Intermediate Spanish: Resources for Communication

This course continues students' development of proficiency in Spanish by expanding vocabulary and grammar. All four skills are integrated, with special attention to speaking and listening. Target language functions include past and future narration, extensive description, and comparisons, all on topics of current and personal interest. Cultural knowledge that will build a deeper understanding of how Spanish-speaking peoples communicate will be integrated into the course content.

The student should read simple, connected texts dealing with a variety of basic and sociocultural needs. The student can speak and explain concretely different aspects of culturally determined acts of behavior, can compare with his own experience, local and national traditions. Special emphasis on pronunciation and specific syntactical structures will enable students to overcome typical errors in their oral and written communication. The student can participate in conversations in different culturally determined situations with some standard expressions attempting to compare, analyze and critically reflect on them. The student starts to accept intercultural ambiguities as challenging, showing openness and interest towards others.

After successfully completing this course, students should find themselves well prepared for advanced coursework in Spanish language, literature, and linguistics. This course meets two hours a day. (1 unit)