Modern Language Centre
Evening Language Courses
Course Description
Spanish Level 5
How long does the course last?
3 x 10-week terms with 10 lessons per term. Lessons take place once a week and last 1.5 hours each. This gives
a total of 45 hours’ tuition.
Who is the course for?
The course is aimed at a wide range of students with a general interest in Spanish with:
 Level 4 of the MLC Evening Language Courses
 a high degree of fluency and accuracy in the language
 an A-level or equivalent over 4 years old, and further contact with the language
 one of the following qualifications: B1/B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for
Languages (CEFR), level 3 of the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF), or Advanced level of the
Asset Languages qualifications
What are the objectives of the course?
To perfect existing language skills and to achieve the equivalent of B2/C1 level of the CEFR/ level 4 of the
QCF/Proficiency level of Asset Languages qualifications.
By the end of the course you will:
 be able to understand a range of spoken and written discourses in different styles: factual, journalistic and
non-specialist technical with ease
 be able to express yourself orally and in written form using a range of accurate vocabulary and appropriate
register, stating an opinion with confidence
 have refined your intercultural competence by accessing political, historical and cultural information from a
variety of sources
How is the course taught?
 A communicative approach is used. All four skills (speaking, reading, listening and writing) are practised,
with the main emphasis on speaking.
 Students engage in interactive language activities, participating in group and pair work according to a
syllabus based on systematic grammatical progression.
 Students will also be offered guidance in self-study and be set optional homework tasks.
What course can I do next?
After completing all three parts of Level 5, students should join a Level 6 class or a
Contemporary Culture course on the Assessed Module Programme.
Course outline
Topics
Advertising
Every day events
Social life
The media
Holidays
Humour
Cinema, theatre and music
Current political, economic and social developments
Literature and the arts in Spain and Latin America
Indigenous cultures
Festivities in Spain and Latin America
Students will also be given the opportunity to present a topic of their own choice to discuss in class
Functions
Describing people and objects
Using prepositional phrases
Narrating events / describing
Exchanging and evaluating information
Formulating and responding to value judgements
Summarizing and responding to concrete and abstract statements
Expressing opinions in a range of social situations
Expressing agreement and disagreement
Debating / using debate techniques
Describing past events
Giving advice and expressing likes, wishes and feelings
Expressing probabilities and possibilities
Distinguishing between different types of prose
Grammar
Colloquial expressions
Verbal periphrasis
Uses of Past Tenses
Uses of the Imperative and direct and indirect object
Comprehension and use of complex structures in written texts and oral discourse
Uses of time phrases in Indicative and Subjunctive
Uses of prepositions + article + que
Direct and Indirect Speech
Uses of present and past Subjunctive
Expressions of hypothesis and probability
The passive: gerund and past participle
Uses of prepositions: por y para
Idioms, expressions and proverbial expressions
Direct and Indirect Speech
False friends
If clauses
Learning resources
Textbook and exercise book:
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Abanico, Libro del alumno, NUEVA EDICION, published by Difusión.
Abanico, Cuaderno de ejercicios. NUEVA EDICION, published by Difusión
Spanish Level 5
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Students are expected to purchase their own textbook. An exercise book may also be recommended. The
teacher will supply additional material, both tailor-made and taken from other sources (textbooks,
newspapers, and new media).
Recommended additional material:



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A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish by John Butt, London: Edward Arnold, any edition
Uso de la Gramática, Nivel Avanzado, by Francisca Castro, Madrid: Edelsa, any edition
Acción Gramática ,by Mike Zollo and Phil Turk, London: Hodder & Stoughton, any edition
Bilingual online dictionary: www.dictionary.cambridge.org
Monolingual dictionary online: www.rae.es
For a list of bookshops where you may be able to purchase text books please see our web page:
www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/mlc/about/facilities/shops.aspx
Online language learning resources:
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/mlc/lrc/language-resources/spanish.aspx
Independent Study
Research indicates that successful language learners revise new material and review their progress on a regular
basis. The Language Resources Centre (LRC), situated in room K-1.072 in level minus one of the Strand
Campus, houses a wide collection of learning material including text and grammar books, magazines and
newspapers, CDs, DVDs, and self-access e-learning language programmes.
For details on LRC opening times, please see our website:
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/mlc/lrc/LRCindex.aspx
Date of last revision: July 2016
Spanish Level 5
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