Course code: SPA200 

Term and year: Fall 2026

Day and time: Tuesday and Thursday, 9.30- 10.45 

Instructor: Beatriz Bacarizo Herrer

Instructor contact: beatriz.bacarizo@aauni.edu 

Consultation hours: After the lessons, by appointment.

1. 1.Course Description 

   The purpose of this course is to provide students with the necessary tools in order to communicate in Spanish in written and oral form and to complete the level A1.2 of Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). This course has been designed for false beginners in Spanish. The course main objectives are to: 

   • Promote the development of students' communicative competence of oral and written Spanish. 

   • Develop students’ intercultural competence and understanding of Spanish-speaking world. 

   2.Student Learning Outcomes 

   Upon completion of this course, students should be able to: 

   • Understand and use very elementary vocabulary to communicate basic needs. 

   • Interact using everyday expressions in basic formal and informal situations. 

   • Understand and write short texts such as postcards, letters or forms. 

   • Interact with others at an elementary level, provided a sympathetic speech partner who speaks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help. 

   • Use information about free time activities such as travels or invitations to go out. 

   • Getting around in a city, by exchanging information about urban spaces and services and directions (location, distance and time). 

   • Understand simple menus and being able to order in restaurants and bars. 

   • Provide and gather information about the activities of their own free time and that of others. 

   • Understand signs in hotels, restaurants, bars and shops. 

   3.Reading Material 

   Texts included in the textbook lessons. 

   Required Materials 

   Textbook: “Aula Internacional Plus 1. Libro del alumno”.  Difusión. 2020. ISBN 9788419236043 https://difusion.com/tienda/producto/aula-internacional-plus-1-edicion-hibrida-libro-del-alumno  

   The textbook is available in Oxford Bookshop, Neo Luxor Knihkupectví and major bookshops in Prague. Also, online in https://www.megabooks.cz/, https://www.klett.cz/eshop, https://klett.cz/eshop/aula-internacional-plus-1-a1-edicion-hibrida-libro-del-alumno-campus-12meses-p-3824.html 

   A copy of the textbook is available in the AAU library for reference only. 

   The teacher will provide photocopies for complementary units. 

   Recommended Materials 

   ● Online multilingual dictionary: 

   https://es.glosbe.com, https://www.deepl.com/es/translator  

   ● Online platforms with interactive activities to learn Spanish. 

   https://www.profedeele.es/, https://arche-ele.com/  ●Glossary Spanish- English/French/Arab/German. http://www.difusion.com/  

   4.Teaching methodology 

   This course is structured around a communicative approach. The fundamental aim of this type of approach is to help students learn to communicate in Spanish in a variety of contexts and situations. With this purpose in mind, students will be carrying out communicative and language-based tasks from the very first day of class, which will allow them to manage personal and public situations successfully. 

   5.Course Schedule 

   Date  Class Agenda 

   Week 1   1.9  3.9	Topic: Presentation of the course & revision of contents of SPA100; Unit 4 - “¿Cuál prefieres?”   Description: Introduction to the subject, criteria for evaluation and deadlines. Review of Spanish I. Present tense, hobbies, personal questions.  Assignments/deadlines: Material will be assigned at the end of each lesson.
   Week 2   8.9  10.9	Topic: Unit 4 - “¿Cuál prefieres?”  Description: Numbers 100-10.000, describing clothes, colours.  Assignments/deadlines: Material will be assigned at the end of each lesson.
   Week 3   15.9  17.9	Topic: Unit 4 – “¿Cuál prefieres?”   Description: Demonstrative and interrogative pronouns. Shopping and asking for information about products. Dialogue in the shop.  Assignments/deadlines: Quiz-4 and prepare Tarea final Unidad 4.
   Week 4   22.9  24.9	Topic: Tarea final 4 y feedback del Quiz-4. Unit 7- “¡A comer!”  Description: Tarea final 4/ role-playing in pairs. Introduction to food vocabulary.  Assignments/deadlines: Material will be assigned at the end of each lesson.
   Week 5  29.9  1.10	Topic: Unit 7- “¡A comer!”  Description: Vocabulary about food. Describing ingredients.  Assignments/deadlines: Material will be assigned at the end of each lesson.
   Week 6  6.10  8.10	Topic: Unit 7- “¡A comer!”  Description: ¿What time is it? & Dialogue in the restaurant.  Assignments/deadlines: Quiz-7 and prepare Tarea final Unidad 7.
   Week 7  13.10  15.10	Topic: Unit 7- “¡A comer!”  Description: Food habits & Tarea final 7/ Dialogue in the restaurant role-playing.  Assignments/deadlines: Prepare Midterm exam.
   Week 8  20.10  22.10	Midterm Exam (units 4 & 7)  Description: Writing and speaking exam. Feedback.
   Midterm break: Week 9 (There is no lesson on 28.10 and 30.10)
   Week 10  3.11  65.11	Topic: Unit 8. “El barrio ideal”.  Description: Learning vocabulary about cities.  Assignments/deadlines: The text will be assigned at the end of each lesson.
   Week 11  10.11  12.11	Topic: Unit 8. “El barrio ideal”.  Description: Learning vocabulary about cities.  Assignments/deadlines: Material will be assigned at the end of each lesson
   Week 12  19.11	Topic: Unit 8. “El barrio ideal”.  Description: Asking and giving information to arrive to some place.  Assignments/deadlines: Quiz-8 and prepare Tarea final Unidad 8.
   Week 13  24.11  26.11	Topic: Unit 8. “El barrio ideal”. & complementary unit “Vacaciones”.  Description: Evaluation & Feedback to the videos. Introduction to complementary unit “Vacaciones”.  Assignments/deadlines: Material will be assigned at the end of each lesson.
   Week 14  7.12  3.12	Topic: “Vacaciones” complementary unit.  Description: Obtain and exchange basic information about travel and its features (accommodation and transportation).  Assignments/deadlines: Prepare Tarea Final/Complementary unit & Final exam.
   Week 15  8.12  10.12	Topic: “Vacaciones” complementary unit.  Description: Tarea Final/Complementary unit. Presentation in groups of 4 students.  Assignments/deadlines: Prepare for Final exam.
   Week 15  15.12	Final Exam (units 4, 7, 8 & “Vacaciones” complementary unit).  Description: Writing and speaking exam in class.

