OVERVIEW

The course aims to provide students with the tools to deepen the skills acquired during the three-year degree. The ability to argue and the autonomy of judgment will be stimulated through the presentation of strategies aimed at perfecting written and oral production in a foreign language. Tools will also be provided to tackle autonomous research work in preparation of the thesis.Students with a certified DSA, disability or other special educational needs to contact either the contact person Prof. Aristide Canepa (aristide.canepa@unige.it) and the lecturer at the beginning of the course, to agree on teaching and examination methods that, while respecting the teaching objectives, take into account individual learning modes and provide  compensatory tools.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The aims of the course are to deepen the study of the Spanish language in its morpho-syntactical and lexical dimensions through the reading and analysis of texts of current political and international relevance in a pan-Hispanic dimension and to stimulate discussion on the topics proposed during the year.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course proposes content and interactive teaching methodologies that, in addition to reinforcing what was acquired in the first cycle, enable the student to develop communicative strategies focused on the ability to argue opinions and to undertake autonomous in-depth research. Thanks to cooperative learning activities and in-depth individual study, the student will be able to intervene on topics related to the language and cultures of Spanish-speaking countries. He/she will also be able to make appropriate use of the bibliographical sources specific to the discipline and possess the adequate tools to manage communication as an expert speaker within the professional domain. With regard to the Master's degree learning objectives, the student will be able to produce clear and precise descriptions and expositions of a variety of topics within his/her field of interest, developing and supporting ideas with additional elements and relevant examples. He/she will also be able to write clear and articulate texts on a variety of topics within his/her field of interest, evaluating information and arguments from different sources and summarising them (CEFR level B2).  

The training objectives, in detail, are as follows:

To approach the composite Latin American reality through a specific point of view.
To know how to distinguish between literal meaning and contextual meaning.
To know and recognise the different semantic relationships between words in the Spanish language.
Understand and describe the characteristics of language and political discourse.
To be able to express oneself orally and in writing with clarity, appropriateness and linguistic correction at level B2+, to expound and use the bibliography indicated by the teacher and to find others independently.
To be able to self-evaluate one's own learning and acquired competences.
To be able to outline a research activity in the field of applied linguistics and Hispanic sociolinguistics, to find the data and bibliography essential to carry out the work.

PREREQUISITES

 Master's Degrees offered at Dispi require an entry level of knowledge corresponding to level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Those who do not have this level may, during the first year of the course, ask the reference lecturer for permission to follow as an auditor the lectures envisaged for the three-year degree courses (which, for the above-mentioned languages, require a B1 level) as well as the access codes to the language self-study courses available at https://clire.aulaweb.unige.it/

TEACHING METHODS

The relatively smaller number of learners makes it possible to organise teaching in a dynamic and interactive way. The attending students will work on the texts as they are inserted on Aulaweb in a cooperative learning mode. At the end of each module there will be an in itinere verification of the proposed contents and the linguistic level corresponding to the number of credits. Students who are not attending will prepare the contents indicated in the bibliography. Reading and linguistic support exercises are foreseen, the former for students attending and the latter for students not attending.  Both attending and non-attending students must register on the course page of the Aulaweb platform, which is the privileged channel to communicate with students. Students in possession of a valid language certificate (DELE) corresponding to level B2 or higher are exempt from the written test.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The "leyenda negra".

Students will find articles and other materials on Aulaweb, which they must supplement by studying the texts listed in the bibliography.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

For the written test:

AA.VV. (2022), Frecuencias B2. Español comunicativo para el siglo XXI. Libro del estudiante, Madrid, Edinumen.
ISBN: 978-84-9179-692-3

AA.VV. (2022), Frecuencias B2. Libro de ejercicios, Madrid, Edinumen.
ISBN: 978-84-9179-410-3

For the oral exam:

Sánchez Jiménez, Antonio, Leyenda Negra, Madrid: Cátedra, 2016. Just "Introducción" and the following chapter.

Articles and chapters uploaded on Aulaweb.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

DANIELA CAPRA (President)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

See academic calendar (second semester).

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The course examination with the teacher is oral. In order to take the examination of the course it is necessary to have passed the language test. The aim is to test attainment of level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).  Further information will be specified by the language teacher.

The oral examination with the teacher, which will take the form of a discussion, will cover the topics and concepts explained in class and considered in the prescribed bibliography and other texts suggested during the lessons. The aim of the examination is to test the depth and breadth of the student's knowledge, to assess their ability to critically analyse, discuss and evaluate the main themes of the course and to ascertain their ability to structure an argument and communicate what they have learnt.

The minimum mark for passing the examination is 18/30.

It is possible to take the two parts of the exam in two different sessions.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The written exam is a prerequisite for the oral exam and is administered via computer; it lasts approximately 30 minutes in total.

The written test consists of four types of exercises designed to assess whether the target proficiency level (B2) has been reached:

•           multiple-choice reading comprehension exercises based on narrative, expository, and current affairs texts;

•           text reconstruction activities involving the insertion of text fragments;

•           exercises matching lexical definitions to the source text;

•           text completion exercises designed to test grammatical structures, verb tenses, and vocabulary in context.

The structure of the test is modeled on exercise types found in DELE B2-level language certification exams.

The oral exam may be taken only after passing the written exam (with a score of 18/30). It may be taken during a different exam session.

The oral exam assesses not only Spanish language proficiency (in terms of grammatical and lexical accuracy and fluency of speech) but also the student's ability to navigate the course content—covered in lectures and accessible via the texts listed in the bibliography and the articles/materials uploaded to Aulaweb. The aim of the oral exam is to verify the depth and breadth of the knowledge acquired, evaluate the ability to critically analyze and discuss the course's main themes, and assess the ability to structure an argument and communicate what has been learned.

The summative assessment is graded on a scale of thirty. The weighting of linguistic proficiency and subject-matter knowledge is equally balanced (50% each).

Students with disabilities or other special educational needs are advised to contact both Prof. Aristide Canepa (aristide.canepa@unige.it), and the lecturer at the beginning of the course, to agree on the teaching methods and examinations that, in compliance with the teaching objectives, take into account individual learning methods and provide suitable compensatory tools.

To request compensatory tools or dispensatory measures, students with disabilities or SLD must fill in the dedicated Webform available at https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa, at least 7 working days before the exam.
Students with SEN may instead send their request by e-mail to the lecturer, copying the Department Representative, Prof. Aristide Canepa (aristide.canepa@unige.it) and the Inclusion Office (inclusione.studenti@info.unige.it).
Requests from students will be assessed by the lecturer and may be approved or rejected.

FURTHER INFORMATION

The teacher actively uses the Aulaweb platform both for the advertising of disciplinary content and for communications to students. We strongly recommend enrolment at the beginning of the academic year.  It is essential that students communicate with the teacher through the Teams and Aulaweb platforms and e-mail.