UCL CENTRE FOR LANGUAGES
& INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
Course Units 2015-2016
Spanish for Academic Purposes I and II
Prerequisite for entry
Successful completion of Spanish Business and Current Affairs at the UCL CLIE have completed some post-‘A’ level training
or spent some time in the country actively using the language.
Course duration
40 x 2-hour classes.
Self-Study
160 hours in total.
Course codes
LCSP6867, LCSPG867 and LCSPM867.
Aims and Objectives
The course is designed for advanced level students requiring the language for academic purposes. The course is taught
entirely in the target language with a balance of receptive (reading, listening) and productive (speaking, writing) skills. The
course comprises knowledge and understanding both of the structure of the Spanish language and its use in academic
environments, such as lectures, seminars and conferences. The course covers academic development, academic culture
and conventions, critical thinking, reading and writing academic texts (i.e. in the students main degree subject e.g. history)
as well as other related topics to prepare students for further academic study/research in Spanish-speaking countries.
This will be related back to the student’s degree subject. The course will enhance knowledge and use of linguistically
complex structures (a variety of styles and registers from a range of authentic academic material). Various transferable
skills will also be further developed.
Functions
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suggesting and expressing specialised opinions, critical topic-related comments;
debating, commenting, critical thinking, suggesting;
describing institutions;
defining specialised academic concepts;
composing written pieces of information for academic purposes (essay work, synthesis, summaries, reports);
conducting oral presentations on complex academic topics;
conference skills (simulating conference and academic discussions – academic oral registers);
summarising academic information from English to Spanish (and vice versa);
note taking;
reading specialised texts;
interviewing.
Course Content
Main topics/themes to be covered
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university system/professional qualifications
applications and interviews;
seminar papers/presentations;
group debates;
conference papers;
research projects.
Skills
Reading
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reading for gist, scanning for specific information in academic sources;
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in-depth analysis of academic topics in relevant publications.
Writing
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formal academic letters;
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analysis and review of articles;
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note-taking from presentations;
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writing up presentations;
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academic reports and conference papers;
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journal articles.
Listening
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radio, TV, audio- and video-tapes;
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presentations;
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academic debates.
Speaking
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formal and informal discussions, debates, round table;
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presentations;
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seminars;
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conferences.
Linguistic Structures
Discourse Strategies
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analysing/comparing various professional sources (different text types, styles and registers);
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preparing oral contributions for different audiences;
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spoken versus written professional communication.
Main Aspects of These Strategies
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structuring (logical structures);
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linking devices (lexical, grammatical);
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stylistic levels and their usage;
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professional vocabulary.
Application of Complex Grammatical Features and Registers
Learning Resources
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Nueva gramática de la lengua española, manual (Espasa Libros) – optional – ISBN: 9788467032819
The Oxford Spanish Dictionary, New Second Edition (OUP) - ISBN: 9780199543403
Materials for the course will be drawn from:
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Authentic written material from various sources to be advised by tutor;
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Authentic audio and audio-visual material.
In addition there is a wide range of language learning materials available for self-study in the Self-Access Centre.