Intermediate Spanish II

This course is a fourth-semester language course that both reinforces and enhances the communicative skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) previously acquired while exploring the rich cultural mosaic of the Spanish-speaking world. Class activities are designed so that students can build up these four skills in order to function at an intermediate language level. Readings focused on contemporary social and political issues of the Hispanic world will advance your knowledge of Hispanic and cultural practices while increasing your intercultural competence. Unique to this course is the preparation of an oral presentation on a topic related to the Hispanic world throughout the semester and presented during the last days of classes. The purpose of this task is to help students develop their presentational competence in Spanish. Conducted entirely in Spanish, this class will provide students with ample opportunities to work in small groups and in pairs while gaining confidence communicating in Spanish. This course satisfies the language requirement at Penn. Goals: By the end of this course, students can expect to handle a variety of situations in a Spanish-speaking setting, such as: 1) Express their opinions on a variety of contemporary events and issues 2) Defend their position when presented with a hypothetical situation 3) Deliver short presentations on a chosen subject after thorough preparation 4) Demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of Hispanic cultural practices and products.