1. Grammar and Conversation
This course is designed for those students who have completed four semesters of college level Spanish and have a solid working knowledge of Spanish. The overall objective of this level is to enable students to communicate more accurately and in a more sophisticated manner. The focus is on vocabulary and grammar associated with commercial, professional, and academic situations.
This course has a double emphasis. The first focus is on active mastery of the following proficiency skills. The second focus is on grammar skills studied from a linguistic perspective, practiced in context, and recycled throughout the semester.
COMMUNICATIVE OBJECTIVES
Requesting clarification
Establishing contact with a salesperson
Talking about character and states of mind
Giving information
Relating events
Soliciting and giving professional information
Expressing and justifying opinions
Giving orders and advice
Making recommendations
Indirect discourse
Academic, professional, and commercial vocabulary
Vocabulary associated with soccer and bull-fighting
Vocabulary unique to the different Spanish regions
Expressions to begin and conclude conversations
GRAMMAR OBJECTIVES
Review preterite and imperfect
Review of perfect tenses
Oral versus written language
Conditional tense
Conditional + subjunctive/ indicative
Connector words: entonces, luego, ¿no?, ¿no es así?
Costar, valer, and ser
Differences between: quiero, quería, quisiera, querría
Emphatic and metaphoric comparisons
Verbs of will and wishing + subjunctive
Verbs of opinion + subjunctive
Conjunctions of contingency + indicative/ subjunctive
Interjections
Negative words
Uses and meanings of impersonal forms of verbs: infinitive, gerund, and participle
Tener que, deber que, and hay que + infinitive
Past subjunctive
Future used as an imperative
COMMUNICATIVE OBJECTIVES
1. Requesting clarification
2. Establishing contact with a salesperson
3. Talking about character and states of mind
4. Giving information
5. Relating events
6. Soliciting and giving professional information
7. Expressing and justifying opinions
8. Giving orders and advice
9. Making recommendations
10. Indirect discourse
11. Academic, professional, and commercial vocabulary
12. Vocabulary associated with soccer and bull-fighting
13. Vocabulary unique to the different Spanish regions
14. Expressions to begin and conclude conversations
GRAMMAR OBJECTIVES
1. Review preterite and imperfect
2. Review of perfect tenses
3. Oral versus written language
4. Conditional tense
5. Past subjunctive
6. Conditional + subjunctive/ indicative
7. Connector words: entonces, luego, ¿no?, ¿no es así?
8. Costar, valer, and ser
9. Differences between: quiero, quería, quisiera, querría
10. Emphatic and metaphoric comparisons
11. Verbs of will and wishing + subjunctive
12. Verbs of opinion + subjunctive
13. Interjections
14. Negative words
15. Tener que, deber que, and hay que + infinitive
16. Future used as an imperative
17. Conjunctions of contingency + indicative/ subjunctive
18. Uses and meanings of impersonal forms of verbs: infinitive, gerund, and participle
2. Oral Comprehension and Expression
COMMUNICATIVE ASPECTS
1. Counting: "en primer lugar/ lo primero que/ más tarde/ después de eso/ por ultimo/ finalmente"
2. Ask someone if something is occurring: "¿Qué te pasa?/ Se te nota que estás/¿no es así?/ Por tu cara, se diría que"
3. Ask for someone's opinion: "¿Que opines?/ Dime lo que piensas de/¿Qué me dices de?"
4. Ask someone to repeat what they just said: "¿Que, como?/ ¿Te importaría repetirlo una vez más, por favor?"
5. Show agreement or disagreement: "Desde luego/ Veo las cosas como tú/ Sí, pero/ ¡Hala!/ Pues, yo lo veo de otra manera"
6. Express anger: ¡Basta!/ ¡Ah, no, eso si que no!/ ¡Ya estoy harto!"
7. Suggest an idea to someone: "Te sugiero que/Por cierto, ¿por que no?/ Que tal si?"
8. Give advice to someone: "Mi consejo es que/ Yo, en tu lugar,/ Te convendría más que..."
VOCABULARY
1. Health, illnesses and their symptoms: hoarse voice, soar throat, etc.
2. Sports: tools, rules and participation: natación, colchoneta, deslizarse, etc.
3. Crimes and criminal activity: robo/ladrón/robar, estafa/estafador/estafar
4. The animal world: tigre-rugir-rayas, vertebrados, carnivoros, reptiles, etc.
5. Forms of communication: conversación, murmullo, charla, susurro, etc.
6. Movement: resbalar, trepar, galpoar
7. Physical descriptions: cara redonda-alargada-ovalada, labios finos-carnosos, etc.
8. Personality: sincero/sinceridad, armonioso/armonia, etc.
9. The modern world: environmental contamination, globalization, etc.
10. Games, jokes
3. Written Comprehension and Expression
The objective of this class is to enable students to gain a better understanding of different types of texts and to better their writing abilities. Texts, audio exercises, and films will be used as primary instruments for this.
The texts that will be used are of two types: periodicals that discuss current political, social, and economic themes and excerpts from literary works by prominent authors such as Javier Marias, Soledad Puértolas, Antonio Muñoz Molina, Rosa Montero, and Julio Llamazares. Attention will be primarily placed on vocabulary that is particularly troublesome to the students as well as on synonyms/antonyms and culturally specific phrases. Students will also be required to write brief commentaries on each text that is read.
Music will be the primary audio exercise so that students may work on listening skill and pronunciation. Typical Spanish music such as Flamenco and popular music will be used.
Videos will also serve as a tool for listening comprehension. Documentaries over Spanish art and history will be used as well as several short films and Spanish feature films.
Discussions will be held after each listening exercise to answer vocabulary or language usage questions as well as to discuss several of the themes presented. Students will also be required to write brief commentaries on each film watched in class.