Module: Spanish Language Culture & Text

Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title	Spanish Language Culture & Text
Module Code	SPA1032 (ITS: SP373)
Faculty	Humanities & Social Sciences	School	SALIS
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5

Description

The purpose of this module, conducted in Spanish, is to provide students with skills that will enable them to become autonomous learners in their partner institution during their Erasmus and to gain an insight into sociocultural adaptation issues. In order to do so, students will engage with different text types and practical situations to increase and consolidate their language and cultural competence with particular emphasis on productive skills and audiovisual comprehension. SPA1032 will also nurture the development of a range of transferable and life-long learning skills such as digital literacies and critical thinking.

Learning Outcomes

1. Understand and extract information and opinions from a wide range of texts, conversations, multimodal documents for social, administrative and academic purposes;
2. Express him/herself effectively and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions and grammatical features and adapt the language register according to the situation;
3. Demonstrate the ability to draw on topic-specific vocabulary and grammatical features in Spanish to express ideas with accuracy in a variety of contexts (formal and informal registers);
4. Express personal opinions on a topic in an interactive manner in oral discussions with a level of fluency and accuracy appropriate for this level and produce clear, well-structured texts showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices;
5. Demonstrate reflective and critical thinking on the topics covered throughout the module and also on the tasks carried out individually and with peers;
6. Make effective use of digital tools and resources for language learning and language use.

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full time hours per semester
Seminars	21	Seminars are interactive and learner-centered. Students are expected to actively participate in class discussion with individual contributions to whole-class and small group discussions.
Directed learning	44	Preparation for the seminars & asynchronous practice is essential in order to successfully engage and follow the class. This includes reading/watching the required materials before the session and completing any assigned homework.
Independent Study	35	Students are expected to take responsibility and engage autonomously in a variety of activities required to successfully complete the course: CA preparation and completion, self-planned interaction with classmates to complete collaborative tasks, study of the subject matter using textbooks and online learning resources/tools, revision of content and feedback, consultation with teachers when needed, keeping up to date with course information and announcements, reflection and analysis of work.
Assignment Completion	25	Students will engage in the completion of the 3 CAs throughout the semester.
Total Workload: 125

Section Breakdown
CRN	11561	Part of Term	Semester 1
Coursework	100%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	40PASS	Pass Both Elements	N
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	Inmaculada Gómez Soler	Module Teacher

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
In Class Test	Students will complete a test focused on both comprehension and production skills.	30%	n/a
Essay	Students will write an argumentative text on one of the topics discussed during the semester.	20%	n/a
Oral Examination	Students will do a short individual presentation related to current events affecting the Spanish-speaking world. Then, each student will carry out a conversation about this and other related current events with the teacher.	50%	n/a

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Indicative Content and Learning Activities
Students will engage in a variety of comprehension, production and interaction activities, both individually and collaboratively to develop their proficiency in the target language. Students will work on the use of grammar and vocabulary in context and explore essential notions about the target cultures as they arise in the context of the selected themes. Students are expected to take responsibility for their own language learning by looking for language learning opportunities and engaging in language practice beyond the synchronous sessions. This module is organised around weekly timetabled class meetings in which students both as a class and in small groups will engage in communicative practice. In addition to the content covered during these sessions, specific complementary individual and group activities are required to be completed in a timely fashion before the weekly meeting to maximize learning during the session and after the session to consolidate and elaborate on the material covered in class.

Module Resources
Resources will be provided to students by their lecturer via Loop. Here are some examples of the materials we will cover in class. Film: Ocho apellidos vascos. Short film: 036. Documentary: 'No es país para jóvenes'. Newspaper articles: 'Los Erasmus eligen España', 'La enseñanza bilingüe a examen', 'Colegios públicos que abandonan el bilingüismo', Short videos: 'Sistema de sanidad en España'/'Cómo pagar'/'Cómo quedar/'Tomar apuntes'/'Cosas raras de España'.

Indicative Reading List

Books:
None

Articles:
None

Other Resources

None