Spanish Curriculum 

 

 

1. Objective

 

Spanish is the native language of many people, the official language in various countries, the language used in many international organizations and one of the most frequently spoken languages in the world. The command of the Spanish language will give the students access to the Spanish speaking world, whose economical and geopolitical importance continues to grow. The Spanish-speaking population is increasing, especially in the USA. 

 

Spanish is also achieving a growing importance in the north-south and transatlantic dialogue. The command of the Spanish language will enable the students to thoroughly examine the way of living and thinking in the Spanish-speaking world, far beyond tourism and cliches. In class, the students will learn about the basis of culture, in which intercultural interaction with all its opportunities and risks is practiced, and which have sent out important impulses for the world. This will help increase the students understanding of other people and cultures.

 

In the educational system, there are close relationships between Germany and Spanish-speaking countries: Partnerships in many different areas give students the opportunities to make contact; cooperation with secondary schools and universities in Spanish-speaking countries present them with numerous perspectives. Considering the expansion of the economical relationship between Germany and Spain, as well as Hispanic America, a command of the Spanish language will prove to be helpful for their future professional qualification. It will also help them study other Roman languages.

 

 

 

2. Guidelines for Spanish Instruction

 

Spanish instruction will enable the students to:

 

·         express their ideas and requests orally and in writing in an appropriate style, and to understand linguistically complex statements

·         tackle different communication situations

·         gain knowledge/information

·         work with relevant reference work

·         build a linguistic and cultural identity and connect it to other cultures

 

Spanish instruction comprises, besides the communicative element, also analytical, historical and cultural aspects of the language. The students will think about the structure of the Spanish language and compare it to other languages.

 

In general, the student will learn to enjoy the language and use it creatively.

 

In lessons the students will study the variety of the Spanish and Latin-American language families and their literature, and will therefore learn about a rather unknown cultural area. Learning about the Spanish and Latin-American culture and literature and successively examining it, will further tolerance and openness towards all nationalities, and at the same time, teach them to be critical of themselves.

 

The students’ current language skills will also assist in the learning of a new vocabulary and the structures of the Spanish language. The clear structure of Spanish grammar, as well as the abundant vocabulary will strengthen the development of a differentiated way of thinking.

 

3. Structure and Organization

 

 

 

3. 1. Allocation of Lessons

 

 

Grade 6

Grade 7

Grade 8

Grade 9

Beginners

3 Lessons

3 Lessons

3 Lessons

3 Lessons

Advanced

 

 

3 Lessons

3 Lessons

 

 

3. 2. Beginners: Grades 6 and 7

 

The lessons for Beginners will form a two-year course which prepares students for the Advanced level. Besides the general goals for grades 6 and 7, the curriculum will also contain guidelines for further Spanish instruction.

 

 

3. 3. Advanced: Grades 8 and 9

 

The curriculum for the Advanced lessons for grades 8 and 9 generally continues from the goals of the Beginners lessons.

 

 

All the curriculum parts are divided into the following four sub-chapters:

 

I.                     Listening and Speaking

II.                   Reading and Writing

III.                  Syntax, Vocabulary, Language Reflection

IV.                Literature and Regional Studies

 

It is not always possible to assign single objectives which reflect these four individual areas. An overlapping is not only unavoidable, but also very much wanted. The individual areas all serve as one whole unit.

 

The heading Indications for the Methods of Teaching contains possible (non-binding) contents and methods which may be used to accomplish the set goals.

 

4. Curriculum Beginners

 

Listening and Speaking

 

Guidelines

Methodology

Objectives for the Respective Grades

 

 

Beginners - First Year

Beginners – Second Year

1. Listening

 

Being familiar with the intonation, rhythm and sound of the Spanish language in order to make sense of what is being said in every day conversation, and to understand the gist of a spoken or read text which uses basic vocabulary and simple structures.

 

·          Repetition exercises

·          Dialogue

·          Role plays

·          Chain stories

·          Riddles

·          Didactical listening

·          Songs

·          Simple media texts and media sequences 

·          Conversation

·          Weather forecast

 

The student should be able to:

 

understand didactical texts to improve the structures and vocabulary.

 

recognize phonically relevant elements, and the most important phonetic differences between the European and the Southern American norm.

 

correctly repeat  what one has heard.

 

understand simple questions, instructions and messages of every day life, in order to react to them appropriately.

 

 

The student should be able to:

 

show a developed understanding of all Beginners – First Year objectives.

 

understand the gist of simple authentic texts in different regional variations  (e. g. Weather forecast, announcement, advertisement, every day life dialogues, etc.)

2. Speaking

 

Making yourself understood in an every day conversation, by using a natural pronunciation and talking about personal experiences 

 

Regarding the Spanish language as an area of experimenting, which can be tackled with joy, humor and fantasy.