    

   6.Course Requirements and Assessment (with estimated workloads) 

   Assignment	Workload  (hours)	Weight in  Final Grade	Evaluated Course Specific  Learning Outcomes	Evaluated  Institutional  Learning  Outcomes*
   Class  Participation	42	10%	Participation will be graded according to active student involvement, not mere contribution when called on. Arriving on time and with all the required materials will be graded as part of the segment “Attitude”.	2, 3
   Homework	40	5%	The textbook activities and writing assignments will be graded holistically (communicative effort and productive skills)	2, 3
   Midterm Exam	10	20%	Control on the grammar rules and lexicon on selected domains	2, 3
   Quizzes	5 X 3	15%	Multiple choice questions on vocabulary, grammar and culture content.	2, 3
   End of Unit Exercises, presentations  (ppt) or videoblogs	5 X 4	20%	Content, language control, organization and presentation skills, visual aid.	2, 3
   Final Exam	10	30%	Language control on short essays, correction of answers on reading and multiple-choice grammar questions.	2, 3
   TOTAL	150	100%

   *1 = Critical Thinking; 2 = Effective Communication; 3 = Effective and Responsible Action 

   7.Detailed description of the assignments 

   Homework

   Students are expected to complete the assigned textbook activities and writing assignments before class and bring their work to each session. Homework will be reviewed and corrected in class, providing opportunities for feedback, clarification, and further practice. Homework will be graded holistically, taking into account students’ communicative effort and development of productive skills. 

   Quizzes 

   At the end of the lessons (units 4, 7, 8) a quiz will be administered via the NEO/MyLearning platform. It cover material from all the preceding Sessions (content of each unit), so that any exercise or topic that has been covered prior the date of the quiz can be part of it. 

   
   
   

   Assessment breakdown 

   Written skills	50 %
   Idiom mastery	50 %

   End of Unit Exercises (Tareas finales) 

   Each lesion will end with a session exercise. The assessment will be conducted through role plays (Units 4 and 7), oral presentations (Complementary Unit: Vacaciones) delivered in class or submitted as a video (Unit 8). You will have a week time to prepare your session exercise. 

   Tarea final Unidad 4: “¿Qué ropa llevas?” 

   El próximo sábado tienes un evento importante (una boda/un concierto de música pop/una entrevista de trabajo). ¿Qué ropa y complementos tienes que llevar? ¿Qué ropa prefieres para ese evento? ¿Qué tiempo hace? ¿Dónde es? ¿Cuánto cuesta la ropa? 

   Diálogo entre dos compañeros de clase, con apoyo gráfico (fotos y datos del evento).

   Assessment breakdown 

   Content according to unit 4	40 %
   Language control	40 %
   Organization and presentation skills	10 %
   Visual aid	10 %

   Tarea final Unidad 7: “En un restaurante de comida hispana” 

   Conversación entre un camarero/a y dos clientes en un restaurante de comida hispana (argentina, mexicana, española, peruana...) ¿Cómo es el restaurante? ¿Dónde está? ¿Cómo es el menú? ¿Qué ingredientes llevan los platos? ¿Qué comen los clientes? ¿Cuánto cuesta? ¿Les gusta? 

