Spanish Language 1B

About this module

This is a double module designed for beginners in Spanish (or post-GCSE). The module aims to enable you to acquire confidence in speaking Spanish, to understand it comfortably in its spoken and written forms, and to begin to write it correctly. It is expected that students will achieve A-level standard by the end of the year.

Teaching and Learning

There are five contact hours per week: three of these are devoted primarily to oral practice in groups of about 15 and are conducted in Spanish; video material is also used. A further hour is spent on formal grammar practice, and a fifth in larger groups, concentrating on establishing and developing your understanding of essential grammatical structures.  This module is capped at 55.  Attendance will be monitored at all classes.

Summative Assessment

• 10-minute oral examination (12.5%)
• 1.5-hour audio-visual examination (25%)
• 1.5-hour writing skills examination (25%)
• 2-hour reading and grammar examination (37.5%)

Texts

• Caycedo Garner, Lucía et al. (2008), ¡Claro que sí!, 6^th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin - plus the Activity Manual
• Muñoz, Pilar & Mike Thacker (2006), A Spanish Learning Grammar, 2^nd ed., London: Hodder Arnold. ISBN 9780340916872

You will also need a good full-sized dictionary to be used throughout your degree course.  You should buy one of the following:

• Oxford Spanish Dictionary, 4^th ed. (2008), Oxford: Oxford University Press
• Collins Spanish Dictionary: Complete and Unabridged, 9^th ed. (2009), Glasgow: Collins

Co-ordinator:

Dr Marcela Cazzoli-Goeta (m.a.goeta@durham.ac.uk), room A24, Elvet Riverside I.