BERGAMO
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
Linguistic goals (linguistic and communicative skills / AAL Spanish B1):
By the end of the course, the student will have consolidated their skills in the four communicative abilities at level B1 of the CEFR. They will be able to understand the main points of spoken and written texts on familiar topics, interact with a reasonable degree of fluency in everyday and predictable situations, and produce/summarize simple and coherent texts, expressing experiences, opinions, and intentions with clarity and linguistic accuracy.
Disciplinary objectives (official course):
By the end of the first semester, the student will have acquired a basic understanding of the historical development of the Spanish language, from the medieval period to the contemporary era. They will also be familiar with the main phonetic asymmetries between Italian and Spanish (particularly those leading to prosodic interference), as well as with the phonetic variants typical of Southern and Latin American Spanish. Furthermore, they will be introduced to the main theories on the origin of Latin American Spanish (Andalusian, Indigenist, and Polygenetic theories). In the second semester, the student will consolidate their knowledge of Spanish orthography (especially accentuation rules), pronominal and verbal morphology, and the most common subordinate structures, while also being introduced to basic translation practice through the analysis and translation of short texts from the fields of tourism and business.
Both the instrumental and disciplinary objectives contribute to the achievement of the following learning outcomes, structured according to the Dublin Descriptors:
1. Knowledge and understanding (D1):
- Understand the main information in spoken and written Spanish texts on familiar topics.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the historical evolution of the Spanish language.
- Recognize phonetic asymmetries between Italian and Spanish and identify phonetic variants in Southern and Latin American Spanish.
- Understand the main theories on the origin of Latin American Spanish.
2. Applying knowledge and understanding (D2):
- Produce short, coherent texts in Spanish to express experiences and opinions.
- Correctly apply basic orthographic rules and morphological structures.
- Translate and reformulate simple business and tourism texts between Spanish and Italian.
- Recognize and use simple subordinate structures.
3. Making judgements (D3):
- Reflect on phonological and morphosyntactic differences between the two languages.
- Begin developing critical awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity in the Spanish-speaking world.
- Recognize the influence of historical, geographical, and social factors on linguistic variation.
4. Communication skills (D4):
- Interact orally with sufficient fluency in everyday contexts.
- Summarize and reformulate simple texts, showing command of basic vocabulary and grammar.
- Communicate ideas and opinions clearly in short written texts and conversations.
5. Learning skills (D5):
- Develop autonomy in using tools to strengthen linguistic competence.
- Acquire basic skills for linguistic and translation analysis.
- Build strategies to improve comprehension and production in practical contexts (e.g., tourism, business)
Course Prerequisites
Attendance of the A2 Spanish language literacy course or knowledge of Spanish at A2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference.
Teaching Methods
1) With regard to disciplinary contents (official course taught by the professor):
First semester: Lectures in Spanish, including the use of videos featuring native speakers and 'linguistic influencers', and pronunciation exercises aimed at the production of Spanish sounds. Activities will also focus on identifying allophonic variants that occur in different phonetic contexts in Spanish. Reading and in-class commentary of short texts in Spanish on the origin and evolution of Castilian, as well as its subsequent development in the Americas. These texts may also be presented orally by students in a flipped classroom format.
Second semester: Lectures in Spanish, along with in-class exercises on morphology and written translation (into and from Spanish).
2) With regard to linguistic and communicative skills (language training / AAL Spanish B1):
Please consult the section of the university website dedicated to the University Language Centre by selecting Spanish – LLCS:
https://www.unibg.it/studiare/frequentare/apprendimento-linguistico/spagnolo/spagnolo-llcs
Please note that the language training sessions are an integral part of the course and are essential for achieving the B1-level instrumental competence required to sit the exams for both modules of the official course.
Assessment Methods
The exam consists of two steps: a) the assessment of linguistic and communicative skills, and b) the assessment of disciplinary content. Access to part b) is only granted after successfully passing part a).
a) Assessment of linguistic and communicative skills (AAL Spanish B1) includes:
1) Grammar test on a computer (fill-in-the-blanks) and listening comprehension test. A demo version of the computerized test is available on the course's e-learning platform.
2) Oral comprehension test on a computer – Total duration of the computerized test (tasks 1 and 2): 85 minutes.
3) Dictation in Spanish (a text of approximately 200 words); test duration: around 30 minutes.
4) Asessment of the required readings: oral exam consisting of the reading and commentary of one or more excerpts from the texts: "Amado amo" by R. Montero and "Pedro Páramo" by J.Rulfo. The student must contextualize the excerpt within the broader narrative and comment on it in terms of content and grammatical and lexical structures (aprox. 15 minutes)
The use of dictionaries is not permitted during these tests. Tests 1), 2), 3) and 4) must be taken and passed in a single session; each of them must receive at least a passing grade, and the overall mark is calculated as the arithmetic mean of the four exam grades. Test 4) takes place in the same session but on a different day from tests 1), 2), and 3). Since these are intermediate tests, the total grade obtained cannot be refused. This grade is valid for 18 months; after that period, it is necessary to retake tests 1, 2, 3 and 4 in order to access the official course assessments (test 5).
