Spanish

Spanish 1A (first-year Spanish, first semester) is a communicative beginning-level Spanish course. Students will begin to develop their Spanish proficiency through extensive interaction in the target language.

Through videos, students see and hear native speakers in authentic locations around the Spanish speaking world. There are also numerous audio clips that reinforce the language taught through the video segments. Each unit also includes a variety of interactive activities, cultural notes, and cultural interviews.

Another key component of Spanish 1 A is assessment through project based learning. Every student will complete two projects during this course. These projects will allow students to demonstrate their mastery of the Spanish language concepts taught in this course, as well as the cultural concepts, in a modality that is appropriate for their unique learning style.

Students will encounter authors perspectives as they read literature from across time periods and cultures. Students will listen to the perspectives of their peers through conversations and collaborative activities. As students read the literature and engage in activities, they will formulate--and defend--their opinions as they develop their own perspectives.

Course objectives: By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Begin to develop their ability to communicate effectively and express themselves with confidence in Spanish.
• Practice pronunciation skills by recording and listening to their own voice and comparing it to the voices of native speakers.
• Have the opportunity to enhance their awareness of, and appreciation for, the diversity of the Spanish-speaking world.

This is an inquiry-based course where you will discover and utilize knowledge of Spanish language via the lectures, videos, and other readings, and class discussions with other students and the instructor.

Both courses offer rigorous instruction in:

• Wide-ranging vocabulary development
• Close reading for rhetorical analysis
• Logical organization of student generated writing
• Literacy and rhetorical analysis; traditional writing; synthesis of vocab, information etc.
• Close reading of texts across a wide range of time periods, with multiple choice testing.