SPN-302 Conversation and Composition

The goal of this course is to strengthen your Spanish communication skills by (1) providing a place for regular guided oral practice of basic grammatical and conversational patterns and vocabulary through topics of current interest, (2) increasing your confidence to use Spanish inside and outside the classroom, (3) helping you add to your active vocabulary, reinforcing it with readings and selected written exercises, and (4) helping you improve listening comprehension (live speech, short videos, movie) and speaking ability (oral exams, pair/group work in class, etc.).

Modern Language Journal 89, p. 158

The MLJ reviews books, monographs, computer software, and materials that (a) present results of research in-and methods of-foreign and second language teaching and learning; (b) are devoted to matters of general interest to members of the profession; (c) are intended primarily for use as textbooks or instructional aids in classrooms where foreign and second languages, literatures, and cultures are taught; (d) convey information from other disciplines that relates directly to foreign and second language teaching and learning. Reviews not solicited by the MLJ can neither be accepted nor returned. Books and materials that are not reviewed in the MLJ cannot be returned to the publisher. The MLJ invites written responses to the reviews published here. Responses should be typed with double spacing, signed by their authors, and submitted in duplicate with a diskette copy (IBM or MAC acceptable, WordPerfect preferred). Address responses to Sally Sieloff Magnan, Editor, The Modern Language Journal,

This course is designed to provide students with structured and guided writing practice to assist them in progressing their writing abilities in Spanish from the intermediate to the advanced level, according to the ACTFL proficiency guidelines. We will practice textual forms of description, narration, exposition and argumentation, and interpersonal communication modes as well —social media, and e-mail. Texts may include literary, political, sociological, and cultural approach. A series of different writing assignments —a description, a narration, an exposition, and an argumentative essay— will be assigned to improve students’ writing skills.

2018

Spanish 101 is an introduction to the Spanish language and to the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. In this course, students develop the four abilities necessary for learning a second language: listening, speaking, reading and writing. As part of the learning of the language, students will be in contact with situations in everyday life, and will be involved with local communities. The cultural component is just as important in this course as the grammar. The course is taught in Spanish.

Eizaga, B. (ed.), Studies in Linguistics and Cognition. Colección Linguistic Insights. Studies in Language and Communication, Vol. 158, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, pp. 249-274. , 2012

Foreign Language Annals, 1995

Successful conversation and composition courses entail a large amount of preparation and coordination. Three examples of courses that work well as a result of these efforts are outlined in this article, which is a report of a well-received presentation at ACTFL 1993. Included are courses in German, French, and Spanish. Goals are described and common characteristics of each course are delineated. Student activities and assessment methods are highlighted. With syllabi included, these courses are presented not simply as theoretical models but as concrete examples of strategies that succeed in the communicative classroom.

Fundamentación I en Inglés de Negocios is a course designed to provide Modern Languages students the necessary tools to incorporate into their own knowledge the basic linguistic tools to appropriately communicate at an elementary level and go deeper into the study of the English language and its culture in later courses. Through this first level, students apply general previous knowledge in conversations and written texts in which they exchange information related to business topics.

Hispania, 1997

Many contemporary second language (L2) instructional materials feature collocation exercises; however, few studies have verified their effectiveness (Boers, Demecheleer, Coxhead, & Webb, 2014) or whether these exercises can be utilized for target languages beyond English (Higueras García, 2017). This study addresses these issues by investigating whether Laufer & Girsai’s (2008) instructional protocol of contrastive analysis and translation (CAT) is effective for teaching collocations in an advanced Spanish course. 25 verb-noun collocations were selected from course readings. A CAT group completed collocation workshops following Laufer & Girsai’s protocol. A control group encountered the target collocations in course texts but received no explicit collocation instruction. A third group received form-focused instruction (FFI) consisting of non-contrastive vocabulary exercises. Results indicated that both CAT and FFI groups demonstrated significantly increased collocation knowledge, whereas the Control Group learned very few target collocations. Differences in learning gains between the CAT and FFI groups were not significant. These results suggest that (a) any exercise that leads students to cognitively engage with the forms and meanings of targeted collocations will lead to their acquisition, and that (b) without some form of explicit instruction, most students will not independently acquire collocations in an advanced language course.