Two additional points will be added to the overall score of the linguistic and communicative skills assessment (part a) if the student has completed the self-study courses on the AVE GLOBAL platform (available via the Department’s Moodle e-learning platform) from level A1.1 to level B2.1 prior to taking tests 1), 2), and 3). Completion of the AVE GLOBAL self-learnig courses will be monitored by the language instructor and the AVE GLOBAL tutor.
b) Assessment of disciplinary content (official course):
5) Assessment on the first and second semester syllabus: a single written exam divided into three sections, each worth 10 points. The first section includes four open-ended questions on the contents of the first semester syllabus, to be answered in Spanish. The second section comprises 40 grammar and syntax exercises on topics covered during the second semester, requiring students to either fill in the blanks or correct any errors. The third section involves translating four sentences into Spanish and/or two short texts, one related to tourism and the other to economics. The total time allowed for the exam is 120 minutes.
Final Evaluation
- 1/3 of final grade: AAL test (average of tests 1, 2, 3 and 4)
- 2/3 of final grade: course exam (test 5)
Grading scale (out of 30):
- Excellent (30 with honors): complete knowledge, applied with precision and autonomy. No errors.
- Very good (30–27): solid knowledge, correctly applied. Minor and non-recurrent errors.
- Good (26–24): adequate knowledge, with some inaccuracies. No serious or systematic errors.
- Sufficient (23–18): basic knowledge, with evident errors but sufficient overall understanding.
- Fail (<18): insufficient knowledge, numerous errors that compromise the exam result.
Contents
1) Disciplinary Content (Official Course Taught by the course professor):
First semester:
The birth and development of the Spanish language, with particular focus on the evolution of the Spanish phonological and phonetic system in comparison with Italian. Overview of the sociolinguistic landscape of contemporary Spain: Castilian as the official language of the Spanish State and the co-official languages. Analysis of the main asymmetries in the articulation of vowel and consonant phonemes in Italian and Spanish, as well as the study of phonosyntactic phenomena and the main phonetic interferences between the two languages, which contribute to the presence of an Italian accent in Spanish and vice versa. Description of the phonetic and morphological features of southern and Latin American varieties of Spanish and introduction to the main theories regarding the origin of American Spanish (Andalusian, Indigenist, and Polygenetic theories).
Second semester:
In-depth study of Spanish accentuation rules and of verbal and pronominal morphology. Analysis and use of relative clauses, verbal periphrases with the infinitive, and verbs of change (Spanish equivalents of "diventare"/"divenire"). Introduction to the main subordinate structures, with particular attention to Spanish constructions equivalent to Italian infinitive subordinate clauses. The grammatical structures covered in the course will also be applied in translation contexts (from Spanish into Italian and vice versa), through exercises on sentences and short texts in the fields of tourism and business.
2) Linguistic and Communicative Skills (Language Training / AAL Spanish B1):
The contents of the B1 level language training sessions (AAL), according to the CEFR, are listed in the section of the university website dedicated to the Language Competence Centre, under Spanish – LLCS:
https://www.unibg.it/studiare/frequentare/apprendimento-linguistico/spagnolo/spagnolo-llcs
Online Resources
More information
Classes are taught in Spanish.
The syllabus is the same for both attending and non-attending students and remains valid for two academic years.
For further information, students are advised to regularly consult the e-learning platform for the section “Lingua Spagnola I – Lengua y Mediación Escrita” (course code 13R011, Prof. Garofalo) as well as the e-learning page for Spanish AAL B1, available on the Moodle platform of the unibg.it website. In addition to the required textbooks, studying all the teaching materials published by the professor on the course’s e-learning platform is mandatory.
The DELE Spanish Diploma at level B2 or higher or the SIELE GLOBAL Diploma at level B2 or higher will be accepted as a substitute for the computerized grammar test. Further information regarding the recognition of language certificates is available at the following link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/185_Z9S87doGYWIyzm7hU5ZaXkJVWhfuQYHCNaaUSXoI/edit?tab=t.0
If the course is delivered in hybrid or distance-learning mode, modifications may be introduced with respect to the current syllabus, in order to ensure that both the course and the exams are accessible under those conditions.
In the second semester, the course will be delivered during the third sub-period.
Required Texts
The list of required readings for the official course is final and includes all titles that are essential for exam preparation, both for attending and non-attending students.
The list is available in this syllabus under the section: “Online Resources – Leganto – Required Texts.”