Description and Objectives

Spanish II

Course Description and Objectives

This course further develops the student’s ability to use the Spanish language by actively teaching and exercising Spanish pronunciation, reading and speaking skills.  The Curso Segundo book is followed as a topical guide.  Students’ skills are developed and practiced through speaking, reading and writing in Spanish.  The course develops good listening, writing and speaking habits, not only in Spanish, but also in general.  The student develops his Spanish pronunciation, grammar, reading and writing skills.  He learns intermediate poetry, songs and prayers in Spanish.  The course also further exposes the student to Spanish culture and traditions through the observation of major holidays and events in the Spanish-speaking world and the use of Susana y Javier en Sur América specifically to give the student a “tour” of South America.  Additional readings and current material from a variety of sources is introduced and practiced each week.  The class is taught entirely in Spanish (no English is spoken in the classroom), so the student learns good Spanish through the repetitive use of the language. At the end of the course the student will be able to successfully conduct an intermediate level conversation in Spanish, and use his Spanish successfully in a Spanish speaking country.

Outline of Topics Covered

• Pronunciation:  A significant amount of time is spent at the beginning of the year and each week to ensure the students maintains good listening and speaking habits in the language.  This course emphasizes the pronunciation of the individual letters and words to ensure good skills in the pronunciation of the Spanish language.  As skills develop, phrases and sentences are practiced.  Without good pronunciation good communication is not possible, so the student learns and develops good speaking skills.
• Intermediate Vocabulary:  In order to hold a conversation a certain minimum number of types of words need to be available to the speaker.   Without this basic group of words, more complex conversation and writing cannot develop.  This course emphasizes the development of basic vocabulary groups such as: numbers, dates, colors, the school, work, the restaurant, and the house. Other topics are introduced to ensure the student develops a basic repertoire.
• Social conversations:  The student learns how to speak in Spanish in simple social situations such as the classroom, greetings, the restaurant, the store, etc.  This enables the student to actually successfully participate in a number of daily activities in Spanish.
• Classroom phraseology:  In order to successfully participate in classroom activities students will learn a series of words and phrases used frequently in Spanish classrooms, and which can be applied to any number of routine social situations.
• How to speak in the present:  Since the present tense contains the greatest number of irregularities a thorough review of this tense is conducted in order to re-affirm the student’s ability with this very important skill.  Specific irregular forma are covered as well as forms of formal and familiar commands.
• How to speak in the past:  The two simple tenses have a large number of irregularities so a more in-depth study and comparison of these tenses is accomplished.   The complex tenses are introduced and mastered.
• How to speak in other tenses.  The future, conditional and progressive tenses are introduced and exercised well.  The difference between true and hypothetical situations  is learned.  Verbs that are difficult to differentiate are reviewed and mastered.
• Word types: Further work on the use of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, prepositions, exclamations, and commands is introduced and mastered.  Emphasis is placed on comparing the use of these word types in different situations.  Reflexive pronouns are introduced. Other special grammar topics are resolved.
• Grammatical Structures:  Throughout the course the student is exposed to a variety of grammatical structures that facilitate and amplify their Spanish communication skills.
• Spanish culture:  Through the use of Susana y Javier en Sudaméricaand other works, the student travels around Spain and visits major places of historical or cultural interest.  He learns the source of some Spanish traditions and customs, and other details of daily Spanish living.  Some idioms and figures of speech are learned.  By the end of the course the student is capable of using not just textbook Spanish but also colloquial and idiomatic phrases to amplify and enrich their Spanish communication skills.

Textbooks

Curso Segundo. (2 ed.) (ISBN978-1-56765-482-0)

Susana y Javier en Sudamérica. (2 ed.) (ISBN 0-87720-131-5)

Daily news articles and material available on the Internet from publishers in Spain, South America and the United States.

Course Requirements

In this course the student is expected to aggressively pursue his development of Spanish language skills and will be graded on his ability to:

• Actively participate in the daily discussion and activities in the classroom.
• Take good, clear, concise notes of the material presented.
• Demonstrate good repetitive routine practice of the material through the successful completion of homework.
• Demonstrate meaningful knowledge of the material through high performance levels on quizzes, tests, and essays.
• Successfully make oral presentations of memorizations and essays.

Successful Students

Since this course actively develops the student’s language capability through repetitive practice and participation, the successful student will:

• Consistently participate actively in class.
• Practice the learned skills through the purposeful and timely completion of homework.
• Practice their spoken Spanish regularly.
• Actively seek help from the teacher during the school day, or after school.  The teacher is available for assistance at any time.  Neither student nor parents should ever hesitate to contact the teacher for resolution of any difficulty.
• Realize that a second language is a whole new universe.  The ability to speak in two or more languages is elemental in Europe and the use of Spanish in the United States on a daily basis has become a reality; that the skills and habits used to successfully learn a second language can be used in any new learning endeavor.  The ability to use Spanish well greatly enhances his ability to seek sources of strength and beauty.  That it empowers the student to more richly participate in all facets of a society that seeks the continual growth of man.

 

Summer Assignment

The summer assignment consists of completion of the review sections of the CURSO PRIMERO book. The assignment can be downloaded here:

SPII-Summer-2022-Assignment

This assignment is due on the first day of class.  A vocabulary quiz will be held on the third day of class.