OVERVIEW

The course entitled ‘Econometrics of the Spanish Language’ comprises a theoretical module (1st semester, taught by Ana Lourdes de Hériz) and a language tutorial (year-long, taught by language tutors).

The theoretical module aims to make students more aware of the economic value of the Spanish language, the political role of institutions responsible for linguistic standards, and the differences between the prescriptive and descriptive approaches in the international promotion of a language.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Spanish 2 aims at encouraging reflection on the economic and political role of Spanish in international relations and research using Web resources to develop C1.2 CEFR skills. 

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

In the theoretical module, particular attention will be paid to the sociolinguistics of the Spanish language and its international role. Furthermore, students will learn to analyse the political and linguistic discourse of the institutions responsible for regulating the Spanish language worldwide. The learning objectives are to

a) make students aware that the history of the Spanish language worldwide has always been shaped by politics, global power dynamics and the economic interests of the countries that conduct trade in or with the Spanish language;

b) enable students to independently and effectively consult accessible information sources and linguistic resources created by institutions safeguarding the interests of the Spanish language, such as corpora;

c) to enable students to analyse and interpret the language policy discourse of the institutions responsible for promoting the Spanish language worldwide;

d) to enable students to search for and select information sources to gain a better understanding of the political history of the Spanish language and to enable them to summarise it concisely.

To achieve these objectives, students will choose the topic from the course syllabus that most interests them, explore all its aspects by consulting appropriate sources, and discuss it in class and participate in group debates.

In the Lettorato, the second-year Spanish language course aims to provide students with linguistic and cultural preparation which, in terms of communicative competence, enables them to undertake activities at level C1.2 of the Common European Framework of Reference and to be able to:

• with regard to listening comprehension: understand enough to follow a broad discussion on abstract and complex topics outside their field, although they may need to have certain details confirmed, especially if they are unfamiliar with the linguistic variety; recognise many idiomatic and colloquial expressions and grasp changes in register; follow a long discourse even if it is not clearly structured and if the relationships remain implicit and are not explicitly signalled.
• Regarding reading comprehension: understand in detail fairly long and complex texts, whether or not they relate to their field of specialisation, provided they can reread difficult passages; understand a wide variety of texts, including literary works, newspaper or magazine articles, and academic or professional publications, provided they can reread them and have access to reference materials. 
• Regarding oral production: provide clear and precise descriptions and explanations of complex topics, incorporating secondary themes, developing specific points and concluding appropriately. 
• With regard to written work: produce clear, well-structured texts on complex topics, highlighting key issues, developing arguments in sufficient detail, supporting them with additional data, relevant reasons and examples, and concluding appropriately; use the structure and conventions of a variety of text types, adapting tone, style and register to suit the audience, the type of text and the topic. 
• Regarding oral interaction: express oneself fluently and spontaneously, almost effortlessly. Has a good command of a wide lexical repertoire, enabling them to readily fill gaps with circumlocutions. Minor efforts to search for expressions and avoidance strategies are barely noticeable; only a conceptually difficult topic may inhibit the natural fluency of speech. 
• Regarding written interaction: express oneself clearly and precisely, adapting to the audience in a flexible and effective manner. 
• With regard to online interaction: engaging in real-time online exchanges with multiple participants, understanding the communicative intentions and cultural implications of the various contributions; participating effectively in professional or academic discussions online, asking for and providing further clarification on complex and abstract issues where necessary; adapting register to suit the context of an online interaction, switching between registers during the same exchange where necessary; evaluating, rephrasing and challenging arguments in real time online, in a chat or in a professional or academic discussion. 
• Regarding mediation: act effectively as a mediator, ensuring that the interaction remains positive, interpreting different perspectives, managing ambiguities, anticipating misunderstandings and intervening diplomatically to redirect the discussion; expand on various contributions to a discussion, encouraging reasoning through a series of questions; convey the key ideas of long and complex texts clearly, fluently and in a well-structured manner, whether or not they relate to their areas of interest, including evaluative aspects and most of the nuances.

