This is an advanced course in Spanish language. It promotes the development of communicative competence through extensive practice of grammar and vocabulary in context and in relation to cultural and contemporary topics. All language skills are targeted: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The following are the main topics to be covered:
Health and medical professions, value judgments, obligation, giving advice, city life and places, Hispanics in the US, personality traits, university life, professions, correcting information, modern addictions, psychological profiles, technology, the justice system, reporting a crime, road safety, lamenting past events, the environment, natural disasters, and humanitarian help.
The course is delivered through three 50-minute sessions per week on campus, blended with an online component that uses up-to-date methodology and extensive multimedia materials. As a Blended Learning course, students are expected to work independently with custom-made online materials. Class activities include interaction in pairs, small groups, or with the whole class. Regular, active participation is therefore expected in class, and must be accompanied by a clear commitment to independent learning and preparation.