Elementary Spanish 1 - 1st year
Introduction to spoken and written Spanish, providing practice in listening, speaking, reading, writing and grammar. Extensive utilization of cultural material and information.
Objectives:
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. Speak words, phrases, and sentences in Spanish with the proper pronunciation and intonation;
2. Use appropriate (formal/informal) words and phrases in various social situations;
3. Write grammatically correct sentences and paragraphs in both formal and informal Spanish;
4. Read elementary texts written in Spanish;
5. Recognize cultural differences reflected in spoken Spanish.
Topics:
Course topics will include the following:
1. Pronunciation, greetings, introducing self and others, formal/informal usage.
2. Spelling of the alphabet, number, cognates, word stress.
3. Subject pronouns – forms and use, the verb SER, the gender, plural formation, asking questions.
4. Infinitives and the present tense, the verb ESTAR, activities in progress and in the future, question tags.
5. Daily activities and their time; prepositions; reflexive verbs, negation – no/never.
6. Expressing possession, describing states and condition; the verb ESTAR with adjectives, activities in the past.
7. Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns, expressing obligation, verbs + infinitive, use of the verbs PODER and QUERER.
8. Expressing likes and dislikes – the verb GUSTAR and others, describing circumstances and conditions, the numbers 100 and greater.
9. Past tenses – preterit and imperfect, conjunctions, commands.
Method of Instruction:
At the beginning, material will be presented with as little translation as possible. The aim is to conduct the class entirely in Spanish. However, of necessity, grammar rules may require further elaboration and translation. Class format will constantly integrate activities of the four main skills: writing, reading, speaking and listening.
Types of Assignments:
1. Daily lab practice
2. Homework from the text
3. Written compositions based on topics related to the text, to the educational videos or other sources
Sample Text:
1. Con Destino a la Communicacion: Oral and Written Expressions in Spanish (McGraw Hill, Inc., 2001)
