2008 Summer Language Session

Intensive Language Courses: Seven-Week Session
Schedules, texts, and staffing are subject to change

Daily activities normally include four hours of classroom instruction plus additional work in the language and computer laboratories. Each level is an integrated program and students must take all parts for a total of three undergraduate units.

SPAN 3101 Communicating in Spanish (Beginner)
Quarles [coordinator]

This course is designed to introduce students to the grammatical structures and vocabulary necessary to express personal meaning on basic topics (e.g. family, daily routines, and leisure time) and negotiate basic survival situations (making travel arrangements, ordering meals, and making purchases, etc.). Language topics and functions are integrated into activities that emphasize all four language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing), with special attention given to speaking and listening. Cultural knowledge that will build a deeper understanding of how Spanish-speaking peoples communicate will be integrated into the course content. This course meets two hours a day. (1 unit)

SPAN 3103 Beginning Writing
del Olmo Ibáñez

This course is designed to develop writing skills through a process approach that includes strategies and techniques such as composing, revising, paraphrasing, editing, and using a bilingual dictionary. Students will produce writing of various kinds, such as messages, descriptions, comparisons, and brief narratives that integrate the content areas, tasks, and structures from the other courses in the program. (1 unit)

SPAN 3104 Beginning Reading and Culture
del Olmo Ibáñez

This course is designed to develop reading strategies by providing abundant opportunities to read a variety of authentic text types, such as newspapers and magazine articles, realia, and brief literary selections. In addition to expanding the vocabulary base, the topics presented will serve as a springboard for listening, speaking, and writing activities. The information presented in the readings will offer a broad foundation in Hispanic cultural knowledge. (1 unit)

Required text for Level 1: Alicia Ramos and Robert L. Davis, Portafolio (McGraw Hill, 2008).

SPAN 3151 Communicating in Spanish (High Beginner)
Amigo Silvestre, Muñoz Piña[coordinator], Nava

Designed for students with some previous study of Spanish or another Romance language, this course builds on and rapidly expands control of basic grammatical structures and vocabulary. Students consolidate their ability to negotiate basic survival situations in the target-language cultures, and prepare themselves for continued study of the language. New language functions will be presented in meaningful activities that emphasize all four language skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Cultural knowledge that will build a deeper understanding of how Spanish-speaking peoples communicate is a crucial component of the course content. This course meets two hours a day. (1 unit)

SPAN 3153 High Beginner Writing
Lorenzo Garcia, Roncal, Sanchez

This course is designed to develop existing writing skills through a process approach that includes the techniques of composing, revising, paraphrasing, editing, and using a bilingual dictionary. Students will integrate previous knowledge and the content areas, tasks, and structures from the other courses in the program to produce descriptions, comparisons, narratives, and other types of written texts. (1 unit)

SPAN 3154 High Beginner Reading and Culture
Lorenzo Garcia, Roncal, Sanchez

This course is designed to develop and consolidate reading strategies by providing abundant opportunities to read a variety of authentic text types, such as newspapers and magazine articles, realia, and brief literary selections. The topics presented will integrate vocabulary and functions from other courses in the program, in addition to increasing cultural proficiency and knowledge. (1 unit)

Required text for Level 1.5: Alicia Ramos and Robert L. Davis, Portafolio (McGraw Hill, 2008).

LEVEL 200: Davis (Assistant Director) 

SPAN 3201 Intermediate Spanish in Context
Camacho, Foester [coordinator], Santillana

This course continues students' development of proficiency in Spanish by expanding vocabulary and grammar. All four skills are integrated, with special attention to speaking and listening. Target language functions include past and future narration, extensive description, and comparisons, all on topics of current and personal interest. Cultural knowledge that will build a deeper understanding of how Spanish-speaking peoples communicate will be integrated into the course content. After successfully completing this course, students should find themselves well prepared for advanced coursework in Spanish language, literature, and linguistics. This course meets two hours a day. (1 unit)

