Spanish: Lower Intermediate - Part 1

Overview

This 10-week course is pitched at level A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), and completion of the course will help you meet some of the level requirements. To help develop your fluency in the language, the course will focus primarily on speaking and listening skills, but will also include practice in reading and writing. You will have plenty of opportunities to practise the target language through hands-on class activities such as discussions and role-plays.

Programme details

Course starts: 1 Oct 2024

The weekly course schedule below is intended to give an overview of the main topics likely to be covered in each session. Please note that these may sometimes change at the tutor’s discretion to reflect the interests of course participants.

Week 1: Un nuevo curso: revision; expressing wishes, obligations and needs.

Week 2: Un nuevo curso: discussing plans and intentions ; expressing certainty/uncertainty and possibility.

Week 3: ¿Qué te pasa? : asking about physical condition and state of mind; expressing feelings and pain; describing physical sensations; offering, accepting and refusing things; making, accepting and refusing suggestions.

Week 4: Comidas: buying food in a shop; asking for the price.

Week 5: Comidas: asking for food/service in a restaurant; addressing others.

Week 6: Ha sido un día normal: talking about recent past events ; apologising and explaining;  language for calming someone down.

Week 7: Eperiencias y opiniones: talking about things that have been done or that have not been done yet; expressing opinions, agreement and disagreement; presenting a counter-argument.

Week 8: Ropa y complementos: talking about clothes; shopping; making comparisons; expressing wishes; asking for and giving permission.

Week 9: ¡Feliz cumpleaños!: discussing actions in progress; congratulating someone on their birthday; giving and accepting presents; asking about and saying dates.

Week 10: Viajes: narrating past events; discussing journeys.

Key grammar points:

* Indicative tenses: present tense; regular and irregular forms.

* Present perfect: haber + participio pasado.

* Direct and indirect pronouns.

* Pronominal verbs: me gusta, me duele, me interesa.

* Estar + gerundio.

* Going to + infinitive.

* Past simple: regular and irregular forms.

Key functions:

* Describing daily routine and habits in the present and in the the past.

* Ser, tener and estar to express feelings and sensations.

* Expressing likes, dislikes, preferences and needs.

* Describing ongoing actions.

* Making plans and expressing intentions.

* Telling and narrating past experiences.

Digital Certification

Digital badge

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be issued with an official digital badge from the Department for Continuing Education, University of Oxford. After the course, you will receive an email with a link and instructions on how to download your digital badge. You will be able to add your badge to your email signature and share it on social media if you choose to do so. In order to be issued with your badge, you will need to have attended at least 80% of the course.

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee £275.00

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutors

Mr Esteban Cichello Hubner

Esteban Cichello-Hubner studied International Relations, Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition at Hertford College, University of Oxford and completed a teaching degree at the OU Education Department.  He then pursued his Spanish Philology studies at the University of Salamanca.  Esteban is an author and an experienced Foreign Modern Languages tutor who has taught several courses at the OUDCE.

Mr Leonardo Sanchez Gorosito

Leonardo Sagor is a native qualified Modern Foreign Languages tutor. He is originally from South America and has taught several courses at the University of Oxford's Department for Continuing Education throughout his career. He is also a composer, a guitar player and a talented singer. Leonardo graduated from  the University of Salamanca and obtained his PGCE at the University of Bedfordshire. He is a tireless traveller who has explored more than 50 countries.

Course aims

To help students to practise their interactive skills in the target language in a range of simple and routine everyday situations requiring straightforward descriptions and direct exchange of information on family and other people, living conditions, educational background and work. 

Course objectives:

  • To develop the language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing at level A2 of the CEFR.
  • to consolidate listening and speaking skills to enable students to communicate in a range of simple everyday work and leisure settings and matters in areas of most immediate relevance.
  • To equip students with the vocabulary items and grammatical structures required to read and write short, simple texts on familiar topics.
  • To develop an insight into the cultural practices relating to simple everyday work, study and leisure settings.

Teaching methods

You will learn through a communicative teaching approach with the emphasis on actively engaging in classroom activities in the target language. These are likely to include role-plays, pair- and small group-work, and conversational practice conducted in a supportive, friendly and informal learning environment. The course has been structured to help you primarily to improve your speaking and listening skills and to deepen your awareness of cultural nuances and customs in your target language. You will also learn and practise new grammatical structures in a communicative context and will be encouraged to develop your reading and writing skills in your own time.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • communicate in a range of simple everyday situations requiring direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters;
  • understand and respond appropriately to a range of simple spoken language in everyday situations provided speech is slowly and clearly articulated;
  • read and demonstrate comprehension of a range of short simple texts on familiar matters of concrete type and consisting of everyday language;
  • write short, simple notes, messages, descriptions and/or personal letters;
  • demonstrate intercultural awareness in everyday social situations and language use generally.

Assessment methods

You will be set short, optional assignments to consolidate your learning and to allow you to progress at your own pace.

Application

Please use the 'Book' or 'Apply' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form (Word) or enrolment form (Pdf).

Level and demands