Spanish
Main language of instruction: Spanish
In this course you will develop the skills and linguistic knowledge necessary to carry out tasks related to the routine procedures of business activity. The course content places particular emphasis on the activities of comprehension, observation, conceptualisation and output production. In this way, you will integrate and put into practice communication strategies in real contexts for professional purposes. Acquiring a specific lexicon will also allow you to tackle tasks such as, for example, publishing a job offer, relating and communicating with colleagues, designing and defending a business plan, drawing up a product file or launching the latter on the market, among others.
The program combines communicative classes, where students will work in large groups, smaller groups, in pairs and individually, with tutorials and self-learning activities. In the communicative classes, special emphasis will be placed on oral interaction skills and, to a lesser extent, writing skills for professional purposes. However, the students will have to complete a series of written tasks in which they will put into practical use the knowledge acquired related to the workplace and the company, so that they will have to evaluate the different scenarios before making the decision they consider most appropriate.
The tutorials seek to promote the development of students' interpersonal skills and include the realization of group projects that will later be exposed in the classroom. Self-learning activities will focus on reinforcing the grammatical structures and vocabulary covered in the sessions, while reading activities address labour, social and cultural issues in Spain.
The contents of the course are specifically designed to facilitate the student's acquisition and development of specific skills that will allow him/her to communicate confidently and effectively resolve situations related to the working sphere in Spanish. It is also intended to encourage the critical and entrepreneurial spirit of students when acquiring and developing communicative tools and the jargon of strictly professional contexts.
Recommended minimum level: CEFR A2/B1.
Master class/communication:
To prepare and equip students with the lexical, grammatical and comprehension knowledge necessary to communicate effectively in Spanish, both in everyday situations and in the professional context.
Consolidate receptive reading and listening skills through practice, using various stimuli, as well as facilitate the development of productive oral and written expression skills.
Tutorials:
To develop students' interpersonal skills and their ability to work with others, both in their native and foreign languages.
Self-study:
To develop oral comprehension skills, as well as to become familiar with different accents and vocabulary in everyday situations and in the academic context, in addition to consolidating the use of grammar. Students will also learn to use ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) to learn the language autonomously.
Students must acquire one of the above competencies at a B1/B1+ level.
Language skills in Spanish: (proficiency 67)
1. The student will acquire the following skills:
Oral expression
You can carry out, with reasonable fluency, a simple description of a variety of topics that are of interest to you, presenting them as a linear sequence of elements (B1*).
Oral Interaction
He communicates with some security, both in matters that are habitual and in matters that are unusual, related to his personal interests and specialty (B1.2).
Written expression
He writes cohesive texts on a series of related topics within his field of interest by linking a series of different brief elements in a linear sequence (B1*).
Reading comprehension
Reads factual texts on topics related to his/her speciality with a satisfactory level of comprehension (B1*).
Listen to lectures and presentations
It includes a lecture or a talk to be given about your speciality, provided that the topic is familiar and the presentation is simple and clearly structured (B1.2*).
Non-language skills in Spanish
Will be able to develop skills in interpersonal relationships and teamwork (proficiency 52)
Ability to plan and organise work (competence 64)
Acquire skills for autonomous learning (competence 53)
Will be able to develop self-assessment exercises (competence 58)
*Those students who at the beginning of the course demonstrate a B1/B1+ level, must acquire language skills equivalent to a B2 level or higher.
Students will work on issues related to everyday situations and the academic context of their specialty: working relationships, participating in company meetings and setting up a business.
In order to develop the student's linguistic skills (oral and written expression, and oral and reading comprehension), different materials will be used and different activities will be carried out in which the communicative approach will predominate. Likewise, students are expected to participate actively in activities and debates conducted in the classroom, in pairs and small groups, and discuss and put into practice the knowledge acquired with the purpose of resolving real situations in the framework of work relations.
In addition, autonomous learning will be promoted through online resources. Autonomous learning is an essential part of the subject, as it will provide the student with the necessary tools and motivation to consult relevant Spanish language material in the course of his professional career in the future.
Students who have not attended 80% of the classes will not have the right to take the final exam of the first call.
In addition, students with a final grade between 4 and 5 will have the right to make up in the second call those parts of the subject suspended during the course.
Finally, students with a grade lower than 4 in the final grade must recover 100% of the subject in the second call with the preparation and defense before a portfolio board and a final exam.
NOTE: In all cases and calls students must show that they have a B1.2 level of Spanish to pass the subject.
Activity |
Percetage of final grade |
Online Activities Collaborative: 4 or 5 people Pairs |
25% 1ª - 15% 2ª - 10% |
Partial exam |
10% |
Group projects 4 or 5 people per group |
30% 1º - 10% 2º - 20% |
Final exam |
25%
|
Attendance and active participation |
10% |
Class materials:
Tano, Marcelo. Expertos: curso avanzado de español orientado al mundo del trabajo, ed. Difusión. Barcelona, 2009.
Castro, Francisca, Uso de la gramática española, nivel intermedio, ed. Edelsa, Madrid 2010.
Los verbos castellanos conjugados, ed. Claret, 2009.