Español IV

Course Description

This class aims to provide a thorough grammar review together with an introduction to the literatures and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. It will emphasize culture, grammar and writing, through the appropriate use of advanced grammatical constructions, as well as different types and styles of writing. The class will have readings focused on the Hispanic culture.

SP 300 has been developed taking into consideration the 5C’s of World Language Education: communication, cultures, connections, comparison and communities. Keeping in mind the 5C’s, students will review Spanish grammar and vocabulary; increase reading and listening comprehension; develop oral and written communication; learn about Hispanic culture, literature, art and history, through selected cultural readings and other activities.

The 5C’s are:

1. Communication: the use of language for communication in “real life” situations

2. Cultures: to develop cultural understanding by experiencing other cultures

3. Connections: content of the course is connected with other subject areas like: art, history and music.

4. Comparisons: students are encouraged to compare and contrast languages and cultures

5. Communities: the learning experience extends from the classroom into the community, emphasizing that we live in a global society.

Language Learning Outcomes for SP300

    1. Speaking: Students will be able to recombine learned material in order to express personal meaning. They can ask simple questions and can handle a straightforward survival situation. They produce sentence-level language, ranging from discrete sentences typically in present or past time.
    2. Writing: Students will have the ability to meet practical writing needs, such as simple messages and letters, requests for information, and notes. In addition, they can ask and respond to simple questions in writing. These writers can create with the language and communicate simple facts and ideas in a series of loosely connected sentences on topics of personal interest and social needs.
    3. Listening: Students will understand speech that conveys basic information. This speech is simple, minimally connected, and contains high-frequency vocabulary. They are able to comprehend messages found in highly familiar everyday contexts. Students will be able to comprehend one utterance at a time while engaged in face-to-face conversations or in routine listening tasks such as understanding highly contextualized messages, straightforward announcements, or simple instructions and directions
    4. Reading: Students will understand information conveyed in simple, predictable, loosely connected texts. They can most easily understand information if the format of the text is familiar. They will be able to understand messages found in highly familiar, everyday contexts. At this level, students may not fully understand texts but might be able to identify meaning by the context.
    5. Cultural knowledge: Students will be able to recognize the significance of different commonly cited cultural references (such as landmarks, works of art and literature, symbols, documents, historical events and figures, traditions and customs).
    6. Culturally appropriate behavior: Students will be able to recognize culturally appropriate behavior (including use of appropriate registers of language, proper kind of greetings) in a variety of social contexts for modern languages.
    7. Cultural empathy: Students will be able to evaluate the references and social contexts of the culture studied from that culture's own perspective.

Texts and Materials

Essential Repaso: A Complete Review of Spanish Grammar, Communication, and Culture. National Textbook Company. Print.

Handouts and Reading- Download from Sakai (Resources)

A good dictionary

Course and College Policies

Saint Anselm Academic and Computing Links

Disclaimer

All topics, quizzes, exams and their dates are subject to change. Advance notification will be given in case of any changes.