participative classes, giving priority to the most communicative aspects.
- Greater emphasis on oral production through presentations, discussions and interactive tasks among students in a relaxed environment that promotes learning.
- Motivation of the student in class to encourage participation and learning.

"Gramática de uso del español" A1-A2. Aragonés, L. and Palencia, R. Ed. SM Ele.
Aula 2 (nueva edición) Ed. Difusión.
Bilingual dictionaries.

Group	Teacher	Department
Year 1	Joaquin Boyero Merino	Sección Español