67040 - Spanish 2

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student achieves an intermediate level of competence in the Spanish language.

Course contents

The course is proposed in continuity with Spanish 1 and aims to develop the students' language skills to level B2 of the Council of Europe's Common European Framework of Reference (2001).

According to the descriptors of the global scale of communicative competences provided by this document for level B2, at the end of the course students will be able to:

1. Understand the main ideas of complex texts on both concrete and abstract topics, even of a technical nature, as long as they are within the students' field of specialisation;
2. Interact with native speakers in a sufficiently fluent and natural manner so that communication between the interlocutors is effortless;
3. Produce clear and detailed texts on different topics, defending one's point of view on general issues, indicating the pros and cons of different options.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the lectures will focus on linguistic-grammatical content, approached according to an inductive methodology, starting from texts relating to socio-cultural topics, relevant to the degree's areas of study.

From a grammatical point of view, the B2 level of competence in Spanish includes the mastery of the form and use of all the tenses of the indicative, conditional and subjunctive tenses, verbal periphrases, the correct composition of temporal, final, causal and relative subordinations, etc., and the rules of accents.

From a communicative-functional point of view, at the end of the course, the students will be able to understand and express - in written and oral form in Spanish - opinions about socio-anthropological texts, argue and defend their point of view, describe social customs and behaviour, express doubts, uncertainties, hypotheses, report past, present and future events and what has been expressed by others.

As they are closely interconnected, the linguistic-grammatical and socio-cultural contents will not be presented in two consecutive modules but simultaneously and organically integrated within the lectures.

Readings/Bibliography

Grammar textbook (theory and practice):

Luis Aragonés, Ramón Palencia. Gramática de uso del español. Teoría y práctica. - Nivel A1-B2 (volume rosso). Madrid: Ediciones SM. ISBN 978-88-203-3533-5

 

The lecturer will provide additional written and oral texts, made available on Virtuale.

 

Note: There is no difference in the syllabus between attending and non-attending students.

Teaching methods

In class, the lecturer will present texts in Spanish on topics relevant to the degree course and related to the Spanish-speaking world. These texts (adapted by the lecturer) will be analysed together during the lessons and used as input for the inductive construction of the vocabulary and linguistic structures of the course's level of competence.

Attending students are invited to actively participate and intervene (in Spanish) during the lessons, in order to practice language production.

This course is inclusive, involving the use of numerous multimedia resources such as digital texts, audios, videos and images to complement the written texts.

Assessment methods

The final examination consists of a computerised written test (to be taken in person only) structured in two parts:

a) multiple-choice questions aimed at testing linguistic-grammatical skills;

b) comprehension and written production, i.e. commenting on a text related to the socio-cultural contents covered in the lectures.

 

The test will be aimed at assessing:
- linguistic and metalinguistic knowledge of the grammatical structures of B2 level;
- writing skills in Spanish, use of vocabulary appropriate to the context;
- mastery of the content related to the texts provided;
- ability to analyse, reflect on and comment on issues related to the texts provided.

The achievement of an organic vision of the topics addressed in the lectures, together with their critical use, a good mastery of expression and specific language in Spanish will be assessed with marks of excellence.
A mnemonic knowledge of the subject, together with synthesis and analysis skills articulated in grammatically correct but not always appropriate Spanish, will lead to fair marks.
A lack of orientation within the bibliographical materials offered during the course and/or a competence in Spanish that does not correspond to the level - even though in the context of minimal knowledge of the examination material - will lead to non sufficient marks.

Note: There are no differences in syllabus or examination methods between attending and non-attending students. No language certificate obtained exempts students from taking the examination.

Teaching tools

The texts indicated in the bibliography will be supplemented with a variety of other materials (audiovisuals, press), made available on Virtual during the course.

Office hours

See the website of Rachele Maria Fioritti