ML5025 - Spanish Language and Hispanic Studies 2 (A)

You will attend interactive and engaging seminars and workshops (five hours per week) and academic tutorials. In addition to written, oral and aural sources, other academic media will be used in order to consolidate and refine your knowledge of the Hispanic world and your Spanish language skills in parallel. As a result, you will gain a critical understanding of the events, attitudes, societies and cultures discussed. You will also be required to undertake directed and independent study, and you will be given weekly preparation guidelines to actively engage in informed discussions in seminar groups. The materials used in the module will be available to you on the eLearning Portal. In particular, you will be able to access formative feedback on presentations and debates on Area Studies, Language and Cultures, and you will also be able to access a very wide range of translation materials, exercises, theories and fair copies for your own independent study.

Your module is founded upon prior descriptive knowledge and evaluative abilities. At level 5, emphasis is placed upon the development of your research potential, the consolidation of your analytical skills, and the nurturing of your critical perspectives in the Spanish language and on the Hispanic world.

Your directed learning will take the form of preparation for seminars (including reading and presentation preparation and rehearsal) either individually or in small groups. Your independent learning will consist of further directed reading and investigation of sources, the consolidation of lecture and seminar materials, and revision/ preparation for the assessment included in the module. Throughout the semester you will receive individual attention from your tutors, and you will be able to receive guidance on how to approach your assessments. You will attend tutorials to share your ideas and questions with your tutor. You will be supported in finding your own critical voice in the midst of linguistic and cultural materials. You will be encouraged to gain a solid understanding of the cultures discussed and the texts translated and analysed. Your tutors will be happy to discuss your ideas in the light of your interests and their own teaching and research profiles.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding:

• You will become familiar with some of the highlights of the expression of Hispanic cultures and civilisations, including political, literary, journalistic, academic and other sources (ML01).

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:

• You will be able to demonstrate your knowledge of more complex lexical and syntactical structures of the Spanish language, enhancing your ability to recognise and compose in different styles and registers (ML02).
• You will develop your listening comprehension skills and display a command of spoken Spanish commensurate with level 5 (ML03).
• You will develop your skills of transferring and creating meaning, nuance and style between the Spanish and English languages and cultures (ML04).

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):

• You will develop a solid understanding of global issues and intercultural communication from a Hispanic Studies perspective (ML05).

30% Translation (Spanish » English) exam (ML01, ML02, ML04, ML05)

35% Aural Comprehension Exam (1 hour) (ML01, ML03, ML04, ML05)

35% Written Task in Spanish (ML01, ML02, ML04, ML05)

Your assessment is designed to match course aims and learning outcomes, encouraging you to build on seminar materials with the support of your tutor.

The translation exam and the coursework will test different skills, including lexical, grammatical and syntactical structures, familiarity with the cultural conventions of the Spanish language and the Hispanic world, and creativity and initiative in a foreign languages and studies context.

Formative assessment will be an ongoing feature of the module. You will be encouraged to deliver informal, short presentations during some of the seminar hours. You will present your preliminary creative ideas to the class in a friendly and constructive environment, in order to receive feedback from both your colleagues and your lecturers.

Formative feedback will be directly relevant to both pieces of summative assessment, and will be a prominent feature in the e-Learning Portal.

ML4004, ML4005

ML5026 or semester 2 equivalent if on placement.

Please find details of this module in the other sections provided.