SPAN 3203 Intermediate Writing
Jiménez Ramírez, Rivero, Sitler

In this class, students improve their written expression in Spanish by studying models of good writing in Spanish and producing a variety of text types; the course also serves as an introduction to academic writing. The language functions covered include past and future narration, extensive descriptions, comparisons, expressing opinions, and hypotheses. Students will expand on previous knowledge of the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world and integrate other content areas into their work. (1 unit)

SPAN 3204 Intermediate Culture and Civilization
Jiménez Ramírez, Rivero, Sitler

Students expand on existing knowledge of the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world to arrive at a deeper understanding of the concepts of cultural identity and nation. Topics include traditions, customs, and artistic manifestations of culture from Spain and Latin America, as well as a basic outline of the history of these regions. Materials include extensive readings (literary and journalistic texts) and audiovisual sources (film). Class activities include in-class discussion, interviews with native speakers, and compositions. (1 unit)

Required text for Level 2: 1) Foerster, Lambright, & Alonso-Pino, Punto y Aparte, 3rd ed. Text: ISBN 0073124486 (McGraw-Hill); 2) Foerster, Lambright, & Alonso-Pino, Punto y Aparte, 3rd ed. Workbook/Lab Manual: ISBN 0073211885 (McGraw-Hill).

LEVEL 300 and 400: Cabrera (Assistant Director)

Students will be placed in 3301 or 3401 but should also choose 2 (two) Advanced-Level Electives from the listing below – one from the area of Writing and one from the area of Literature/Culture/Arts – at the time of pre-registration. Class size is limited and registrations will be handled in the order in which they are received by fax, up to the limit for the section.

SPAN 3301 Advanced Intermediate Spanish in Context
Pearce-Gonzales, Alegre-González

This course will stress the expansion of the student's active vocabulary and language skills at the third-year level. Classroom activities will center on a thorough review of the most important aspects of Spanish grammar, as well as active oral use of the language. The oral exercises will expose students to extended discourse and will develop content and context as appropriate for students moving from the intermediate to the advanced proficiency levels. The grammar explanations will be complemented by extensive oral and written exercises in contextualized and communication-based activities. This approach, together with the other courses taught at the third-year level as well as the linguistic experiences the student has outside of the classroom, will provide immediate reinforcement of new structures and are intended to maximize the student's linguistic competence. This course meets for two hours each day. (l unit)

Required text: Concha Moreno, Avance. Curso de español. Nivel intermedio-avanzado. Libro del alumno (Madrid, SGEL, 2003)

SPAN 3401 Advanced Spanish in Context
Avilés, Carballo

The course is based on a teaching philosophy that considers language as an oral/aural means of communication. The study of grammar is not an end in itself, but rather a means to accelerate language learning and make it a more effective process. The dynamic use of language will be the basis of this approach. Through significant grammar practice that combines both formal and communicative approaches, students will develop and integrate the four language skills: listening comprehension, reading comprehension, oral expression and written expression. The course’s content will include five main areas that will be integrated in the proposed activities: 1) Functional content: the communicative elements, enumerating the functions which students should know in order to make effective use of the language; 2) Grammatical content: the grammatical elements, and the communicative functions associated with them, which will allow students to effectively express the communicative functions; 3) Subject content: lexical content, subjects and situations that facilitate the social use of language and transmit a real and current image of Spanish society and of the Spanish-speaking world; 4) Phonetic content: activities which will enable students to practice reading and writing in Spanish, as well as improve pronunciation by listening to differentiation exercises, by repeating sounds, words, and sentences, and by reading targeted texts; 5) Lexical content: exposure to texts representing different socio-linguistic and stylistic registers. (l unit)

Required text: Jaime Corpas Viñals, Aula Internacional 4, + CD (Barcelona: Les Punxes, 2008, ISBN 9788484432340).

