Spanish Accredited CEMS C1 Course (2235.YR.014691.1)

General information

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

Teaching Staff:

To study at this level students need to demonstrate a knowledge of the language at the B2 level (Common European Framework of Reference - CEFR) or have passed the Spanish 4 (E4) course.
The course coordinator may also request a level test (oral interview and written test) to confirm students' access to this course.

To study at this level students need to demonstrate that they have the competencies corresponding the full B2 level (CEFR).

The workload distribution is as follows:
In-class activities: 75 hours
Independent study: 40 hours

In an increasingly globalised world, business is not only undertaken at a regional level or with a neighbouring country, but on a far 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, there is ever greater competition, and, in the case of the students that come to ESADE, the need to master a language such as Spanish is evident as it provides access to job markets in places such as Latin America.

On the other hand, acquiring a third language also allows students to undertake their university studies in a foreign country (such as Spain or any Latin American country). With regard to the job market, having a foreign language such as Spanish allows students to face recruitment processes in Spanish-speaking companies and thus be able to find work in any part of the world.

With regard to the programme, learning and progressively mastering Spanish will provide students the opportunity to attend classes, lectures and work groups delivered in Spanish as well as interact with their Spanish peers without difficulties.

This course focuses on preparing for the CEMS exams, selecting the most appropriate content for each part of the exam (oral and written).

At this level students are expected to be able to:
- Have a broad linguistic repertory.
- Maintain fluid and spontaneous communication.
- Master a broad vocabulary: an in-depth knowledge of business-related vocabulary
- Produce a clear, fluid and well structured discourse.
- Control organisational structures, connectives and cohesion mechanisms.
- Show a high degree of precision, propriety and ease in their use of language.
- Transmit subtle aspects of meaning with the most appropriate structure and vocabulary.
- Know and use a broad range of idiomatic and colloquial expressions.
- Use appropriate registers in different communication situations.
- Express intentionality through the use of the relevant tone in messages.

1. FUNCTIONAL CONTENT - Make comparisons using complex structures. - Express conditions in the present, past and future. - Give advice and make suggestions. - Pass on messages. - Pass on orders. - Reproduce a conversation. - Persuade and convince. - Assess the characteristics of a person, action or process. - Organise written and spoken discourse. - Connect ideas in a text. - Structure ideas in specific texts. - Delimit an idea or contrast it with another - Argue for and against an idea or opinion. - Express agreement, partial agreement and disagreement. - Summarise texts. - Give and follow complex instructions. - Give additional information about something. - Clearly explain the stages of a process. - Explain causes and consequences. - Give additional information about something. - Identify people, objects or facts that are being discussed. - Express conditions. - Delimit the scope of something.

2. GRAMMATICAL CONTENT - Comparative phrases. - Conditional phrases: impossible or improbable conditional, hypothetical conditional in the past. - Phrases with relative pronouns, with and without prepositions. - Subjunctive imperfect: morphology and uses. - Structures with the Subjunctive (Te sugeriría que..., lo mejor sería que + Imp. Subj.) - Reported speech: when the original message is expressed as an Imperative or in the Present Subjunctive. - Composite conditional: morphology and use. - The Pluperfect Subjunctive. Morphology and uses. - Connectives: for challenging arguments (opposition, substitution, restriction, concession), comparisons and consecutive clauses (tan/tanto + que/como), conditionals. - Meta-textural discourse markets: for giving examples and details, for generalisation. - Adversative, concessive, modal, causal and consecutive phrases. - Meta-textural discourse markets: for re-formulators (explanations, rectifications, creating distance), for reaffirmation or emphasis, for remission, digressions. - Connector: advdersative, concessive, consecutive, modal - Verbs of change. - Verbs with prepositions.

3. THEMATIC AND LEXICAL CONTENT - History and society. - Politics and economy. - Companies. Corporate and business vocabulary. - Companies: labour rights and obligations: leave, availability, social security obligations. - Formal, administrative and legal texts. - Professional studies and careers. - New technologies (social networks and Internet). - Art and advertising. - Communications media: radio and television.

4. CULTURAL CONTENT - Social formulas in Spain and Latin America. - Culture in the workplace. - Stereotypes. - Set phrases and sayings. - Negotiations in Spain and Latin American countries. - Interjections. - Word play.

5.

The course will progress in keeping with the syllabus. It includes interactive activities that enable students to learn the course content.

The language teaching methodology and, in particular, for Spanish courses is the following:

- Participatory classes with special emphasis on the communicative aspect
- Priority to the oral component through presentations, debates and role-playing exercises between students
- Written assignments as a key element of CEMS exam structure: writing reports
- Preparation for CEMS exams through practice and in keeping with CEMS assessment criteria.

ASSESSMENT BREAKDOWN

Dictionaries
Royal Spanish Language Academy (RAE): http://www.rae.es/rae.html
http://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=welcome
www.wordreference.com/sinonimos/
www.wordreference.com/.../translation...

Grammar exercises, vocabulary, Spanish culture, film previews, reports, etc.
http://aprenderespanol.org/
http://www.spanishcourses.info/Ejerc/Ejercicios_espanol.htm
http://www.ver-taal.com/
http://www.ver-taal.com/trailers.htm
http://www.ver-taal.com/gramatica.htm

Instituto Cervantes online classroom
http://ave.cervantes.es/
http://ave.cervantes.es/#espanol
http://www.spanishcourses.info/Ejerc/Ejercicios_espanol.htm
http://ver-taal.com/telediario.htm

Graded reading
http://cvc.cervantes.es/aula/lecturas/default.htm
http://cvc.cervantes.es/aula/lecturas/avanzado/
http://cvc.cervantes.es/ensenanza/default.htm

Video reports on Spanish firms (some with transcriptions and/or in English:
http://www.emprendedorestv.com