Spring 2010 Language Courses | Language & Literature at Benedictine

Spring 2010 language courses

To see detailed descriptions of the department’s spring 2010 language classes, click on a course title or scroll down to see the full list.

Note: Department course offerings are subject to change at any time. For the most up-to-date information, please check BenULive.

Arabic and Chinese Language Courses

›› ARBC 102 | Elementary Arabic II (Mohamed)

This course offers students continued study of basic Arabic skills. Students will work on developing oral and written proficiency in Arabic by improving their vocabulary, pronunciation, and reading comprehension. In addition, students will gain a broader understanding and appreciation of Arab culture.
Prerequisite: ARBC 101 or placement.

›› ARBC 202 | Intermediate Arabic II (Mohamed)

Prerequisite: ARBC 201 or placement.

›› CHIN 102 | Elementary Mandarin II (Staff)

This course will enable students to begin to develop oral and written proficiency in Mandarin. Students will learn to read Mandarin script and pronounce Mandarin words, as well as increase their knowledge of vocabulary and their reading comprehension. In addition, students will gain a broader understanding and appreciation of Chinese culture.
Prerequisite: CHIN 101 or placement.

›› CHIN 202 | Intermediate Mandarin II (Staff)

Prerequisite: CHIN 201 or placement.

Spanish Language and Literature Courses

›› SPAN 101 | Elementary Spanish I (Staff)

In this introductory course, students will learn to do the following in oral and written Spanish:

tell your name, age, and where you are from.
greet someone and say goodbye.
express the time and date.
describe people and objects.
identify a person’s nationality.
describe what someone is doing.
state location and where you are going.
discuss everyday activities.
indicate possession.
begin to narrate the past.
begin to compare people and objects.identify the various regions and countries of the Hispanic world.

›› SPAN 102 | Elementary Spanish II (Staff)

In this course, students will learn to do the following in oral and written Spanish:

discuss the location of people and things.
describe family relationships.
describe household items and food items.
make hotel and phone reservations.
ask and give prices.
narrate past actions.
discuss leisure-time activities.
express emotions, doubt, and certainty.
describe needs, wants, and preferences.
give instructions/advice and make requests.

Students will also gain an enhanced understanding of/appreciation for Hispanic cultures.
Prerequisite: SPAN 101 or placement.

›› SPAN 201 | Intermediate Spanish I (Vinkler)

This course will enable students to improve their ability to communicate in Spanish correctly, use native-like intonational patterns, and learn more about Hispanic civilizations and cultures. Students will learn to do the following in oral and written Spanish at the Intermediate-Mid level:

describe daily routines and activities
describe the permanent characteristics of and the temporary state or condition of people or things.
compare people and things using adjectives and comparisons of equality, inequality, and the superlative.
discuss what will happen in the future
discuss what has happened previous to the present moment, and what they and others have or have not done.
report/narrate what happened in the past
discuss what things “used to” be like in the past, and describe what they and others “used to do” or “would do” habitually.
use informal and formal commands.
give advice and make suggestions, express their emotional reaction to various events, express doubt about various issues, discuss hypothetical issues or things.
identify and analyze the impact of Latinos and Latino culture in the United States, and the Latino presence in the arts, politics, business and everyday life.
describe and discuss the importance of various religious and traditional beliefs and practices that are an integral part of the cultures of a number of Spanish-speaking countries.

Prerequisite: SPAN 102 or placement.

›› SPAN 202 | Intermediate Spanish II (Iglesias)

This course serves as a continuation of SPAN 201, providing both a comprehensive review of previously studied material and enabling students to use the Spanish language with greater accuracy, flexibility, and assurance. In addition to learning about Hispanic civilizations and cultures, students will continue to work on pronunciation, listening comprehension, and the use of native-like intonational patterns. Topics to be covered may include the following:

describing scenes, people, and things orally and in writing.
using both oral and written Spanish to request and summarize information; compare and contrast things and ideas; make suggestions and give commands in both informal and formal contexts; and communicate about past, future, probable, and hypothetical actions.
learning new vocabulary that will enable students to talk and write about shopping, dental care, money and banking, foods, animals, the environment, personality traits, photography, seeking employment, interpersonal relationships, and art.
reading a number of literary and informational texts in Spanish by Hispanic authors.

Prerequisite: SPAN 201 or placement.

›› SPAN 211 | Intermediate Grammar & Composition (Montero)

This course offers a comprehensive review of Spanish grammar in order to reinforce and synthesize material Gaudi mosaic studied in elementary and intermediate level Spanish courses. Students will gain experience using many of the most difficult grammatical aspects of the Spanish language (e.g., accentuation, preterit and imperfect tenses, regular and irregular verb conjugations, indicative, subjunctive and imperative modes, prepositions, gender and number of nouns, adjective forms and agreement, etc.) and develop writing skills in Spanish at a level sufficient to enable them to participate successfully in upper level intermediate and advanced courses in Spanish.

Students will learn to write texts of moderate length with sufficient grammatical accuracy so as to be easily comprehensible to native speakers of Spanish who are used to reading the writing of non-natives. They will also conduct focused research on a topic of their choosing to find several Spanish language sources of good academic quality and use these sources as the basis for strong argumentative writing.
Writing intensive.
Prerequisite: SPAN 202.

›› SPAN 212 | Intermediate Oral Communication (Montero)

In this course, students will focus on mastering oral communication in Spanish at an intermediate level. Students will learn to understand most oral discourse in the Spanish language, using adequate strategies to deal with comprehension gaps where necessary, as well as develop the ability to ask and answer questions on a variety of everyday topics. The course will cover the use of Spanish to perform many daily routines such as making phone calls and greeting someone, but students will also learn to describe people and places, narrate recurring events, and achieve some proficiency narrating past events. In addition, students will improve their reading skills and continue to work on their ability to produce written material that describes, narrates, defines, summarizes, and makes sound arguments.
Prerequisite: SPAN 211 or co-registration in SPAN 211.

›› SPAN 230 | Elements of Spanish Civilization and Culture (Montero)

This course is designed to allow students to develop language proficiency through class discussion, student presentations, lectures, and selected readings concerned with Spanish geography, culture, history, popular traditions, and art (architecture, sculpture, painting, literature, crafts, etc.). In addition to communicating at the Intermediate-Mid level, students will learn to do the following:

understand some of the main traditions and customs that define contemporary Spanish culture.
distinguish some of the most important regions, cities, cultures and languages that can be found within Spain today.
discuss the economic, cultural and political relationships between Spain and various other parts of the world (Latin America, Europe, the U.S., and other countries in the Mediterranean).
identify some of the most important artists, artistic periods and artistic trends in the history of Spanish art.
discuss Spanish history and recognize some of the most important individuals in Spanish history.
teach or explain to others some of the most significant elements of Spanish culture and civilization in a comprehensive and pedagogically correct way.

Prerequisite: SPAN 211.

›› SPAN 310 | Contemporary Latin American Narrative (Vinkler)

Prerequisite: SPAN 211.

›› SPAN 312 | Advanced Oral Communications (Iglesias)

This course emphasizes oral proficiency, syntax, vocabulary building, and grammar, enabling students to improve their ability to use and manipulate the Spanish language orally with a higher degree of accuracy, flexibility, and assurance. Students will gain extensive formal and informal oral language practice in Spanish through speeches, debates, presentations, and participation in class discussions. The course will also improve their listening comprehension skills through the use of authentic video materials from Spain and Latin America. Students will be asked to consciously observe and discuss the cultural practices and values manifest these videos in order to enhance their understanding and appreciation of Hispanic cultures.
Prerequisite: SPAN 211.

Links