 

·          Repetition exercises

·          Verses

·          Songs

·          Dialogue

·          Role plays

·          Chain stories

·          Describing and talking

·          Conversation

·          Phonetic and phonologic rules

 

The student should be able to:

 

acquire phonically correct and natural pronunciation.

 

have dialogues within predetermined setting/framework (=didactical/instructional situation) and verbalize depicted facts.

 

freely voice  simple request from every day life. (messages, instructions, questions, inquiries).

 

 

The student should be able to:

 

show a developed understanding of all Beginners – First Year objectives.

 

talk about personal experiences or those of others, without being afraid of making a mistake.

 

 
Reading and Writing

 

Guidelines

Methodology

Objectives for the Respective Grades

 

 

Beginners - First Year

Beginners – Second Year

1. Reading

 

Understanding texts containing basic vocabulary and structures. Developing basic pronunciation.

 

·          Read simple texts

·          Basic written directions

·          Advertisement texts

·          Simple instruction manuals

·          Greeting cards

·          Letters

·          Radio and television programming list

 

 

The student should be able to:

 

understand and apply the rules of phonetics and stress in the Spanish language.

 

understand didactical texts and read them orally so that the correct meaning is delivered.

 

The student should be able to:

 

show a developed understanding of all Beginners – First Year objectives.

 

read and understand simple authentic1 and didactical texts which contain partially unknown elements, while developing strategies to decode unknown words from context.

 

1e.g. advertisement texts, simple instruction manuals, card greetings, letters, radio and television programs etc.

2. Writing

 

Being able to correctly write texts with basic structures and composing own texts in order to further creativity without being afraid to make mistakes.

 

·          Dictations

·          Dialogue

·          Everyday communication in writing

·          (Fictitious) Correspondence

·          Descriptions

·          Summaries

·          Stories

·          Chain Stories

·          Writing translations

·          Spelling rules

·          Rules for the accents

 

The student should be able to:

 

understand and apply the rules for Spanish phonetics and stressing in order to write down heard texts with basic structures, which are orthographically correct and morphologically accurate.

 

correctly answer questions about a given text.

 

The student should be able to:

 

show a developed understanding of all Beginners – First Year objectives.

 

summarize simple texts, verbalize picture stories and (in basic form) write down their own experiences.

 

translate short texts with basic structures and vocabulary into Spanish.

 

 

Furthermore, the students will be encouraged with appropriate exercises to enjoy working creatively with the language (writing own dialogues and their own stories). They will also learn about the communicative function of writing (Notes,  fictitious (possibly real) correspondence within (and outside of) the classroom).

 

 

 

 

 

Syntax, Vocabulary, Language Reflection

 

Guidelines

Methodology

Objectives for the Respective Grades

 

 

Beginners - First Year

Beginners – Second Year

1. Morphology and Syntax

 

Mastering the most important forms and structures which are necessary for a simple oral and written communication.

 

·          Grammar rules and their usage in oral and written language exercise

·          Summaries and charts

·          translations

 

The student should be able to:

 

understand basic Spanish grammar structures with the help of certain teaching aides in order to be confident in their oral and written expression.

 

In particular:

Presente

regular verbs ending in –ar, -er and –ir.

Diphthong verbs ending in –ar and –er.

Most important irregular verbs.

ser  and estar.

Nominal morphology (Number and Gender)

Possessive- and demonstrative pronoun.

Elementary compound sentences.

 

 

The student should be able to:

 

show a developed understanding of all Beginners – First Year objectives

 

understand basic grammar structures with the help of certain teaching aides in order to be confident in their oral and written expression.

 

In particular:

Pretérito Perfecto, indefinido, imperativo.

Most common alternating verbs ending in –ir (seguir/ pedir/ sentir).

irregular verbs.

Gerundio (estar + gerundio)

ser  and estar.

Comparative and Superlative.

Simple object pronouns

Simple compound sentences (indicative object clauses, elementary relative clauses).

2. Vocabulary

 

 

 

 

Acquiring the necessary vocabulary for every day communication.

 

Using reference materials like dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc.

 

·          Strategies for the vocabulary acquisition 

·          Antonyms / Synonyms

·          Definition

·          Idiomatic expressions

·          Word families

·          Picture descriptions

·          Riddles

·          Translations

 

The student should be able to:

 

master the vocabulary from the textbook with regard to a confident usage in the oral and written expression.

 

understand and use idiomatic expressions in every day communication. 

 

The student should be able to:

 

show a developed understanding of all Beginners – First Year objectives.

 

develop strategies to understand the meaning of unknown elements.

 

further understand vocabulary.

3. Language Reflection

 

 

 

 

Grammatical knowledge is helpful and useful for the acquisition of language.  Different languages have similar, but also diverse structures.

 

·          Grammar rules