WRITING

SPAN 3402 Journalistic Writing
Faverón Patriau

This is an advanced Spanish composition course in which students will further develop their writing skills in Spanish while learning the basic principles of journalistic style. Students will read Spanish newspaper and magazine articles to become familiarized with the different journalistic genres, such as news, articles, interviews, editorials, reviews, etc. Students will read sections from digital newspapers in Spanish, to present to the class and comment on their content. These discussions, along with assigned readings, will serve as a basis for grammar reviews, vocabulary exercises and editing practice, along with discussions of the journalistic genres. As part of the course, students will have the opportunity to contribute to, edit, and design the Spanish School weekly “Boletín”. For that purpose, small groups of students will act as its editorial staff on a rotating basis. The instructor, Gustavo Faverón Patriau, is an op-ed writer in several Peruvian newspapers, and has been the editor-in-chief of Somos, the most widely read Peruvian magazine. (1 unit)

Required text: Material in course pack and electronic form.

SPAN 3405 Creative Writing
Chávez-Castañeda

This course will focus on the experience of creative writing to develop a deeper understanding of the Spanish language. The pleasures of the imagination, the pleasure of telling stories, and the pleasure of the language to express ourselves, through creative writing, will be the goals of the course. This course will also provide the opportunity to read and discuss present literary works of important Hispano-Americans authors. (1 unit)

Required text: Materials in electronic form.

Recommended text: A good English-Spanish/Spanish-English dictionary (recommended: Oxford) as well as a Spanish language thesaurus (for example, Vox: Diccionario de sinónimos).

SPANISH 3406 Business and Professional Writing
Little

This course will prepare students to participate in the Hispanic commercial world. In order to accomplish this, we will focus on three specific areas: vocabulary and written commercial forms, knowledge of the commercial arena in specific Hispanic countries, and the preparation and presentation of a series of projects related to this topic. Besides increasing their vocabulary and improving their production of correspondence and commercial documents, students will present case studies of Hispanic countries and specific industries. The themes we will analyze in the first part of the course will serve as the basis for our final major project: the actual (or virtual) creation of a business, using the materials and procedures we have learned from the Hispanic commercial world. We will cover sequentially a series of topics such as organization of a business, differing administrative models, financial elements of a business, marketing and public relations, and other topics. (1 unit)

Required text: Doyle, Fryer and Cere: Éxito Comercial. Boston: Thomson & Heinle, 4th edition, 2006 (textbook and Cuaderno de correspondencia)

Recommended texts: 1) Diccionario económico y comercial ( http://www.eumed.net/dices/ or http://www.eumed.net/cursecon/dic/ctc/index.htm ); 2) bilingual Spanish-English dictionary; 3) monolingual Spanish dictionary (either Diccionario de la lengua español [Real Academia Española], CD-ROM or online version of the RAE dictionary, or García Pelayo, Pequeño Larousse ilustrado en color).

SPAN 3409 Academic Writing
Wolfenzon

This course is designed for those students who plan to continue their education at the graduate level in Spanish (or other disciplines), or any student who wishes to develop his or her writing skills at a more advanced and sophisticated level. It is intended to give the students the practice they need to be able to write at a formal, academic level. We will focus on such topics as thesis development and the logical, coherent support of a thesis as well as how and when to cite sources within the body of the paper and the bibliography. Writing assignments will include, among others, literary analysis and research topics. (1 unit)

Required text: Pending

SPAN 3411 Stylistics
Hernández

This course is designed for those students who need to develop their writing production skills, and who are making the transition from fourth-semester (Intermediate) to Advanced coursework in Spanish. If this summer is your first term in advanced Spanish coursework, you should sign up for this Writing course. Throughout the course, students shall analyze different discursive genres (text types), establish the base from which to improve their syntax, learn orthographical rules, refine their use of discursive connectors, and expand their vocabulary. The main goal is for the students to create their own texts intended for different communicative objectives, and acquire the necessary tools to develop their own style in Spanish writing. (1 unit)

Required text: Valdés, Dvorak, Hannum, Angelelli: Composición: Proceso y síntesis Text and Workbook/Lab Manual, 5th ed. McGraw Hill, 2008.

