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Spanish Language, Written and Oral

Module description

MLS2001 is designed for students who followed MLS1001, or equivalent. It offers you the opportunity to enhance your language competence by expanding your listening and reading comprehension, translation and oral skills. The module will give you a sound understanding of the use of the Subjunctive in subordinate clauses as well as a complete revision of the most important grammatical features of Spanish. The oral classes will expand your knowledge of contemporary Spanish and Latin-American culture, and will develop your debating and presentation skills. In addition to this, you will expand your lexicon and will receive practical advice for your year abroad.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The aim of this module is to:

• Increase the students understanding of the target language in both its written and spoken forms
• Improve capacity for self-expression in Spanish
• Instil habits of accuracy and correctness of expression
• Develop an in-depth knowledge of the uses of the Subjunctive versus the Indicative in all the subordinate clauses

Written work consists of translation from Spanish into English and from English into Spanish, together with a variety of reading comprehension and compositional exercises; oral work includes a number of short presentations in Spanish, together with group debates, vocabulary expansion and clarification of grammar points where necessary. 

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Apply knowledge of a broad range of grammatical features of the target language to a variety of linguistic tasks
• 2. Translate passages from a variety of authentic written sources (literary as well as journalistic) into the target language
• 3. Present a detailed argument in written Spanish in answer to essay questions on a range of topics
• 4. Engage in discussion of a range of (mainly contemporary) topics in oral Spanish, articulating your own opinions and responding to the opinions of others
• 5. Give short oral presentations in the target language on a defined topic to a small group of listeners and engage in group discussion and debate on the topic presented

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. Recognise and understand core linguistic terminology individually and as part of a group
• 7. Use a bilingual and a learners’ monolingual dictionary to get information about meaning, register, usage and grammatical forms
• 8. Engage, under guidance, with the Spanish language printed and online media

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 9. Communicate competently in Spanish
• 10. Express and discuss views in front of a group of listeners

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

• Spanish reading and listening comprehension in the target language
• Grammar knowledge and oral skills
• Current affairs
• Information about the year abroad
• Employability skills, such as CVs or job interviews
• Uses of the Subjunctive mode versus the Indicative in complex sentences
• Subordinate clauses in Spanish
• Listening comprehension and oral skills
• Translation into English
• A range of topics relevant to the year abroad, such as the Spanish education system, Spanish and Latin-American current affairs

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – If you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for aÃ?�Ã?¢Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Ã?�Ã?¯re-assessmentÃ?�Ã?¢Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Ã?�Ã?¯taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment. 

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

You will only be required to retake any failed assessments. Marks for any passed assessments will be carried forward. If you have failed any assessments but managed to pass the module overall, you will not be allowed to retake the failed assessments. 

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Jaime Corpas, Agustín Garmendia Nuria Sánchez, Carmen Soriano, Aula 4 Internacional (Difusión. Barcelona, 2007) ISBN: 978-8443-234-0. Reprinted December 2011
• Practising Spanish Grammar (a workbook) , Christopher J Pountain, Teresa de Carlos and Angela Howkins. Hodder Arnold 2006
• Ejercicios de Léxico (nivel avanzado). Pablo Martínez Menéndez. Editorial Anaya 2001
• ¡Exacto! A practical guide to Spanish grammar. Arnold Publishers 2002
• A bilingual dictionary, e.g. C Smith, Collins Spanish-English, English-Spanish Dictionary (6th edition 2000)
• A monolingual dictionary, e.g. Larousse, Pequeño Larousse ilustrado
• Speed up your Spanish (Strategies to avoid common errors). Javier Muñoz Bassols, Marianne David and Olga Nuñez Piñeiro. Routledge 2010

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=1425
• Cervantes institute: www.cervantes.es

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

• Regular showings of Spanish and Latino American films during the year and a very comprehensive audiovisual section in the library. A good set of resources also for developing language skills at the Foreign Language Centre

Key words search

Spanish, language, written, oral, Latin-America, Spain