Ateneo - UPO

The Spanish language course for students of LINGUE is divided into two modules:
1. PHONETICS, PHONOLOGY AND ORTHOGRAPHY OF THE SPANISH LANGUAGE, a 15-hour theoretical-practical module taught by Prof. Mancinelli, which focuses on the phonetic-phonological system and the orthography of the Spanish language;
2. SPANISH LANGUAGE TRAINING, a 96-hour module taught by native-speaker language lecturers, which covers Spanish grammar [CEFR B1 level] as well as topics relating to Spanish and Spanish American culture.

A) Module of SPANISH PHONETICS, PHONOLOGY AND ORTHOGRAPHY:
A1. Real Academia Española [2019], "Gramática y ortografía básicas de la lengua española", Barcelona: Planeta, pp. 313-397, 405-412;
A2. Materials uploaded to the DIR platform by the professor.

B) Module of SPANISH LANGUAGE TRAINING:
B1. F. Rosales, T. Moreno et al. [2017], "Campus Sur. Curso intensivo de español A1-B1. Libro del alumno", Difusión;
B2. F. Rosales, T. Moreno et al. [2017], "Campus Sur. Curso intensivo de español A1-B1. Cuaderno de ejercicios", Difusión;
B3. Laura Pierozzi e Sonia Campos Cabrero [3ª ed., con espansione online], "Una vuelta por la cultura hispana", Zanichelli;
B4. Materials uploaded to the DIR platform.

C) For the ORAL EXAM, students must read the texts included in the anthology uploaded by the professor to the course’s DIR pages.

The PHONETICS, PHONOLOGY AND ORTHOGRAPHY OF THE SPANISH LANGUAGE module aims to provide students with the theoretical and critical tools required to analyse the phonetic-phonological and orthographic system of the Spanish language, considered also from a contrastive perspective with respect to Italian.
The module of SPANISH LANGUAGE TRAINING aims to develop and consolidate students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. More specifically, it seeks to provide the fundamental knowledge and competences required to understand and produce spoken and written texts in Spanish and to use the language structures accurately, in accordance with the communicative aims, objectives, and functions recommended for CEFR B1 level.

None.

PHONETICS, PHONOLOGY AND ORTHOGRAPHY OF THE SPANISH LANGUAGE: seminar lectures with the active participation of students.
SPANISH LANGUAGE TRAINING: practical activities, exercises, dictations, written compositions, text reading, and conversation in Spanish.

With regard to SPANISH LANGUAGE TRAINING, students of LINGUE will follow the syllabus and attend the classes of groups A, B, and C. Beginners [both absolute beginners and those who have studied Spanish for fewer than three years during their previous education] are advised to attend group A. Students who have completed more than three years of Spanish study in their previous educational programmes are instead advised to attend group B or group C, choosing independently [according to their timetable]. Once a group has been chosen, it will no longer be possible to change it. As regards the PHONETICS, PHONOLOGY AND ORTHOGRAPHY OF THE SPANISH LANGUAGE module, students from all three groups will attend classes together in a single combined class.
The classes for the PHONETICS, PHONOLOGY AND ORTHOGRAPHY OF THE SPANISH LANGUAGE module and those for SPANISH LANGUAGE TRAINING will begin in the first semester, following separate timetables. Attendance is strongly recommended from the very beginning.
Students of LINGUE are also advised to attend the year-long SPANISH LANGUAGE PRACTICE module, consisting of 15 hours and taught by Prof. Mancinelli. This is a practical module aimed at further developing and practising the grammatical and communicative content covered during the module of Spanish language training.
At the beginning of the academic year, a vademecum is published on all DIR pages for Spanish Language and Linguistics. It provides detailed information on examinations, exam sessions, students with specific learning disorders and compensatory measures, Erasmus, and other academic matters. This document is compulsory reading for all students.
Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities. Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, must refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