CULTURE

SPAN 3412 Childhood Through Culture
Chávez-Castañeda

The objective of this course is to analyze childhood as a social construction, as a period of psychological development, as a horror story, as a time when lessons about human nature become formative tests, and as a stage when myths, for example as created by children's literature, trigger certain imaginary beliefs. Through theoretical and literary texts, students will reflect on these aspects and their pedagogical possibilities. (1 unit)

Required text: Materials in electronic form.

Recommended texts: A good English-Spanish/Spanish-English dictionary (recommended: Oxford) as well as a Spanish language thesaurus (for example, Vox: Diccionario de sinónimos).

SPAN 3431 Hispanic Culture through Theater/Performance
Hernández

This course is designed for those students making the transition from fourth-semester (Intermediate) to Advanced coursework in Spanish. If this summer is your first term in advanced Spanish coursework, you should sign up for this Culture course. The course combines the study of theatrical Spanish texts with the practice of some acting and performing skills. The class explores various theatrical styles and schools, analyzing their chronological development and examining how they relate to Hispanic culture, history and traditions. The students will also put into practice some of the creative techniques that integrate the theatrical panorama of Ibero-American theater. Taking the "performer's place" should provide the students with self-confidence and independence in the use of the language, considering that they have to perform and even improvise theatrical scenes. (1 unit)

Required texts: Materials in electronic or photocopy form.

SPAN 3432 20th Century Literature in Spain: War and Post-war
Reyes-Torres

This course is designed as an introduction to 20th Spanish literature through the analysis of a variety of works of narrative, drama and poetry. The main objective is to offer the student a substantial view of the literary work produced in Spain during the Civil War and later during Franco’s dictatorship. The authors to be read will include Miguel Hernández, Federico García Lorca, Camilo José Cela, Carmen Laforet, Ana María Matute, Miguel Delibes, Fernando Arrabal, Juan Goytisolo y Carmen Martín Gaite. Each of these writers will be studied in relation to the historical and cultural circumstances that shaped Spain from 1936 to 1975, since literature cannot be completely understood outside the social context under which it is created. The course will also include other texts, films and documentaries that appeared later chronologically, but that facilitate the understanding of the readings and the Spanish culture itself of this period of study. (1 unit)

Required texts: 1) Carmen Laforet, Nada (Destino); 2) Miguel Delibes, Cinco horas con Mario (Destino); 3) Camilo José Cela, La familia de Pascual Duarte (Destino); 4) materials in electronic or photocopy form.

SPAN 3433 Hispanic Culture through Music
Álvarez Díaz

This class will allow the student to approach the historic and musical panoramas of Spain and the Latin American countries by digging into the origins of today’s Hispanic music. We will explore how artistic and musical currents were developed generally in Spain and South America, by analyzing the musical history of different periods from an aesthetic point of view and placing them in the social and cultural contexts. Listening will be the central line of this course that will cover the fields of popular music as well as classical. songs, dances, and the rhythms of Flamenco and Caribbean, among others. In addition, folk material treated by the classic composers will be analyzed in class. We will see how important music and tradition have been, and still are, in today’s Hispanic cultures. (1 unit)

Required text: Material in course pack form to be purchased at Middlebury.

SPAN 3458 Latin America: Politics & Text in 20th Century Literature
Invernizzi

This course introduces students to longer works of Latin American literature. Students will read Cien años de soledad, by Colombian Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez, in its entirety, as well as other shorter novels and a number of short stories. Our readings will span the years leading to and including the literary movement often referred to as the Boom. In addition to García Márquez, authors of particular interest will include Antonio Skármeta (Chile), María Luisa Bombal (Chile), Rosario Ferré (Puerto Rico) and others. (1 unit)

Required texts: 1) Gabriel García Márquez, Cien años de soledad (Madrid: Espasa Calpe Colección Austral, 1982); 2) Antonio Skármeta, Ardiente paciencia (Buenos Aires: Editorial Sudamericana 3rd ed., 1993); 3) material in course pack form to be purchased at Middlebury.