Beginning Spanish Language 2 (Lengua Española - Nivel Básico 2)

Beginning Spanish Language 2 (Lengua Española - Nivel Básico 2)
6 ECTS

Note: Students may NOT be enrolled in any advanced-level Spanish courses. This course is for beginners only.

Overview: 

The second basic course corresponds to the A2 level in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. By completing this course, the student will be able to: - Use the language as a means of communication and self-expression, in class and in everyday situations.

• Understand and interact in those situations in oral and written standard Spanish.
• Approach the most relevant social aspects of everyday life and recognize the most common ways of social interaction. - Acquire the necessary knowledge for those situations through practice.
• Make the most of the initial motivation, search for opportunities to practice (including through social media, etc.) and train the use of strategies to improve communication and make learning easier.
• Acquire the tools to assess and improve the learning process and language use.

Description of Course (subject to change):

Unit 1:

• Talk about routines and difficulties. Talk about duration. Make recommendations. Describe feelings. Ask and answer about motivations.
• Regular and irregular simple present verbs. Reflexive verbs. Verbs "costar, sentirse". "Para/porque". "Desde/desde hace/hace que". "Sentirse ridículo/a, seguro/a, inseguro/a, frustrado/a, bien, mal". Language learning activities. Jobs and knowledge areas.

Unit 2:

• Storytelling and relating past events. Talk about the beginning and the duration of an action. Forms and uses of the indefinite past.
• "Empezar" +a+infinitivo. "Ir/irse". Past indicators. Prepositions "desde, durante y hasta". Film and biographies.

Unit 3:

• Indentify and describe people physically. Talk about relationships and similarities between people. Irregular simple present verbs ("c/zc"). Demonstrative pronouns. "El/la/los/las +de" +noun. "El/la/los/las +de" +verb. Clothing items. Physical description adjectives. Romantic relationshiips. The verbs "ser, tener y llevar". The verbs "parecerse, llevarse".

Unit 4:

• Expressing tastes and preferences. Describe a house. Compare. Express coincidence. Locate objects in a room. Describe objects. Comparisons.
• Prepositions ("sin, con, debajo, encima, detrás, delante, etc"). Possessive pronouns "el mío/la mía, el tuyo/la tuya, el suyo/la suya". Uses of "ser, estar".
• Verbs "gustar, encantar y preferir". Types of housing. Parts of a home. Adjective to describe a home. Shapes, styles and materials.

Unit 5:

• Formal situations: invitations, presentations, introductions and goodbyes. Ask for things, actions and favors. Ask for and give permission. Give excuses and justify. The gerund (regular and irregular forms). "Estar +gerundio". Conditional. Introductions and goodbyes. Polite verbs: "poder, importar, ayudar, poner. Dar, dejar y prestar."

Unit 6:

• Talk about leisure activities. Talk about schedules. Relate past experiences. Describe places. Talk about intentions and projects. Perfect Past Tens.
• "Ya/Todavía no". "Ir a" +infinitive. "Querer/pensar" +infinitive. Leisure activities and places. Trips.

Unit 7:

• Talk about tastes and eating habits. Explain how to prepare a dish. Direct object personal pronouns. The impersonal forms ("se"). Some uses of "ser, estar". "Y, pero, además". Groceries. Recipes. Weight and measurements.

Unit 8:

• Talk and assess experiences. Assess people and things. Express wishes. Uses of the perfect past tense and indefinite past tense.
• "Me/te/le/nos/os/les gustaría" +infinitive. Phrases with exclamation. "Parecer. Caer bien/mal. Pasárselo bien/mal". Places of interest and cultural activities.

Unit 9:

• Give advice. Talk about moods. Describe pain and symptoms. Uses of "ser, estar". The verb "doler". Form and uses of the affirmative imperative. Parts of the body. Diseases and symptoms.

Unit 10:

• Talk about past habits. Describe people, things and places in the past. Imperfect past tense. Past indicators: "entonces, en esa/aquella época, en aquellos tiempos". Present indicators: "hoy en día, en estos momentos, actualmente, ahora". "Ya no/Todavía" +present. Life stages. Inventions and discoveries.

Assessment System

• Midterm exams. There will be two or three tests throughout the course (30-35%).
• Final exam on the entire content of the course (55-60%).
• Homework, participation and attendance (10-15%).

Attendance policy for SAP courses:
Daily attendance  and active participation is required. To justify any missed classes the student will have to submit their grounds to the Carlos III International School through the student's program coordinator.

Unjustified absences:

Missing class once without justification subtracts 0.3 from the final grade.
Missing class twice without justification subtracts 0.5 from the final grade.
Missing class three times without justification means failing the course.