Spanish

Spanish is spoken by more than 400 million people worldwide in 22 countries. The main goal of the study of Spanish is to develop students' communications skills in the Spanish language and their understanding of the cultures of Spain and Spanish-speaking Latin America.

The major in Spanish is to provide a course of study which allows any student, regardless of their background in the discipline, to include in their degree a specialisation in Spanish which will enable them to:

• comprehend normal spoken and written Spanish in any situation;
• express themselves clearly and accurately in spoken and written Spanish in a wide range of situations;
• use their increasing knowledge of the structure of the foreign language to move from dependence on formal instruction to ongoing independent acquisition of linguistic proficiency;
• gather and synthesise information on topics of current interest from different Spanish-language sources and in different media;
• gain a broad overview of Hispanic cultural and literary traditions;
• recognise and respond personally to culture-specific information and cultural suppositions in Spanish source material, and to differences between Hispanic culture and their own cultural heritage;
• make effective use of linguistic resources such as bilingual dictionaries, Web searches, and descriptive grammars;
• better understand the structure and the communicative resources of their own language;
• take the opportunity to include a semester of study abroad at an exchange university in Spain or a Spanish speaking country as part of their University of Wollongong undergraduate degree.

Major Study

A major in Spanish for beginners or near beginners consists of 60 credit points, and must include 12 credit points at 100-level, 24 credit points at 200-level and 24 credit points at 300-level, as set out below. Students who have achieved a strong 2 Unit HSC pass or equivalent may choose to enter the language sequence at the level of SPAN251, and complete a 56 credit point major comprising 24 credit points at 200-level and 32 credit points at 300-level, as set out below.

All students wishing to enter the Spanish major at the level of SPAN251 must obtain formal approval from the Spanish Convenor.

Native or near-native speakers, whose major also consists of 56 credit points, may be granted waivers for SPAN251 and SPAN252. Such waivers will be granted only at the time of first enrolment in Spanish, in accordance with the Program's policy and with the formal approval of the Spanish Convenor or the Director of the Language Centre. Replacement subjects to make up the 56 credit points for the major are to be chosen from the additional subjects listed below. Credit may be granted for language courses taken at University level in accordance with established University of Wollongong guidelines.

Minor Study

A minor study in Spanish consists of four sequential subjects in Spanish language subjects (e.g. SPAN151, SPAN152, SPAN251 and SPAN252). The minor will consist of 28 or 32 credit points of language study, dependent on the level of entry. Students may not cross-count any subjects from the minor in any other minor or major study.

Whilst the minor will not appear on the student's testamur at graduation, it will be recorded on the academic transcript.

Diploma in Languages (Spanish)

To qualify for award of the Diploma in Languages (course code 1002) a student must complete a total of at least 48 credit points from subjects listed from the Spanish study program below.

Students will complete a minimum of 6 subjects. These subjects will predominantly be language acquisition subjects and may include study abroad in Spanish as part of an exchange program or study abroad program with a partner University. Other subjects may be included with the permission of the Convenor of the Spanish program and the Director of the Language Centre.

Students entering at 100 level may include one culture subject; students entering at 200 level may include 2 culture subjects and students entering at 300 level may include up to 4 culture subjects.

Example: A student beginner could take the Diploma by studying SPAN151, SPAN152, SPAN251, SPAN252, SPAN351, SPAN352 and SPAN220.

A student who had studied Spanish to HSC level and was commencing university Spanish at upper level could complete the Diploma in Languages in Spanish by studying SPAN251, SPAN252, SPAN220, SPAN351, SPAN352 and SPAN310.

Other subjects from the Spanish program may be included with the permission of the Director of the Language Centre.

Subjects can be counted only in one course, that is, subjects counted towards the Diploma cannot be counted towards another degree. Students who complete the Diploma will not receive a testamur or attend a graduation ceremony specifically for the Diploma. However, when students do the Diploma concurrently with a Bachelors Degree course, they will have the Diploma listed in their Bachelors degree subject transcript upon graduating.

Click here for more information on the Diploma in Languages

Honours

See Bachelor of Arts (Honours)

Other Information

Further information is available at:
UOW Course Finder
Email: lha-enquiries@uow.edu.au