Spanish 1

Spanish 1 is the first of three introductory courses of the Spanish language. It is suitable for those students who wish to start exploring the language and discovering the cultural differences and idiosyncrasies between the people of Spain and the people of Latin America.

The course will provide you with the opportunity to develop basic communication skills in Spanish. It will also allow you to learn fundamental linguistic structures of the language in a relaxed and fun atmosphere.

Course outline

Each week a different topic will be covered which will include vocabulary, grammar and basic exercises designed to give you practical conversation skills as well as understanding, reading and writing skills.

• Topic 1: Greetings and introducing yourself. Spanish sounds and the alphabet.
• Topic 2: A brief tours around Spain and Latin America. Gender and articles.
• Topic 3: Saying hello and introducing someone. Nationalities. More about gender and the present tense of the verb ‘ser’ (to be).
• Topic 4: Talking about yourself: your profession, where you work and where you live. Informal vs formal ‘you’. More about gender and the present tense of regular verbs.
• Topic 5: Asking questions about numbers and e-mail addresses. More about the present tense of some verbs.
• Topic 6: Introducing the family and giving personal information. The present tense of the verb ‘estar’ (to be). Comparing ‘Ser’ y ‘Estar’.
• Topic 7: Saying where things are and talking about possession. Prepositions of place and possessive adjectives. 
• Topic 8: Asking and telling the time. More about possessive adjectives.
• Topic 9: Talking about daily routines. An introduction to reflective verbs. The days of the week.
• Topic 10: Talking about work and/or study. Review of verbs.  

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, you should:

• understand the basic sounds and fundamental aspects of the Spanish language
• be able to greet both formally and informally in Spanish
• ask and answer simple questions about yourself, others and objects
• be able to tell the time and give personal information
• be able to talk about your nationality, about your job, and about daily routines
• be familiar with basic grammar properties of the language.

Who should enrol

This course is open to those with no or little experience in Spanish and wishing to learn the language for personal enjoyment, for travel or for professional reasons.