Spanish Level 4 - October 2024

Course Dates: Thursday 10, 17, 24, 31 October; 7, 14, 21, 28 November; 5, 12 December 2024

Course Delivery: This is a blended learning class which will consist of a weekly 2 hour in person class together with supporting resources. These resources will include a 5-10 minute preparation video, focusing on a relevant language teaching point to the upcoming class and 30 minutes of online exercises to follow up on teaching in the online class. You will be expected to watch the video and complete the online exercises ahead of each weekly class. Classes will be limited to a maximum of 20 students.

Learning Objectives: Students taking the level 4 course should either have completed level 3, or be familiar with frequently used vocabulary and have a strong beginner’s knowledge of the language. The aim of level 4 is to build upon a solid beginner’s knowledge of the language and improve their ability to express themselves, constructing more complex sentences making use of new grammatical points such as the past tense. Students will also enhance their cultural awareness through class discussion.

Potential Topics:

1. Welcome - Likes, dislikes, phone numbers, daily routine

2. What are you doing to improve your Spanish? - Ask and give personal information; present information about traditions in Spain and Latin America; Talking about feelings with sentirse and adjectives to describe their experiences learning Spanish

3. Talking about hobbies, food and interests - Expressing wishes and desires regarding hobbies and interests; Talking about veganism, food, etc; Talking about eating habits, ideas, recipes and places to visit

4. I get up at 7 but I used to get up at 11... - Talking about present routines and previous routines; introduction to past tense forms

5. What have you been up to? - Talking about past experiences; at the GP, airport, hospital, hotel, work; talking about lost luggage, lost items and treasured items; vocabulary related to materials, colours and shapes; telling personal stories

6. What did you do last summer? - Talk about the past and what you did yesterday or last week etc; talk about the duration of past experiences including holidays; vocabulary for holidays, festival days, celebration and events in Latin America and Spain

7. Personal anecdotes - historical events, invention, etc

8. This is what happened to me - past habits, traditions and life stages; telling stories and giving specific details; reporting incidents, funny stories, anecdotes; apologising

9. History - speaking about historical events, culture and traditions; habits and emotions; sequence actions/events

10. What are you doing tomorrow? - The future; making predictions; routines for the future; making future arrangements; planning future holidays, other plans and intentions

Suggested Grammar Coverage: Students should be provided with an expanding grammatical base which allow them to construct independent sentences and phrases. Past tense and simple future will be covered.

Learning Outcomes: Students will aim to improve their spoken expression and vocabulary in the main topic areas sharing and defending opinions as well as voicing disagreement. Students will improve their descriptive competence, learning to give more detailed accounts of past events. Students will be able to use appropriate vocabulary to observe and discuss cultural difference.

Is there a minimum age to register for a Language Centre course?

You must be a minimum of 18 years old to register for an in person course and a minimum of 16 years old to register for any on-line Language Centre course.

What are the course fees?

There are different fees depending on registration type. All course fees are payable on enrolment. --Student fee: £20.00 --Staff fee: £20.00 --General Public: £88.00

Are these courses accredited?

A Queen's Certificate will be awarded to all students who attend regularly. A minimum of 70% attendance is required for certification.

In addition any current Queen's student can apply for Degree Plus accreditation. Degree Plus enables students to gain recognition from Queen’s for completing extra-curricular work related learning alongside their degree.

How often do I attend?

Classes, which usually last 2 hours, are held weekly, as far as possible outside normal university teaching hours (e.g. late afternoon, early evening, some are scheduled for Wednesday afternoon) and run for 10 weeks starting in October, January and April. You will also be expected to complete homework ahead of class.

Is my registration fee transferrable?

Yes, if you feel after your first class that the level of language is too high/low, you can transfer to another class, provided that there is available space.

What's the refund policy?

All refunds before the start of the course must be requested in writing. Refunds are paid as follows:

(Please note EVENTBRITE will charge 6% administration fee on all refunds)

Before (and including) 25 September– full refund

26 September to 3 October (inclusive) – 50% refund

No refunds available from 4 October (inclusive)

Refunds are not normally paid after the beginning of classes. Any such request must be made in writing to the Language Centre Manager and must be related to reasons beyond your control and supported by written evidence. These refunds will be at the Language Centre Manager’s discretion. All refunds, where agreed, will be subject to an administrative fee of £10.00 for QUB staff and students and £40 for members of the public.

How can I contact the organiser with any questions?

You can email any queries you have to [email protected]

Host or Publisher The Language Centre at Queen's