Aims

The aims of the course are to:

• To use Spanish in the context of ﾑlanguages for work and lifeﾒ by including specific scientific and engineering tasks which require specific technical input and knowledge.
• To encourage students to adopt the mode of ﾑlearning languages for lifeﾒ by stimulating independent study and research.
• To increase language performance by means of practice and reinforcement of all four linguistic skills (listening, reading, writing and particularly speaking) so as to be able to operate to a satisfactory level in Hispanic countries or regions.
• To extend technological knowledge and understanding of Hispanic industry in its historic and socio-political environment.
• To encourage the handling of authentic materials in Spanish in any particular format.

Content

NB First introductory session of 2 hours on Wednesday 9th May

TOPICS (suggested, please discuss other topics with the Module leader)

• High-speed train technology in Spain
• Airbus Spain
• Telecommunications in the Hispanic World
• Energy and its exploitation in the Hispanic world
• Dams and canals in Spanish America.

Students will be encouraged to research, dissect and find solutions to existing or potential problems/issues using technology and its application to the Hispanic world. This should be done by using all four linguistic skills and a specific knowledge of the correct terminology and structure of Spanish.

All students will have to submit a report (up to 8 pages) and do a 10 minute oral presentation

FORMAT

To achieve this Spanish/Spanish-American ambition, the tasks will be anchored on four principles:

• task based - to reflect the realities of current language use.
• skill integration - to operate efficiently in real life.
• language integration - to achieve the greatest degree of realism and authenticity.
• cultural awareness - to operate successfully in a linguistic and social sense.

Weekly: 4 hours contact teaching + 1 hour supervision + 12 hours untimetabled / research.

Group teaching, group work, pair work and individual work will be employed.

The projects will be run from the Language Unit to enable full use of the resources therein.

Assessment will be based on current and technical language (60%) and engineering (40%) content.

ACTIVITIES

• listening: understanding spoken discourse of a technical nature, without prior preparation, and summarising effectively in spoken or written form.
• speaking: initiating technical discussions or responding to them fluently and accurately.
• reading: reading, understanding, interpreting, extracting data from technical sources.
• writing:writing text using the appropriate structure, vocabulary and registers.

PRIZES

Shell Language Project Prizes to be shared by the best students undertaking a Foreign Language Project

FURTHER INFORMATION

A talk on Foreign Language Projects will be given on Wednesday 1 November from 1-2pm in Language Unit seminar room.