It is intended for native speakers of English who wish to
acquire sufficient Spanish to make a trip to a Spanish-speaking country with
confidence. You will acquire speaking, listening, reading and writing skills
which will be more than enough to get you through most situations you will
encounter on your first holiday or business trip.
You will be tested on Listening, Reading and Writing. Spoken
words will not form part of your assessment. Our course is fully supported by
online tutors, who will monitor and guide your progress and offer individual
support. They will contact you regularly by email to help with any problems.
The course is divided into five short acts, each containing
a number of scenes in various authentic situations. Each scene contains a set
of exercises with a short test to see how you are getting along. Each act
deals with specific areas of everyday encounters: simple personal information;
food and drink; shopping; asking directions; travel and accommodation.
Throughout the exercises there are two couples you will interact with. Tony
and Kate are fluent Spanish speakers from England, who meet up on a trip to
Spain. Señor López is a businessman from Argentina, and Señorita Fernández is
Spanish and works for the hotel chain at which both couples are staying.
In Spanish there is a 'formal' way of speaking to each
other: at work, or in business relationships, or with older people: and there
is an 'informal' way of addressing someone; for example two younger people of
the same age, or between friends. This is why we have two couples: Tony and
Kate are friendly and informal: Señor López and Señorita Fernández are more
formal - but still friendly of course!
After each scene there is a short test to check how you are
doing, and at the end of the course a longer exam that will review all of the
topics covered by the course. To study the course you will need: An email
address - if you don't have one we can provide instructions on how to obtain
one free of charge. Access to the internet - this could be at home, at work or
at a library, internet cafe etc. The only technical requirement is that your
web browser has the Macromedia Flash Player (version 6.0 or later). This is a
standard component of the latest version of Internet Explorer Students have
access to the course and tutor support for 60 days. Look for Course KSA400-D