TEACHING METHODS

Lessons take place in the classroom, with face-to-face teaching.

The theoretical module requires students to undertake both independent and group work. The presentation of the topic that each student must prepare requires research using the information sources identified at the start of the course, a demonstration of functional literacy skills and proficiency in the communication of knowledge (including in digital format), and a willingness to engage in group discussion and peer assessment (which will be taken into account for the final assessment of each course module).

Non-attending students are required to contact the lecturers to notify them of their absence and to agree on any alternative course programmes, additional reading lists, etc.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Theoretical module:

• The linguistic and political history of the Spanish language and the Real Academia Española, from its foundation and its prescriptive policy up to the beginning of the 21st century, with the pan-Hispanic and more descriptive approach. 
• The model: standard and usage. The evolution of the standard in academic orthography. Opposition to the standard: proposals for reforming academic orthography.
• Organisations and foundations promoting the spread of Spanish: Instituto Cervantes and Fundéu. 
• The motto ‘unity in diversity’, pluricentrism and pan-Hispanism. 
• The International Congresses of the Spanish Language: the evolution of the policy for the expansion of Spanish. 
• The economic value of Spanish. The Yearbooks of Spanish in the World. 
• International Spanish; “neutral” Spanish. 
• Linguistic resources on the web: Spanish language corpora.

LETTORATO

• Consolidate language proficiency to reach level C1.2. Enhance oral and written expression. 
• Produce written texts of various types, making effective use of elements of coherence and cohesion. Produce written texts and oral summaries of Italian texts (mediation).

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Theoretic module:

Much of the compulsory and recommended reading is available online and will be sourced by the students; it will then be presented, analysed and discussed by the students during the lectures. For the final exam, both attending and non-attending students must also have read one of the Instituto Cervantes’ recent publications on linguistic demography:

• Bonomi, Milin et al. (2024), Demolingüística del español en Italia, Madrid, Instituto Cervantes. Available online here: https://cvc.cervantes.es/lengua/espanol_europa/espanol_italia/default.htm

Non-attending students are also required to have read the following book:

• Del Valle, José (2024). Lo político del lenguaje, Santiago de Chile, Verba Volant.

Students who attend less than 50% of the lectures in the theoretical module are considered ‘non-attending’ and are therefore not part of the Open Badge project for this part of the course.

LETTORATO

Details regarding the reading list will be provided in early September.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Lessons for the theory module and the Lettorato will begin in the first week of the first semester.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Theoretic Module: an oral examination to assess the functional literacy acquired throughout the course (through ongoing discussion with students) and to evaluate students’ comprehension of the required reading and their critical thinking skills.

Lettorato: a written and oral examination.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The oral examination for the Theoretical Module consists of two short parts:

a) a presentation and discussion of the content of the compulsory reading;

b) a comparison between the topic presented by each candidate and those presented by the others.

Non-attending students will be provided with guidance on how to draw on various sources of information to prepare for the examination independently.

The written Lettorato test involves producing an argumentative text of approximately 300 words on topics from the bibliography or those covered in class. The exam texts are assessed on the effectiveness of the presentation, the appropriateness of the register, the appropriate use of coherence and cohesion, grammatical accuracy and lexical precision.

For attending students, oral proficiency will be assessed throughout the academic year, taking into account presentations made in class. For non-attending students, however, the oral examination takes place during the exam period and consists of a presentation of the material assigned by the lecturers during the course.

The mark for the Reading and Writing course is calculated as the average of the written and oral components.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students who have duly submitted documentation of a disability, specific learning difficulties (SLD) or other special educational needs are advised to contact both the coordinator, Prof. Sara Dickinson (sara.dickinson@unige.it) and the lecturer at the start of the course to agree on teaching and assessment arrangements which, whilst respecting the course objectives, take into account individual learning styles and provide appropriate support measures.