UCL CENTRE FOR LANGUAGES
& INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
Course Units 2015-2016
Spanish Syllabus D
Prerequisite for entry
Successful completion of Spanish Syllabus C at the UCL CLIE or if you are reasonably fluent in the language and are able to
discuss a range of issues (low ‘A’ level grade).
Course duration
20 x 2-hour classes.
Self-Study
80 hours in total.
Course codes
LCSP6004, LCSPG004, LCSPM004, LCSP6034, LCSPG034 (together with Spanish syllabus C), LCSP6045, LCSPG045,
LCSPM045 (together with Spanish for Business and Current Affairs).
Aims and Objectives
The aim of the course is to enable students who already have a reasonably advanced knowledge of Spanish to acquire a
better fluency in the language. Students should then be able to communicate in all situations within the Hispanic world.
Students will be able to converse with native speakers, follow debates and give presentations relating to their degree as
well as discussing current issues (local and worldwide) using more complex and linguistically accurate structures (different
types of discourse, register). Cultural awareness will be further developed and raised within a European/global context.
Language learning skills, including autonomous learning and how to approach authentic material, will be further
enhanced. Various transferable skills will also be covered.
Functions
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critical topic-related comments, evaluating;
debating, commenting, arguing (accepting and contrasting opinions);
suggesting, accepting, refusing;
composing written pieces of information for different purposes (narrating and describing);
analysing/comparing texts from various sources (different text types and registers);
preparing oral contributions in different situations (on the spot and as homework).
Course Content
Main topics/themes to be covered
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music, films, people and customs (languages, art, literature, gastronomy and traditional celebrations);
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the media;
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social issues;
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leisure life;
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the environment;
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technology;
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current affairs;
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personal relationships.
Linguistic Structures
Phonetics
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accentuation;
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varieties of Spanish in the different regions and countries.
Morphology
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revision of past tenses;
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revision and further uses of present of subjunctive;
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present perfect, imperfect and pluperfect of subjunctive;
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further uses of future and conditional, etc..
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prepositional verbs and expressions (adverbs with preposition);
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verbs with pronouns (change in meaning);
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prepositions (special uses of por/para, etc.).
Syntax
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ser/estar;
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impersonal expressions and the passive voice;
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use of the past tenses: perfect/indefinite vs. imperfect, pluperfect;
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the indirect speech;
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sequence of tenses;
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use of the subjunctive:
- in final clauses: para que..., a fin de que...;
- with impersonal expressions: es importante que..., conviene que..., urge que...;
- with verbs expressing feelings and emotions: me encanta que..., estoy harto de que..., temo que...;
- in relative clauses: el que..., alguien que..., nadie que...;
- in clauses expressing doubt: dudar (de) que..., no estar seguro (de) que...;
- with expressions of probability: puede que..., posiblemente...;
- in conditional clauses: si..., a menos que..., a no ser que...
Discourse Strategies
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revision of various grammatical features (mainly on sentence level);
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logical structures;
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punctuation;
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linking devices (lexical, grammatical);
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stylistic levels and their usage;
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idiomatic expressions.
Learning Resources
Syllabus D
Compulsory
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ELE Actual B2, Libro del alumno, Virgilio Borobio (SM) – ISBN: 9788467549010
Recommended
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ELE Actual B2, Libro de ejercicios , Virgilio Borobio (SM) optional – ISBN: 9788467549027
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The Oxford Spanish Dictionary, New Second Edition (Oxford University Press) – ISBN: 9780199543403
Authentic material from various sources (press, internet, TV, etc.)
Syllabus C/D
Compulsory
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ELE Actual B1, Libro del alumno, Virgilio Borobio (SM) – ISBN: 9788467548976
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ELE Actual B2, Libro del alumno, Virgilio Borobio (SM) – ISBN: 9788467549010
Recommended
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ELE Actual B1, Libro de ejercicios, Virgilio Borobio (SM) – ISBN: 9788467548983
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ELE Actual B2, Libro de ejercicios, Virgilio Borobio (SM) – ISBN: 9788467549027
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Shaum’s Outlines Spanish Grammar (McGraw-Hill) – ISBN: 9780071830416
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The Oxford Spanish Dictionary, New Second Edition (OUP) – ISBN: 9780199543403
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Authentic material from various sources (press, internet, TV, etc.)
Syllabus D+ Business and Current Affairs
Compulsory
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ELE Actual B2, Libro del alumno, Virgilio Borobio (SM) – ISBN: 9788467549010
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Nueva gramática de la lengua española, manual (Espasa Libros) – optional – ISBN: 9788467032819
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The Oxford Spanish Dictionary, New Second Edition (Oxford University Press) – ISBN: 9780199543403
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Business Spanish Dictionary - English-Spanish and Spanish-English (Peter Collins Publishing) –
ISBN: 9781901659238
Recommended

ELE Actual B2, Libro de ejercicios , Virgilio Borobio (SM) optional – ISBN: 9788467549027

The Oxford Spanish Dictionary, New Second Edition (Oxford University Press) – ISBN: 9780199543403
In addition there is a wide range of language learning materials available for self-study in the Self-Access Centre.