I. General Information

1. Course Title:
Beginning Spanish I

2. Course Prefix & Number:
SPAN 1401

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 4

Lecture Hours: 4

Lab Hours: 0

4. Course Description:

This is an entry level Spanish language course. Beginning level vocabulary groupings (pastimes, family, time, clothing, foods) will be used in elementary conversations. Grammar will include present tense of regular verbs, stem-changers, present progressive, irregulars, reflexives and some idiomatic constructs. Preterite tense of regular verbs will be introduced, time permitting. Graded level readings are used for comprehension and paired activities and role-play are implemented for beginning conversational interaction. Cultural data and correct intercultural communication is introduced by country. MnTC Goal 8

5. Placement Tests Required:

Accuplacer (specify test):

Reading College Level CLC or Reading College Level

Score:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

There are no prerequisites for this course.

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:

Normandale Community College, SPAN 1100 Beginning Spanish 1, 5 credits
Metropolitan State University, SPAN 101 Beginning Spanish 1, 4 credits
St. Cloud State University, Spanish 101, Beginning Spanish 1, 4 credits
Bemidji State University, Spanish 1111 Elementary Spanish 1, 4 credits

3. Prior Learning - the following prior learning methods are acceptable for this course:

• Advanced Placement (AP)
• CLEP
• Demonstration

III. Course Purpose

1. Program-Applicable Courses – This course fulfills a requirement for the following program(s):

Latin American Studies Certificate

2. MN Transfer Curriculum (General Education) Courses - This course fulfills the following goal area(s) of the MN Transfer Curriculum:
Goal 8 – Global Perspective

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Demonstrate oral communication skills	Participate in paired activities, role-play, directed – vocabulary mini-conversations.
Demonstrate written communication skills	Create short written conversations, thematic essays, sentences using specific grammatical points (verb tense, adjectives, negatives, etc), and translate graded level pieces.
Demonstrate reading and listening skills	Demonstrate an understanding of spoken Spanish language through simple conversations.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

• Carry on a short conversation about personal interests including what they are doing and are going to do;
• Ask and answer simple questions using practiced patterns;
• State personal preferences and feelings;
• Express agreement and disagreement using memorized expressions;
• Read and respond to level-appropriate written materials on familiar topics;
• Identify the main idea of selected authentic materials;
• Demonstrate understanding of written and spoken language that has strong visual support;
• Write short guided compositions on familiar topics in the present time frame;
• Identify similarities and differences between the target cultures and the student’s own culture with topics such as family, Spanish around the world, greetings and university systems (MnTC Goal 8);
• Analyze specific international problems, illustrating the cultural, economic, and political differences that affect their solution (MnTC Goal 8);
  
• Understand the role of a world citizen and the responsibility world citizens share for their common global future (MnTC Goal 8); and
• Identify and describe contributions from the target cultures such as artwork, architecture, music, dance and literature.

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

NOTE: By the nature of language, cultural points are introduced as an integral part of any vocabulary theme.  Example:  Greetings are taught within the context of formality, gender, personal space, perceived time of day (afternoon or evening).  Specific Cultural celebrations/holidays are included at the end of the outline. 

1. Basic Vocabulary
   
   • Personal information
   • Family
   • Pastimes
   • Numbers and letters
   • Alphabet and pronunciation
   • Telling time, dates, shopping (costs)
   • Clothing
   • Classroom
   • Weather
   • Days and month
2. Verbs – Regular – ar, -er, -ir   meanings and conjugations
3. Irregular Verbs
• Ser and Estar
• Saber and Conocer
• Tener and Venir   and ‘yo- go’/ salir, poner etc
4. Verb Tenses
• Present tense – Regular
• Present tense – Irregulars
• Present progressive
• Preterite
• Regular
• –car , - gar, -zar
5. Grammar Points
• Adjectives (concordance, possessive, demonstrative)
• Objects (Direct and indirect)
• Pronouns (Formal and Informal)
• Subject Verb agreement
• Articles
6. Culture areas covered contextually in lessons might include:
• Celebrations: Hispanic countries
• Birthdays; Saint’s Days; quinceñeras
• Día de los Muertos
• Cinco de mayo
• Independence days / September 16^th/ Grito de Dolores
• Virgen de Guadalupe/ December 12^th
• Hispanic countries
• Geography
• Historical clips
• Foods, rituals, religions
• Idiomatic variations