Conversation and Composition in Spanish for American Students

OBJECTIVES
This Course is geared toward students who speak American English and who have no prior
knowledge of Spanish. Its overall objective is to develop students’ capacity to express themselves orally
and in written form, within routine sociolinguistic contexts, so that they can come to terms with them
and cope adequately with them, the contrast with their mother tongue acting as a point of reference.
Our endeavor is to enable students to initiate and keep up a conversation using limited vocabulary
content, to produce phrases and basic conversational routines in a spontaneous way, to narrate and
describe routine social situations, as well as to draft basic written forms, while keeping in mind
orthographic, lexical and syntactic correctness, as well as pragmatic appositeness. Likewise, students will
be provided with the chance to develop their comprehension skills in Spanish, becoming thereby adept
at understanding real-life oral discourse adjusted to their level.

METHODOLOGY
This Course will have as its basis a communicative approach so as to favor the active participation
of students, while encouraging the practical application of information and skills as they are being
acquired in real time. With this in mind, class sessions will be structured in terms of lecturers’
explanations which will be backed up by involvement in practical activities in pairs and groups (role-play,
written drafts, games, debates, etc.).

SYLLABUS
1. Greeting and Bidding Farewell. Introducing Yourself and Introducing Others. Seeking and
Providing Information about People (Name, Age, Profession, Nationality, etc.)
2. Describing Oneself and Others: Height, Complexion, Skin, Hair, and Eye Color, Ways of Dressing,
Types of Person. Expressing Tastes and Preferences. Talking and Writing about Habits.
3. Requesting and Giving Basic Information about: Directions to Take and the Reaching of Places;
Purchases (tickets, shopping zones); Accommodation; Markets. The Expression of Routine
Temporal and Spatial Notions.
4. Expressing Gratitude and Excusing Oneself. Expressing Mood, State of Mind, and Physical
Condition (pain, weariness, joy, sorrow, indifference, boredom, etc.).
5. Time: Dates, Clock Time, Specific Moments during the Day and the Week, etc. Recounting, in a
basic way, events from the Past (childhood; bygone days, weeks, and months) or with reference
to the Future (the next day; days, weeks, months, and years ahead; future plans, etc.)
6. Making an Appointment and Getting the Details Clear. Clarifying Doubts and Explaining Hitches.
Apologizing.
7. Getting By in Commercial Establishments (restaurants, cafeterias, markets, supermarkets, shops
of different kinds, etc.). Requesting different kinds of Products or Ordering what to Eat and
Drink. Making Payment.
8. Drafting an Informal Letter, or Message, to a Friend or Relative.
9. Giving Advice about What, or What Not, to Do.
10. Providing Information about Recipes and How to Cook specific Foods.
11. Obtaining Information about Renting Accommodation, about Lay-Outs, about Furnishings and
Room Content.