Elementary Spanish I

Catalog description

This course is a first-semester language course that emphasizes the development of foundational listening, speaking, reading and writing skills while exploring the rich cultural mosaic of the Spanish-speaking world. Through listening activities and videotaped interviews with native speakers, your aural and oral abilities will improve at the same time that you will become familiarized with different varieties of standard spoken Spanish. You will be given ample opportunities to practice orally and in writing so that you can reinforce newly acquired vocabulary and grammatical structures. Reading strategies will facilitate your comprehension of the texts included in the course syllabus. Readings focused on a specific country or region, visual items (such as maps, photos, films) and a class project will advance your knowledge of Hispanic cultural practices and products while increasing your intercultural competence. Conducted entirely in Spanish, this class will provide you with guided practice before moving to more independent and spontaneous language production. Working in small groups and in pairs, you will participate in class activities that simulate real-life situations that will help you gain confidence communicating in Spanish. Goals: By the end of this course you can expect to handle a variety of day-to-day situations in a Spanish-speaking setting: 1) Greet and introduce people, invite people to events, accept or reject invitations, ask for directions, tell time, shop and order meals in a restaurant. 2) Talk about yourself, family, and friends regarding physical and emotional states, daily routines, leisure, preferences and plans. 3) Use the cultural information learned in class as an icebreaker to find common ground with a wide variety of Spanish speakers. Pre-requisite: Score below 380 on the SAT II or; below 285 on the online placement examination