ML6003 - Advanced Applied Spanish and Hispanic Cultures (3)

The module is delivered through a combination of seminars, language laboratory workshops, directed and independent study, including the use of electronic sources and ICTs amongst other media and academic materials.

You will attend interactive and engaging seminars and workshops (four hours per week) and academic tutorials. In addition to interpreting dialogues, translations and area studies debates, other media will be used for you to find your critical voice (on the Hispanic world) whilst applying your Spanish language skills. As a result, you will gain a critical perspective on a wide range of issues in the Hispanic world. 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. Materials used in the module will be available to you on the eLearning Portal. In particular, you will be able to access formative feedback and a very wide range of translation, research, essay writing, reading and interpreting materials, as well as grammatical consolidation exercises. For interpreting, we will use the state-of-the-art Sanako language learning facilities.

Your module is founded upon prior descriptive knowledge and evaluative abilities. At level 6, emphasis will be placed upon your critical spirit, your depth of understanding and interpretation, your creativity, and the relevance with which you will be able to apply your diverse set of graduate skills and knowledge.

Your directed learning will take the form of preparation for seminars (including both written and oral work) either individually or in small groups. Your independent learning will take the form of further reading and investigation of set texts and critical approaches to Hispanic Studies topics, the consolidation of lecture and seminar materials, and revision/preparation for the assessment included in the unit. Throughout the semester you will receive individual attention from the course tutors, and you will be able to substantially shape the contents of and the approach to your oral presentation. You will be able to attend tutorials to share your ideas with your tutor, and to discuss and agree on a viable, original, research-informed, relevant academic project that will showcase your independent thinking and encourage your academic creativity. You will be supported in finding your own voice in the midst of academic ideas and sources, and in engaging in an structured manner with the texts and the systems of thinking. You will be encouraged to express a graduate-level degree of engagement with Hispanic Studies in the Spanish language. Your tutors will be happy to discuss your ideas in light of your academic interests, your curiosity 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 research and write essays in Spanish which analyse, synthesise and organise information related to economic, business, political and socio-cultural issues (MLO1).



Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
• You will develop specialised translation skills, demonstrating intercultural awareness and cultural competence building from your placement abroad (or equivalent) (MLO2).
• On successful completion of the module you will respond confidently with an increased level of accuracy to complex written and spoken language (MLO3).
• You will demonstrate an advanced level of skill in giving oral presentations and in interpreting, communicating fluently and sensitively and functioning effectively in a variety of contexts, adopting language to meet unpredictable demands and accurately manipulating style and register in Spanish and in English (MLO4).

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
• You will develop an expert understanding of global ethical issues, having acquired a wide range of transferable interpersonal skills and becoming a global graduate fit for graduate work in multinational environments (MLO5).

50% oral presentation (MLOs 1, 3, 4, 5)

50% translation into English (MLOs 1, 2, 4, 5)


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

The oral presentation and the translation coursework will test different transferable skills, knowledge, and critical outlooks, including your ability to present complex ideas in a foreign language, and your ability to transfer linguistic and cultural contents with graduate proficiency.

Formative assessment will be an ongoing feature of the module. You will deliver an oral presentation during some of the seminar hours. You will present your preliminary 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, allowing you to develop your practice and self-reflection towards maximising your academic results and your learning experience.

ML5026 / ML5028

ML6004

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