Communicative Competence Development of Language C -Spanish, level 1

obligatory courses

Compulsory, 1st year, BA studies. Students continue to study Spanish as the second language of students’ specialization (C) at level B2 of CEFR at the outset of the course.

Classroom

The study of Spanish as the second language of students’ specialization (C) at level B2 (Upper Intermediate) of CEFR at the outset of the course. The course consists of 120 hours in-class in the 1st semester, divided into thematic segments, and requires a considerable amount of the student’s individual self-study.

The aim of the course is to develop and improve the students’ communicative competence in Spanish at the advanced Upper Intermediate level, equivalent to level B2+ within the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The teaching process stimulates integrated development of several communicative competences, i.e.: pragmatic, sociolinguistic, intercultural and metalinguistic. The content of the course conforms to the level of language skills among students and designed for the studies at the Applied Linguistics.

A compulsory course for year 1 BA students with Spanish as the second language of students’ specialization (C).

During the 1st semester of the course, students’ communicative competence in Spanish begins at an advanced level, equivalent to level B2 within the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The aim of the course is to develop and improve the students’ communicative competence in Spanish by the end of the 1-st year at an advanced upper intermediate level, equivalent to level B2+ within the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

The teaching process stimulates integrated development of several communicative competences, such as the pragmatic competence, sociolinguistic, as well as intercultural and metalinguistic competences, with the focus on the skills of speaking and pronunciation, writing, listening and reading comprehension, as well as control over vocabulary and grammar structures at the B2+ level by the end of the 1-st year. The content of the course conforms to the level of language skills among students and is designed for the studies with the major in Applied Linguistics, especially to professional requirements in academic, glottodidactic and translation domains.

The course in the 1-st semester comprises of the following thematic components: (1) Listening, Speaking and Vocabulary, (2) Practical Grammar, and Communication, (3) Practical Grammar with Phonetics, (4) Reading and Writing.

These components improve the students’:

- lexical competence (by contributing to their growing control over a vast range of vocabulary contained in the teaching programme at a B2+ level CEFR);

- grammatical competence (by contributing to their growing receptive and productive skills of comprehending grammatically complex texts and utterances and creating such texts and utterances in keeping with grammatical standards covered by the teaching programme);

- phonological competence (by contributing to the development of the correct articulation in Spanish, proper intonation and fluency);

- discursive competence in speech and in writing (by contributing to their growing skills of composing logically, grammatically and stylistically consistent texts and utterances.

- functional and sociolinguistic competence (by contributing to the development of the skill of applying the appropriate forms of expression to communicative situations and its recipients in the context of selected cultural aspects associated with Spanish at a B2+ level).

Contact hours (in-class): 120 hrs

Self-study/individual work:

- working with assigned texts – 25 hrs

- practical grammar assignments – 15 hrs

- preparing oral presentations and written assignments – 35 hrs

- pronunciation practice – 10 hrs

- revising and preparation for the end-of-term written tests/assignments/oral presentations – 15 hrs

Self-study/individual work total: 100 hrs

If classroom learning is impossible, the workshop will be conducted with the help of distance communication tools, most probably Google Meet and others recommended by the University.

Specified individually by particular teachers.

KNOWLEDGE:

The student:

- has the knowledge of the language at B2+ level (CEFR), understands its structure and specificity (K1_W01);

- knows morphosyntactic structures, understands oral statements at B2+ level, interprets written texts at B2+ level, knows word definitions, synonyms and idioms, has a grounded knowledge of lexical, grammatical and phonetic issues regarding the Spanish language, as indicated in the course description(K1_W01);

- understands the complexity of the Spanish language at B2+ level (CEFR) (K1_W03);

- knows and understands the elements of selected Spanish speaking countries’ culture, understands the role of language in intercultural and cultural communication (K1_W07, K1_W10);

- knows and understands cultural differences, constituting important factors in the process of creating multicultural societies in the modern world, has a general knowledge of the reality, socio-economic and legal conditions of selected Spanish speaking countries (K1_W11)

SKILLS

The student:

- possesses linguistic skills at B2+ level (CEFR), also in typical professional situations which require the knowledge of techniques, strategies and different communication channels (K1_U05, K1_U09);

- is able to critique cultural texts, search for, analyse, evaluate and select authentic texts in Spanish and develop professional skills in Spanish (K1_U01);

- can identify characteristic cultural elements and correctly interpret phenomena regarding the Spanish language, react properly in every communicative situation while considering the cultural context and using customary expressions (K1_U03);

- can prepare written assignments in Spanish on discussed subjects (K1_U06);

- can prepare speeches in Spanish using properly selected source materials (K1_U07);

- can set priorities and plan activities in order to perform specific linguistic, communicative and professional tasks in Spanish, understands the need of self-study and the necessity of continuous development of skills (K1_U12);

- can solve problems and perform linguistic tasks in Spanish at B2+ competence level in conditions which are not fully predictable, through assessing the situation and choosing appropriate methods and tools (K1_U13)

SOCIO-CULTURAL COMPETENCIES

The student is:

- prepared to cooperate and work in a group, assume various roles and respect rules of good communication in Spanish (K1_K06);

- prepared to identify and properly solve communicative dilemmas between Spanish and Polish, which result from the asymmetry in linguistic systems and cultural variety (K1_K01);

- prepared to participate in cultural life in Poland and selected Spanish speaking countries, promote their cultures while using both traditional and modern forms of communication and media (K1_K03).

- prepared to take measures in inter-linguistic communication in order to preserve the cultural heritage of Poland and Spanish speaking countries (K1_K04)

Assessment criteria:

Each thematic component is assessed according to the following:

- Continuous assessment (preparedness, activity in class)

- Home assignments

- mid-term and end-of-term written tests/ term papers

- mid-term and end-of-term oral exams

- preparation and delivery of oral presentations

Grading criteria:

The final grade at the end of the 1st semester of the course Communicative Competence Development is the average score from all the thematic components, which are treated equally and provide a 100% of the final grade written in the USOS. Failing one or more of the components results in a negative grade in the USOS in the first term, at which point the student is allowed a second attempt at passing the failed component (or components) during the winter retake exam session in the same form during the winter retake exam session.

During the final tests the student must obtain at least 60% in the final score from each component to receive a positive grade. All written tests and assignments within the components and during the course, as well as the final end-of-term written tests and assignments are graded according to the following criteria:

0-59% = failed, (2.0)

60-67% = satisfactory (3.0)

68-75% = satisfactory plus (3.5)

76-83% = good (4.0)

84-91% = good plus (4.5)

92-98% = very good (5.0)

99-100% = very good! (5.0!)

Students are required to attend all the classes in a given component of the course. The allowed number of unexcused absences in a given component is 2 per 30 contact hours. When the number of allowed absences is exceeded, the student will be given additional tasks aimed at making up for the material missed from the classes by that student. If the number of absences exceeds 50% of the component’s total number of contact hours, it will result in a negative grade from that component as well as the entire course.