see also:
Syllabus: Natural History of Costa Rica
Syllabus: Biodiversity & Conservation
Syllabus: Tropical Ecology

University of Costa Rica
School of Language & Literature
Program of Spanish as a Foreign Language

Beginning Spanish or Intermediate Spanish

Beginning Spanish

Credits: 4 semester credits/40 hours in class

Duration: 14 weeks

This course is taught by faculty from the Spanish Department of the University of Costa Rica and is designed for foreign students who have no background in Spanish. The objective of this course is to provide students the basic language skills that will facilitate their stay in Costa Rica or any Spanish speaking country.

Course Evaluation:

Mid-term exam 30%
Final exam 40%
Homework 20%
Class participation 10%

Objectives:

By the end of this course the student will have attained the following skills in the Spanish language:

• utilize the basic grammatical constructions in the context of a conversation
• pronounce the basic sound and intonation necessary to communicate effectively
• construct simple sentences for conversation
• understand simple lectures
• discuss relevant topics of Latin American culture

Specific topics that will be covered in class include the following:

• how to greet and introduce yourself to people
• the use of adjectives
• the use of "estar" and gerund
• the use of "ser"
• conjugation and use of "ar", "er" and "ir" verbs in the simple present and past tense
• conjugation and use of some irregular verbs in the simple present and past tense
• the use of the imperative with "usted" and "ustedes"
• the use of some prepositions including: a, en, de, sobre, bajo, sin, para, and con
• vocabulary for basic communication about a variety of topics
• the use of pronouns
• the use of future tense.

Textbook:

Terrel, Andrade, Egasse and Munoz. 1990. Dos Mundos: a communicative approach. 2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill.

Intermediate Spanish

Credits: 4 semester credits/40 hours in class

Duration: 14 weeks

This course is taught by faculty from the Spanish Department of the University of Costa Rica and is designed for foreign students who already have a foundation in Spanish but need to strengthen their ability to communicate effectively. The emphasis of this class will be on oral communication with many written homework assignments. A general review of grammatical constructions will be provided.

Course Evaluation:

Mid-term exam 30%
Final exam 40%
Homework 20%
Class participation 10%

Objectives:

By the end of this course the student will have attained the following skills in the Spanish language:

• narrate experiences from the past
• explain plans and directions
• express themselves with courtesy
• discuss cultural, social, political and economic topics
• give polite orders
• discuss hypothetical topics
• express feelings

Specific grammatical topics that will be covered in class include the following:

• the use of the past simple perfect and imperfect narration
• the use of the conditional and future tense
• the use of participles:
  • Estar + participle
  • Compound perfect preterit
• the use of formal imperative
• the proper use of ser and estar
• the use of gustar-like verbs
• proper use of pronouns
• the use of the present subjunctive

Textbook:

Mcvey, M.G.; Wegman, B and Mendez-Faith, T. 1995. En contacto: gramatica en accion. 5 th Edition. Holt, Rinehart and, Winston.

see also:
Syllabus: Natural History of Costa Rica
Syllabus: Biodiversity & Conservation
Syllabus: Tropical Ecology