Intensive Adv: Transatlantic

6 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Prerequisite: SPAN 032 or SPAN 022. Equivalent to [101+102] or [103+104]. SPAN 110 is a content-based language course, meaning that language learning and intellectual growth go hand in hand. The course is built around four themes, namely ‘The Construction of a Modern Society’, ‘Race and Gender’, ‘Identity’ and ‘Going Global: Transnational Units and Migration’. It provides the student with the tools to critically approach the cultures of the Spanish-speaking regions on both sides of the Atlantic; i.e., Spain, Latin America, and US Latino. These are learner-centered courses where students build both their knowledge of subject matter and their language proficiency through oral and written discussions of primary sources, including but not limited to accounts of historical memory, journal articles, reports from international organizations, photography and film. The course further advances language proficiency in all four skills: speaking, listening, writing, and reading in a range of genres and styles, including description, argumentation and narration. Grammar and lexicon presented in these courses are chosen to facilitate discussions of the events and figures that shape these regions today. Special attention is placed on basic linguistic structures such as copula verbs and prepositions as well as advanced target forms such uses of preterit and imperfect for narration purposes, past subjunctive, adverbial and conditional clauses, and comparative constructions. Assessment is continuous and includes debates, long and short presentations, short papers, short and long exams, and a learner’s portfolio. The course follows a flipped classroom design and the student’s portfolio works as the link between out-of-classroom preparation for in-classroom active seminars. Like Intensive Basic and Intermediate courses, Intensive Advanced is recommended for motivated students who want to learn fast to matriculate in a Spanish-Speaking institution, for those considering a Spanish major or minor, SFS students preparing for the Oral Proficiency Exam, and for International Business students. This is an ideal course for those students who simply love the language and the cultures who speak it and want daily contact with them.