THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES, ST. AUGUSTINE
FACULTY OF HUMANITIES AND EDUCATION
CENTRE FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING
COURSE DOCUMENTATION
COURSE TITLE: SPANISH FOR BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS 1
LEVEL: BEGINNERS 1
PREREQUISITES: NONE
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This is a 5-week course designed to work on the four skills involved in effective communication,
(listening, speaking, reading and writing). The goal is to help students improve their receptive as
well as speaking and writing skills. In addition to the text book the tutor will provide authentic
material which will enable students to become familiar with the sociolinguistic aspects of the
Spanish language as well as some aspects of Spanish/Hispanic culture. The approach of the
course is student-centered and as part of the course the tutor will encourage students to build
strategies to become autonomous learners.
COURSE RATIONALE:
The purpose of this course is to provide students with the necessary foundation to be able to
communicate effectively in the Hispanic Business World. Students will be able to understand the
main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work as well as
produce simple connected text on topics related to the Business environment.
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION:
Name: Ms. Shawna Sealey
Office address and phone: Office 2, CLL second floor, Centre for Language Learning. Ext:
83895
Email: [email protected]
Office hours: By appointment
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LETTER TO THE STUDENT
Dear Student,
Welcome to your Business Spanish course. We hope you are here because you have a clear
interest in the various networking possibilities available to us in the Caribbean. We hope we can
help you develop your language skills as well as your cultural knowledge and your ability to be
an independent learner of Spanish. We hope you enjoy this educational experience that begins
today.
Warm regards,
Your Tutor
CONTENT:
UNIT 1/FOUNDATION
In this unit we will meet and introduce each other.
Objectives:
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to give and request basic personal information (name, nationality)
to introduce others
to ask questions
to identify objects
To do this we will learn:
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the Spanish alphabet
countries and nationalities
the Present tense of ser, llamarse
types of businesses
numbers 0-20
demonstrative adjectives
UNIT 2/PERSONAL INFORMATION
In this unit we will create a business address book with our colleagues’ contact information.
Objectives:
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to give and request more personal information (contact information)
to give and ask questions about one’s profession or studies
to speak about the purpose of an item
to create a curriculum vitae
To do this we will learn:
 numbers 21-99
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definite and indefinite articles
the present tense of regular verbs
the present tense of tener and hacer
the formation of questions
en + a place
UNIT 3/THE BUSINESS WORLD
In this unit we will create a business and launch a small publicity campaign.
Objectives:
 to give and request information about businesses (type, origin, departments, etc.)
 to express opinions
 to assess various options
 to express agreement or disagreement
 to express quantities, coincidence, insecurity
To do this we will learn:
 numbers 100-1000
 unos/unas
 ser + adjectives
 no sé, creo que sí/no
 verbs related to the business environment
We will read:
 written advertisements
 articles
COURSE ASSESSMENTS:
Presentations*
Participants will be asked to individually present themselves to the group. They will have to give
information about their personal, academic and professional background. The presentations
should be approximately 5 minutes in duration.
Portfolio*
Participants will be required to maintain a portfolio of their classroom tasks.
Participants must attend 75% of classes in order to be eligible for certificates of
participation.
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TEACHING STRATEGIES:
This course is designed to give students the necessary skills and confidence to communicate in a
Business environment. In addition to the text book, authentic materials (readings,
audio/audiovisual material) will be used. The course also sensitizes participants to some aspects
of Hispanic culture.
Participants are expected to spend at least two hours online per week to complete exercises
pertinent to the course. The course will place special emphasis on developing communicative
skills (listening and speaking). It should be noted that while we will work on writing and reading
skills, a communicative approach will be used in every class.
GOALS/AIMS:
At the end of this course the participant will be on his/her way to the beginner’s stage of
proficiency: that is, on his/her way to becoming a Basic User A1 according to the Common
European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for the language. As described by the CEFR, users at
this level can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most
immediate relevance, in this case the business environment. They should be able to read very
short, simple texts and find specific, predictable information in simple, every-day material such
as advertisements, simple reports, menus and timetables. They can interact in a simple way
provided the other person is prepared to repeat or rephrase things at a slower rate of speech. They
can ask and answer simple questions in areas of immediate need or on very familiar topics using
simple phrases and sentences to describe where they work, their product and their job
description. They should be able to write a short, introductory letter and fill in forms with
personal and professional details.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
By the end of this course, participants will:
 grasp the main points in short simple messages, letters and find specific, predictable
information in simple, every-day material such as advertisements, graphs, menus and
timetables
 understand speech about familiar topics and activities (colleagues, other people, living
conditions, educational background and their present or most recent job) and handle short
social exchanges
 write short, simple letters, fill in forms with personal details, for example entering their
name, nationality and address on a hotel registration form
 develop an understanding of basic Spanish grammar and syntax
 know further characteristics of life and culture in the Hispanic world
 develop a basic understanding of themselves as adult language learners
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READINGS
Socios 1 Nueva Edición, libro del Alumno, Marisa Gonzales et al. Difusión (Barcelona, España)
COURSE CALENDAR:
Week 1
Unit 1 EN CLASE DE ESPAÑOL
Week 2
Unit 1 EN CLASE DE ESPAÑOL/Unit 2 DATOS PERSONALES
Week 3
Unit 2 DATOS PERSONALES
Week 4
Unit 2 DATOS PERSONALES/ Unit 3 EL MUNDO DE LA EMPRESA
Week 5
Unit 3 EL MUNDO DE LA EMPRESA
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