The foreign language courses offered by the School of Languages, Literacies and Translation can be taken by students as optional or compulsory courses or to fulfil the number of units required for graduation. Students are not allowed to register for more than one foreign language course per semester. They must complete at least two levels of a foreign language course before they are allowed to register for another foreign language course. However, students are not required to complete all four levels of a foreign language course.
LAE100 - Spanish Language I
Spanish Language I (LAE100) is designed for learners without prior knowledge of the Spanish language. It is an introduction to the Spanish language, Spanish-speaking countries and their culture. At the lowest level of generative language use, learners will learn typical Spanish pronunciation and acquire basic vocabulary as well as grammatical structures related to everyday communication. By the end of the course, learners will be able to initiate and respond to simple statements concerning immediate needs or very familiar topics; e.g. form simple sentences and expressions about themselves, the people they know and their neighbourhood. Grammar areas covered include personal pronouns and the present tense of regular and irregular verbs.
LAE200 - Spanish Language II
Spanish Language II (LAE200) is designed for learners who already possess some basic knowledge of the Spanish language. The course aims to develop elementary proficiency in spoken and written Spanish. Learners will increase their basic lexical and grammatical knowledge and gain more insight into the cultural aspects pertaining to Spanish-speaking countries. At the end of the course, learners will be able to express and understand communication-related to simple needs in both predictable and common situations (e.g. daily life activities, expressing their likes/dislikes, health matters, and family). Grammar areas covered include the present progressive (continuous) tense, prepositional phrases and the past perfect tense involving regular and irregular verbs. Upon completion of this course, learners will be eligible to register for the international examination DELE A1 (Diplomas of Spanish as a Foreign Language, Level A1).
LAE300 - Spanish Language III
Spanish Language III (LAE300) concentrates on expanding reading, listening, writing and speaking skills while developing the more advanced aspects of Spanish grammar. While mastering complex sentence structures, learners will be able to identify and use a variety of low-intermediate sentence patterns that will enable them to enhance their interaction skills, comprehension of conversations, and essay-writing abilities. Topics include daily activities, Spanish and Latin American cities, leisure, and hobbies. Grammar areas covered include comparisons, reflexive verb forms and the past tense.
LAE400 - Spanish Language IV
Spanish Language IV (LAE400) is the final level of the Spanish language series. Learners will review and expand their lexical and grammatical knowledge of the Spanish language, as well as their cultural knowledge of Spanish-speaking countries to attain proficiency at the lower intermediate level. They will be able to communicate with more accuracy and complexity in oral and written Spanish, in both informal and formal situations. Topics include Spanish history, travel, weather and future plans. Grammar areas covered include the past, imperative, and future tenses. Upon completion of the course, learners will be eligible to register for the international examination DELE A2 (Diplomas of Spanish as a Foreign Language, Level A2).
