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SPAN20230

Academic Year 2026/2027

Spanish ex ab-initio IIa (SPAN20230)

Subject:
Spanish
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
Languages, Cultures & Linguis
Level:
2 (Intermediate)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Dr Mary Farrelly
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This is a high-intensity language module aimed at students who have successfully completed the Spanish Ab-initio modules (SPAN10140 and SPAN10150) or have reached the equivalent standard of Spanish (CEFR level A2). As the module is primarily designed to bridge the gap between students taking SPAN20080 and those who started Spanish as beginners in Stage 1, it aims for accelerated development of aural, oral, reading, and written skills. It is a core module for students pursuing Spanish to degree level but is also suitable as an elective for students of other subjects.

This module's main objective is to improve students’ proficiency in a language through a metacognitive approach, supporting students in managing their own learning through the completion of autonomous learning activities and self-assessment. Strong emphasis is placed on linguistic competences: grammatical accuracy, range of vocabulary, orthographic and phonological control - all embedded in authentic cultural and social contexts.

Progression will be fast and requires considerable commitment from the students to both class-work and independent study.
At the end of this module students who have achieved at least a B grade are deemed to have consolidated level B1 of the Common European Framework.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On satisfactory completion of this module, students should be able to:
• Understand native speakers discussing issues regularly encountered in work, school, leisure etc., as well as academic and professional topics (storytelling, current affairs, and cultural production);
• Read straightforward factual texts on subjects related to their field and interests with a satisfactory level of comprehension;
• Produce written and oral texts on familiar routine and non-routine matters related to their interests and professional/academic world with a high level of accuracy in spelling and pronunciation;
• Have a sufficient range of language to describe unpredictable situations, explain the main points in an idea or problem with reasonable precision and express thoughts on abstract or cultural topics such as music and films, with an emphasis on socio-cultural aspects of the Hispanic world.


Indicative Module Content:

In the first 3-4 weeks of the module students will complete Campus Sur A1 - B1. Students must retain this textbook from first year and bring it to every class.

Students will then move on to the textbook Frecuencias B2, whether in hard copy or the online edition.
As a general guideline, this semester you will cover the first five units of the book.
Below is an outline of the grammar topics you are expected to have mastered by the end of the module.

Unidad 1:
 Usos del subjuntivo (repaso)
 Verbos de influencia para dar consejos y hacer recomendaciones personales
 Verbos para expresar voluntad, deseo e intención
 Verbos causativos
 Verbos que expresan la consecuencia de un objetivo
 Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo (repaso)
Unidad 2:
 Verbos de cambio
 Adjetivos que cambian de significado con ser / estar
 Uso del subjuntivo para expresar sentimientos y estados de ánimo (repaso)
 Las locuciones dar + sustantivo y poner + adjetivo (repaso)
Unidad 3:
 Los tiempos del pasado (repaso)
 Pretérito imperfecto único, de figuración y lúdico
 Pretérito imperfecto de subjuntivo: formas, valores temporales y usos
 Uso del subjuntivo para hacer juicios de valor (repaso)
Unidad 4:
 Hacer hipótesis y expresar probabilidad (repaso)
 Futuro simple, condicional simple, futuro compuesto
 Adverbios y locuciones adverbiales
 Verbos de percepción física y mental: alternancia indicativo/subjuntivo
 Verbos con doble significado y doble construcción: sentir, pensar, decidir…
Unidad 5:
 Oraciones de relativo
 Pronombres relativos con y sin antecedente expreso
 El adjetivo relativo cuyo/cuya/cuyos/cuyas
 Estructuras reduplicadas para expresar concesión
 Los adjetivos calificativos y relacionales
 Comparativos y superlativos

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

48
Autonomous Student Learning

29
Small Group

33
Total

110

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
This module aims to cover grammar and language content related to B1 CEFR, while consolidating topics covered in year one. We will :

-use multiple technologies and media to deliver content (Brightspace, YouTube)
-engage in all-class collaborative learning

There will also be opportunities for students to:

-work in teams and experience activities that require partnership and mutual support
-have conversations with interesting people outside their normal circle of friends and culture
-think creatively and originally

Generative AI may be used for certain purposes only under the guidance of your module coordinator and within academic integrity guidelines. This corresponds to amber on the traffic light system: https://www.ucd.ie/artshumanities/study/aifutures/trafficlightsystem/

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Requirements:

Students must have passed SPAN10140 and SPAN10150, or equivalent (Level A2 of the Common European Framework)


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Pre-requisite:
SPAN10140 - Intensive ab initio Spanish Ia, SPAN10150 - Intensive ab initio Spanish Ib

Incompatibles:
LANG10230 - Spanish Gen Purp 1, LANG10240 - Spanish Gen Purp 4, LANG10260 - Spanish Gen Purp 2, LANG20030 - Spanish Gen Purp 3, LANG20100 - Spanish Gen Purp 6, LANG20470 - Spanish Gen Purp 5, LANG20490 - Spanish Gen Purp 7


 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade Component repeat (in-module) Offered
Exam (In-person): Two-hour written exam. 80% Short piece of writing (Telling a story) 20% Grammar Exercise End of trimester
Duration:
2 hr(s)
 Alternative linear conversion grade scale 40% No
50
 No
Exam (In-person): In-class written test based on structure of final exam Week 8 Alternative linear conversion grade scale 40% No
30
 No
Viva Voce: Ten-minute oral exam. NOTE: This oral exam will take place in Week 13, immediately after the end of the teaching semester. Week 12 Alternative linear conversion grade scale 40% No
20
 No

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Online automated feedback

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

Students must retain Campus Sur (A1 - B1) and purchase Frecuencias B2 from the Campus Bookshop as soon as it becomes available.
You may choose one of the following options:
- Hard copy book + eBook + Extensión digital pack
- eBook + Extensión digital only (with this option you must commit to bringing a device to class that allows you to access the eBook)

Students are advised to purchase one good grammar book to be consulted over the duration of the degree programme. We recommend Batchelor, Ronald E., A Student Grammar of Spanish, Cambridge University Press; or Pilar Muñoz and Mike Thacker, A Spanish Learning Grammar (London; New York: Routledge). For those who are sure they wish to pursue a degree in Spanish Studies, we highly recommend John Butt and Carmen Benjamin A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish (London: Hopper, 2004 or later) to be used as a reference text (consider it a grammar encyclopedia) alongside grammar books with exercises. You should also consider purchasing a monolingual Spanish dictionary such as the RAE or Maria Moliner.

Class and specified learning materials will be made available on Brightspace at the appropriate times during the module.

Name Role
Dr Diana Battaglia Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Mónica Galindo González Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
DELFINA BLANCH Tutor

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Autumn Small Group Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Fri 09:00 - 09:50
Autumn Small Group Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Mon 10:00 - 10:50
Autumn Small Group Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Wed 10:00 - 10:50
Autumn Small Group Offering 2 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Fri 09:00 - 09:50
Autumn Small Group Offering 2 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Mon 10:00 - 10:50
Autumn Small Group Offering 2 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Wed 10:00 - 10:50
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