Revised 1/29/99

NVCC COLLEGE-WIDE COURSE CONTENT SUMMARY
SPA 101 - BEGINNING SPANISH I (5 CR.)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Introduces understanding, speaking, reading, and writing skills, and emphasizes basic Spanish sentence structure. Lecture 5 hours per week.

GENERAL COURSE PURPOSE

Beginning Spanish, a basic introductory course, places emphasis on the development of proficiency in the following skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. The student will learn to function in the language within a limited context of vocabulary and structures. The course includes a general introduction to culture.

ENTRY LEVEL COMPETENCY

Functional fluency in English.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

A. Listening

The student will be able to understand short, learned material and some sentence-length content, particularly where context strongly supports understanding and speech is clearly audible. The student will also understand simple questions, statements and high-frequency commands. Repetition, rephrasing and/or slower rate of speech for comprehension may be required.
B. Speaking The student will be able to satisfy partially the requirements of basic communicative exchanges by relying heavily on learned material but occasionally expanding these through simple recombination of his/her elements. The student will also be able to ask questions or make statements involving learned material, showing occasional signs of spontaneity. Speech continues to consists of learned material rather than of personalized, situationally adapted material. Vocabulary centers on areas such as basic objects, places, and most common kinship terms. Pronunciation may still be strongly influenced by first language. Although errors may be frequent and some repetition may be needed, most speakers at this level can be understood by native speakers accustomed to dealing with non-native speakers. C. Reading
The student will be able to interpret written language in areas of practical need.  Where vocabulary has been learned, can read for instructional and directional purposes standardized messages, phrases or expressions, such as some items on menus, schedules, maps, and signs. At times, but not on a consistent basis, the student at this level may be able to extract specific information at a slightly higher level.
D. Writing
 
The student will be able to write simple expressions and limited memorized material with some recombinations using basic grammatical structures; supply information on simple forms and documents, writing names, numbers, dates, nationality, and other simple autobiographical information as well as some short phrases and simple lists. Some errors are expected.


MAJOR TOPICS TO BE COVERED

The student will be able to learn the structure of the Spanish language in a prescribed sequence beginning with the simplest structures and working toward the more complex. Topics and situations to be covered may include:

  1. Personal identification
  2. Education
  3. House and home
  4. Earning a living
  5. Services
  6. Leisure
  7. Family life
  8. Public and private services
  9. Community/neighborhood
  10. Shopping
  11. Physical environment
  12. Travel
  13. Meal-taking/Food/Drink
  14. Current events
  15. Health and welfare
OPTIONAL TOPICS

The development of the awareness of cultures that use Spanish, including social patterns of behavior, historical developments, and contributions to the arts and sciences.

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