UCL CENTRE FOR LANGUAGES
& INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
SSCs 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 Year 1 students: double‐block (16 x 3‐hour classes. Block 1: 8 x 3‐hour classes; Block 2: workshops and tutorials related to Project). Year 2 students: single block (8 x 3‐hour classes). Self‐Study 40 hours in total. Course codes LCSM6004. 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). Medical related issues/vocabulary will also be covered. 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 to enable students to study in a Spanish speaking university. Various transferable skills will also be covered. Functions
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critical medical‐related comments, evaluating;
debating, commenting, arguing about issues like abortion (accepting and contrasting opinions );
suggesting, accepting, refusing;
composing written pieces of information for medical related purposes (narrating and describing);
analysing/comparing medical related 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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Abortion. Legislation and moral issues; 
Legislation and arguments for and against euthanasia; 
Embryo research; 
Preventive measures and treatment for alcoholics and smokers; 
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Approaches to Mental health; The work of an NGOs. Médecins Sans Frontières; Tropical diseases; Approaches to AIDS; Comparing the Health services of various countries; Organ donation; Good and bad health habits in the modern world. Linguistic Structures
Phonetics
accentuation;
use of phonetic groups;
varieties of Spanish in the different regions and countries.
Morphology
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revision of the indefinite, pluperfect, conditional;
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revision 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
• ser/estar; • impersonal expressions and the passive voice; • use of the past tenses: perfect/indefinite vs. imperfect, pluperfect; • the indirect speech; • complex sentences; • sequence of tenses; • 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.
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Learning Resources 
ELE Actual B2, Libro del alumno, Virgilio Borobio (SM) – ISBN: 9788467549010 Recommended: 
ELE Actual B2, Libro de ejercicios, Virgilio Borobio (SM) – ISBN: 9788467549027 
The Oxford Spanish Dictionary, New Second Edition (Oxford University Press – ISBN: 9780199543403 Authentic material from various sources (press, internet, TV, etc).
In addition there is a wide range of language learning materials available for self‐study in the Self‐Access Centre.