Course Descriptions

During the 2009-2010 academic year I will be supervising the content Spanish 002 as part of Penn State's Spanish Basic Language Program. The purpose of this course is to develop and improve communication skills when listening, reading, speaking, and writing in Spanish. The course follows a communicative information-based task approach, which springs from research that shows that languages are best learned when real world information becomes the focus of students’ activities. Therefore, during the semester, students will exchange real-life information about themselves and their classmates.

Spanish 002 covers grammatical aspects of the Spanish language including the preterite, imperfect, and subjunctive. In addition various vocabulary lessons are presented, including (but not limited to) clothing, shopping, weather, food, and professions. Students will utilize new vocabulary in conjunction with the grammatical points, as they progress through the course.

This course is designed for students who have successfully completed Spanish 001 at PSU, or the equivalent level at another university, or who have had the equivalent of two or three years of high school Spanish within four years immediately preceding admission to college.  The following links provide in-depth information about the class.

Class meetings
Homework activities
Evaluation criteria

To get an idea of the type and scope of activities that students might complete in a basic Spanish class, click on the following image to see a sample reading comprehension activity. Also, detailed information on Spanish 001 and 003 can be found on the Spanish Basic Language Program website by clicking on the Syllabi and Policies link.

Sample Reading Comprehension Activity