This is a module designed for students who have completed Spanish Advanced B2 Part 3 or who have achieved at least a high grade at an A Level or equivalent and have also completed some further study. This module aims to provide you with the necessary linguistic tools you need to engage in fast and colloquial discussions, to understand detailed information reliably, and to identify unfamiliar words from the context on topics related to your field/interests. You will also further develop your understanding of the culture of Spanish speaking countries.

This module is the first part of the preparation for CEFR C1.

• Understand a wide range of demanding texts and recognise implicit meaning.
• Express him/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions.
• Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes.
• Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.
• Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects including complex subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and independent disadvantages of various options.

All courses on the Languages for All programme are delivered on a hybrid mode, mixing face-to-face and virtual teaching. You will be expected to actively participate in role-plays, interactive activities and group discussions. Course material is accessible on the University’s Virtual Learning Environment, Learning Central, and should be cross-platform compatible.

18 contact hours – 2 hours per week of interactive language workshops.

Intellectual Skills:

• Enhanced cognitive skills leading to innovation, creativity and problem solving.
• Critical analysis applied to discourse, texts, images and events.
• Advanced listening and reading skills: the ability to scan complex texts (including audio) for gist, to synthesise information and focus on salient points.

Discipline Specific (including practical) Skills:

• To express him/herself fluently and spontaneously in the target language on a wide range of topics and registers.
• To understand a wide range of longer texts and recognise nuances in meaning and use.
• To write clear, well-structured, detailed texts in the target language on complex subjects.

To use the target language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes.

Transferable Skills:

• Ability to learn additional languages for personal/employment reasons.
• Awareness of and sensitivity to diversity based on culture.
• Ability to navigate and mediate between more than one culture to interpret meaning and intent beyond the purely linguistic.
• Heightened literacy, textual analysis and oracy in mother tongue.
• Presentation skills.
• Ability to work cooperatively, as a member of a team or with a partner.
• Problem solving and the ability to look at things from multiple perspectives.

All key language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing, as well as grammar and vocab) are assessed over the course of the module.

Written end of module test (50%) and course work (30%). 

Oral assessment (20%).  

All skills (writing, reading, listening, talking and translation) will be further developed on the following topics:

• El ocio y la cultura (cine, festivales, ferias)
• La sociedad hispana (perfiles, influencias, giros)
• El mundo hispano (la leyenda de El Dorado; televisión; Che Guevara, música en español);
• La educación (tecnología y enseñanza, secretos para estudiar bien, viajar para estudiar).

TEXTBOOK TO BE CONFIRMED.  SOME MATERIALS AVAILABLE ON LEARNING CENTRAL.