Fall 2012
Intercultural Connections: The U.S. and the Spanish-Speaking World in a Global Community
Spanish 231 explores the material and human diversity of the Spanish-speaking world and highlights important connections among the United States, the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America, and Spain. Whereas in Spanish 111 and 112 students learn the basic vocabulary and grammar to talk about themselves and their lives, in Spanish 231 students use their speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills to learn content through their second language. The course has four major cultural themes that help students develop a new perspective on the Spanish-speaking World and its relationship to the U.S.:
• Intercultural Connections: The U.S. and the Spanish-Speaking World in a Global Community
• Material and Human Diversity in Latin America
• Material and Human Diversity in Spain
• Images of the Spanish-Speaking World: From the “Big Picture” (Datos) to (the Lives of) Individuals
(Retratos)
A review of selected Spanish grammar concepts (ser versus estar; comparative forms; the conjugations and uses of the present, preterit, imperfect, and other verb tenses; the conjugations and some uses of the present subjunctive, among others) will be integrated into our study of the four themes. Emphasis will be on using these concepts appropriately to process and express cultural information.
Intended Learning Outcomes for Spanish 231:
Students in Spanish 231:
1) Explore, compare, and contrast selected topics that illustrate the diversity of the Spanish-speaking world and highlight the connections between the U.S. and the “cultures” of the Spanish-speaking world in Spanish by:
• reading and listening to “authentic texts” (e.g., periodical press articles, movies, interviews, and images) produced for native speakers of Spanish using appropriate reading and listening strategies
• speaking and writing using “evidence” gleaned from analysis of “authentic texts”
2) Begin to see themselves as “cultural mediators” between U.S. culture and the “cultures” of the Spanish-speaking world (and in doing so take one step toward developing the “global perspective” emphasized in the St. Olaf Mission Statement)
3) Strengthen their ability to speak in Spanish, exploring course themes using full sentences and moving toward producing short paragraphs orally
4) Strengthen their ability to write in Spanish, exploring course themes through writing assignments of varying lengths, from well-constructed paragraphs to multi-paragraph essays
5) Through the review and use of selected grammatical features, develop increasing control of the following functions in Spanish— description, narration, expressing opinions, comparison/contrast—as they relate to course themes
6) Begin to develop an awareness of second language learning as a process and learn/practice strategies that enable them to use their language skills with increasing autonomy in and beyond the classroom.