The acquisition of knowledge and competences will be assessed through the following exams:
1. DICTATION [30 minutes];
2. WRITTEN EXAM on grammar and culture, lasting 2 hours and 30 minutes, structured as follows: approximately 5-7 exercises on the grammatical content of the course [including multiple-choice questions, gap-filling exercises, transformations, etc.], 1-2 exercises on Hispanic culture, and 1 written composition [approximately 150 words];
3. ORAL EXAM, aimed to assess the acquisition of linguistic knowledge and communicative skills [CEFR B1 level], also on the basis of the texts included in the anthology.
N.B. To be admitted to the oral exam students must pass both the dictation and the written exam on grammar and culture. If only one of these two parts (dictation or written test) is passed, the grade obtained in the passed exam will remain valid for 12 months from the date on which the exam is taken, and only the missing exam will have to be retaken. After the 12-month period has passed, the entire exam must be taken again.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
1. The DICTATION will be assessed on a pass/fail basis and will be considered passed if students obtain at least 5 out of the maximum 10 marks available;
2. The WRITTEN EXAM on grammar and culture will be marked out of 30 and will be considered passed if students achieve at least 60% correct answers in the grammar exercises and demonstrate, in the written composition, correct use of verb moods and tenses, discourse markers and connectors, as well as grammatically accurate written expression, in line with the CEFR B1 level;
3. ORAL EXAM: the oral exam will be considered adequate if the student is able to communicate information and express personal opinions on everyday, familiar, and general topics [including those related to the assigned readings], using grammatically correct structures and a varied vocabulary appropriate to the context, in line with the CEFR B1 level. The oral exam will be considered insufficient if it instead demonstrates communicative competence below the CEFR B1 level, characterised by difficulty in expressing ideas clearly and effectively, by frequent or serious grammatical errors, by the inadequate use of basic syntactic structures, and by limited or contextually inappropriate vocabulary.
N.B. To pass the exam, students must obtain a passing mark in all its parts [dictation, written exam, and oral exam]. The final grade will be calculated as the average of the written and oral exam marks.

ONGOING ASSESSMENT: In-class and take-home assessments on the individual topics covered; grammar tests [based on exercises], composition assignments, dictation, listening comprehension, and translation.

Module of PHONETICS, PHONOLOGY AND ORTHOGRAPHY OF THE SPANISH LANGUAGE [15 hours, taught by Prof. Mancinelli]: the phonetic-phonological system of contemporary Spanish, also analysed from a contrastive perspective with respect to Italian and with attention to diatopic variation in the Spanish-speaking world; Spanish orthography; syllabification and stress rules.

Module of SPANISH LANGUAGE TRAINING [96 hours, taught by language instructors]: grammatical and lexical contents, as well as communicative functions, envisaged for CEFR B1 level. In particular, with regard to grammatical contents, the following topics will be covered: gender and number of nouns and adjectives; articles; personal pronouns; cardinal and ordinal numerals; demonstrative, possessive, and indefinite adjectives and pronouns; relative and interrogative pronouns; comparison and superlative forms; contrast between ‘muy’ and ‘mucho/a/os/as’; prepositions and the use of ‘por’ and ‘para’; adverbs of place, time, and frequency; use of ‘ser’, ‘estar’, ‘haber’, and ‘tener’; pronominal verbs; impersonal verb forms; indicative mood [paradigm of regular and irregular verbs, and use of present and past tenses]; future and simple conditional [paradigm of regular and irregular verbs, and main modal uses]; present subjunctive [paradigm of regular and irregular verbs, and basic uses]; affirmative and negative imperative; basic periphrastic constructions with infinitive and gerund; contrast between ‘ir’ and ‘venir’, ‘traer’ and ‘llevar’, ‘pedir’ and ‘preguntar’, ‘quedar’ and ‘quedarse’.

At the end of the course, students will achieve the following learning outcomes:

KNOWLEDGE:
1. they know the grammar of the Spanish language [CEFR B1 level];
2. they know the phonetic-phonological and orthographic system of the Spanish language, also from a contrastive perspective with respect to Italian;
3. they know the main aspects of Spanish and Spanish American culture.

SKILLS/COMPETENCES:
1. they are able to understand and produce oral and written texts in Spanish, respecting its phonological and orthographic system;
2. they are able to use the basic morphological and syntactic structures appropriate to the above-mentioned level;
3. they are able to recognise and evaluate the [grammatical, communicative, pragmatic] data required for interlinguistic communication at the above-mentioned level;
4. they communicate in activities requiring an exchange of information and personal opinions on familiar and common topics;
5. they are able to describe, in a pragmatically appropriate and grammatically correct manner, aspects of their own background and surrounding environment, express immediate needs, and briefly present experiences and opinions.