   En grupos de 3 estudiantes, mantened una conversación con apoyo gráfico (el menú del restaurante). 

   Assessment breakdown 

   Content according to unit 7	40 %
   Language control	40 %
   Organization and presentation skills	10 %
   Visual aid	10 %

   Midterm exam

   The midterm will take place on October 20, 2026 9.30 am CET, in class, during Week 8. It will cover Units 4 and 7. General knowledge from Spanish I is also required for communicating. 

   Writing: writing an email. 100-150 words. 30 minutes.  Speaking: dialogue with a classmate. 5 minutes of preparation + 5 minutes of speaking exam. 

   Assessment breakdown 

   Include information about required topics	45 %
   Language control. Vocabulary and grammar	45 %
   Fluency and pronunciation	10 %

   Tarea final Unidad 8 -  “Mi barrio” 

   Vuelve a leer las descripciones de barrios de Madrid de la actividad 7 (página 122) y úsalos como modelo para describir tu barrio con un vídeo. 

   Tarea individual. Crea un vídeo con fotos y con tu voz describiendo tu barrio.

   Tienes modelos en la siguiente página de Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizaveta.marchenko.79/videos/276374279416914/?query=barrio https://www.facebook.com/alina.vintovkina/videos/811681988964919/?query=barrio  

   Assessment breakdown 

   Content according to unit 8	40 %
   Language control	40 %
   Organization and presentation skills	10 %
   Visual aid	10 %

   Tarea final “Preparar un viaje” (complementary unit) 

   Seleccionad un destino turístico a un país del mundo hispano, explica cuáles son las condiciones climáticas allí (si hace calor o frío), qué actividades queréis hacer (ir a la playa, caminar por la montaña, visitar ciudades...), cuándo vais a viajar, dónde os vais a alojar, cuánto cuesta...  

   En grupos de 2-3 estudiantes, presentad vuestra propuesta con apoyo gráfico (fotos y datos del viaje).

    Assessment breakdown 

   Content according to complementary unit	40 %
   Language control	40 %
   Organization and presentation skills	10 %
   Visual aid	10 %

   Final exam 

   The exam will take place on December 15, 2026, 9.30 am CET, in class, during Week 15). The  material will include Units 4, 7, 8 and the complementary unit “Vacaciones”. General knowledge from Spanish I is also required for communicating. Writing: writing an email. 100-150 words. 30 minutes.  Speaking: a dialogue with a classmate. 5 minutes of preparation + 5 minutes of speaking exam. 

    

   Assessment breakdown 

   Include information about required topics	45 %
   Language control. Vocabulary and grammar	45 %
   Fluency and pronunciation	10 %

    

   Class Participation 

   Active participation in class discussion is considered to be compulsory and necessary for the fundamental acquisition of the language. Participation extends beyond mere attendance. A track of how active and willing students are to communicate and participate in Spanish will be kept and used for the calculation of the final grade. 

   Assessment breakdown 

   Critical thinking	20 %
   Demonstration of language skills	40 %
   Social skills in the context of language acquisition	40 %

    

   8.General Requirements and School Policies General requirements 

   All coursework is governed by AAU’s academic rules. Students are expected to be familiar with the academic rules in the Academic Codex and Student Handbook and to maintain the highest standards of honesty and academic integrity in their work. Please see the AAU intranet for a summary of key policies regarding coursework.

   Course specific requirements

   There are no special requirements or deviations from AAU policies for this course.

      

   9.Grading Scale 

   Letter  Grade	Percentage*	Description
   A	95–100	Excellent performance. The student has shown originality and displayed an exceptional grasp of the material and a deep analytical understanding of the subject.
   A–	90–94
   B+	87–89	Good performance. The student has mastered the material, understands the subject well and has shown some originality of thought and/or considerable effort.
   B	83–86
   B–	80–82
   C+	77–79	Fair performance. The student has acquired an acceptable understanding of the material and essential subject matter of the course, but has not succeeded in translating this understanding into consistently creative or original work.
   C	73–76
   C–	70–72
   D+	65–69	Poor. The student has shown some understanding of the material and subject matter covered during the course. The student’s work, however, has not shown enough effort or understanding to allow for a passing grade in School Required Courses. It does qualify as a passing mark for the General College Courses and Electives.
   D	60–64
   F	0–59	Fail. The student has not succeeded in mastering the subject matter covered in the course.

   * Decimals should be rounded to the nearest whole number. 

    

   Prepared by: Beatriz Bacarizo Herrer

   Date: 30.7.2026 

   Approved by: Dr Silviya Lechner

   Date: 10.08.2026