Course Description
¡Bienvenidos!
Welcome to Spanish 101!
Spanish 101 is the first course of the four-semester Spanish Basic Language Program (SBLP) at UIC.
The course is guided by principles of the Task-Based Teaching Approach, which establishes that by performing real-world tasks in Spanish, students will develop basic communicative proficiency in this language.
The purpose of the course then is for you to learn Spanish in order to be able to use it with other speakers in authentic ways.
This course also focuses on learning about and reflecting on the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world so students become more interculturally competent; a necessary trait to helping others and successfully working in our globalized world.
What is the course like?
In this course, you will do a variety of interesting, real-world tasks (in Spanish!) that form the "heart" of the curriculum.
Some of these Tasks are:
introduce a friend
create a poster with your classmate's information
create a video of yourself stating why you want to learn Spanish
participate in a contest about the geography of the Spanish speaking countries
You will also have plenty of opportunities to interact in Spanish with your instructor and your classmates, read short stories, listen to popular songs, watch a movie, and do an out-of-classroom exploratory project, where you will connect with one of the thriving Hispanic communities in Chicago.
This course is designed for you to truly learn to use Spanish to communicate in authentic, culturally appropriate ways. ¡Bienvenidos!
What am I going to learn? What are the objectives?
At the end of the course, you will be able to do three things:
Successfully perform tasks where you will use Spanish to comprehend, interact, and express your ideas at the novice-mid level of proficiency.
Identify and explain the products and practices of cultures in the Spanish-speaking world as well as analyze and reflect on the values and perspectives that they may represent.
What will I be able to do at the novice-mid level of proficiency in Spanish?
According to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), students at the novice-mid level can identify some basic facts from memorized words and phrases when they are supported by gestures or visuals in conversations. They can request and provide information by asking and answering simple questions on very familiar and everyday topics, express basic needs, preferences or feelings, likes and dislikes, and give information about themselves, their interests and activities using a mixture of practiced or memorized words, phrases or questions.
You should be able to do at least all these at the end of Spanish 101!