SLC-100 Spanish Language Placement Assessment (0 credits)
This opportunity is available for the student who has not taken a Spanish language course at Alverno College but has developed some awareness/skills in Spanish through life experience and/or coursework in high school or on the college level. Required to receive credit for past learning experience. Some Spanish experience and/or Spanish formal study needed. Preplacement assessment is taken in the Assessment & Outreach Center. Contact 414-382-6020 or alverno.outreach@alverno.edu to make an appointment.
SLC-103 Beginning Spanish I (3 credits)
In this introductory course, the student begins to communicate in the Spanish language and learn about Spanish cultures. Using a learn-by-simulation approach, they organize select elementary structural functions and vocabulary patterns and integrates them in order to begin to communicate meaningfully and clearly in basic Spanish. The student develops a basic functional foundation for proficiency, learning through the systematic practice of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Prerequisite(s): This course requires 8-12 hours of service learning in the community.
SLC-104 Beginning Spanish II (3 credits)
In this second introductory course, the student continues to communicate in the Spanish language and learn about Spanish cultures. Using a learn-by-simulation approach, they continue to organize elementary structural functions and vocabulary applications in order to communicate meaningfully in basic survival Spanish. Through consistent practice, the student continues to develop their basic functional foundation for proficiency, learning through listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Prerequisite(s): SLC-103. SLC-100 or waived. This course requires 8-12 hours of service learning in the community.
SLC-203 Intermediate Spanish I (3 credits)
This course is designed for the student with a working foundation in the structural listening and speaking components of Spanish and with the specific need to acquire specialized vocabulary and broaden communicative skills in specific interactions and work-related contexts. They begin to integrate meaningful oral and written skills, cultural understandings, and career outcomes.
Prerequisite(s): SLC-104 completed or waived per SLC-100 assessment. This course requires 8-12 hours of service learning in the community.
SLC-204 Intermediate Spanish II (3 credits)
This course is designed for the student with a working foundation in the structural components of the Spanish language and with the specific need to continue to acquire specialized vocabulary skills and broaden communicative proficiency in specific interactions and work-related contexts. They continue to integrate meaningful oral and written skills, cultural understandings, and career outcomes.
Prerequisite(s): SLC-203 or waived per SLC-100 assessment. This course requires 8-12 hours of service learning in the community.
SLC-303 Conversation & Composition (3 credits)
In this course the student participates in progressively more challenging proficiency based interactions in the Spanish language. They continue to study the structural and idiomatic dimensions unique to the language and to the Hispanic/Latino cultures involved. In typical simulations, the student begins to achieve consistency in understanding and speaking Spanish. They integrate cultural information appropriately and views culture as an authentic interface for linguistic applications.
Prerequisite(s): SLC-204 or waived per SLC-100 Placement Assessment. This course requires 8-12 hours of service learning in the community.
SLC-304 Spanish/Reading & Conversation (3 credits)
In this course, the students will develop their proficiency in Spanish in more demanding contexts than the 200 level classes. They will integrate multiple effective communication modes in professional contexts. They will develop autonomy in communicating in Spanish through synthesis, collaborative thinking, reflection and evaluation of self and others. The student will apply analytic thinking at increasingly complex levels. Through mini-immersion experiences and visits to the local Hispanic/Latino community, the students will use informational strategies, frameworks, and skills in Spanish. They will gather key information related to specific cultural and human values that integrate the structural, linguistic and cultural dimensions unique to Spanish. This course is designed to engage students in order to communicate effectively in real life situations. Students will learn the vocabulary and grammar necessary to conduct basic activities in Spanish-speaking countries. This course provides a solid foundation in vocabulary and overview of cultural concepts, emphasizing the development of all four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This class will introduce realistic situations and specialized vocabulary needed to use with Hispanic members of the community in the course of their daily work. It will also introduce cultural frameworks for increased cultural competence in the diverse aspects of the Hispanic communities
SLC-318 Spanish for Business (3 credits)
This course is designed to engage students in a business environment in order to communicate effectively in real life situations. Students will learn the vocabulary and grammar necessary to conduct basic business activities in Spanish-speaking countries. This course provides a solid foundation in business vocabulary and an overview of basic commercial and cultural concepts, emphasizing the development of all four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. This class will present realistic situations and specialized vocabulary that reflects what business and finance professionals use with Hispanic members of the community in the course of their daily work. It will also introduce cultural frameworks for increased cultural competence in the diverse business field. Since business negotiations, styles and strategies differ from once country to another, these differences and tips for conducting business successfully with Spanish-speaking countries will be discussed.
Prerequisite(s): SLC-204 or waived per SLC-100 Spanish Placement Assessment.
SLC-325 Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics 3 (3 credits)
This course provides an introduction to Spanish linguistics and establishes the basis for the application of linguistic principles. The course begins with an introduction to the description and organization of data dealing with phonology (how sound patterns form words). Building on this, the course continues with topics in morphology (word formation and verbal inflection) and syntax (how words combine to form phrases and sentences). Finally the course ends by analyzing the regional variations of Spanish (dialectology) where the students apply what they learned to compare and contrast the regional categories of the use of Spanish worldwide : Peninsular (Northern/Southern Spain), Atlantic (Canary Islands/Latin America), USA, Equatorial Guinea, Judeo-Spanish and Creoles. Linguistics chapter about meaning (semantics and pragmatics) and structure beyond the sentence (discourse analysis) will be create in a future. The students will integrate multiple effective communication modes in professional contexts. They will develop autonomy in communicating in Spanish through synthesis, collaborative thinking, reflection and evaluation of self and others. Each student will apply analytic thinking at increasingly complex levels. This course provides a solid foundation in vocabulary and overview of cultural concepts, emphasizing the development of all five American Council Teaching Foreign Language's Standards for Foreign Language Learning: communication, cultures, connections, comparisons and communities. Through mini-immersion experiences and visits to the local Hispanic/Latino community, the students will use informational strategies, frameworks, and skills in Spanish. They will gather key information related to specific cultural and human values that integrate the structural, linguistic and cultural dimensions unique to Spanish.
SLC-330 Introduction to Hispanic Literature (3 credits)
In this course intermediate and advanced-level Spanish students will make the transition from edited textbook readings to the authentic works of key figures in contemporary and classical literature from Spain and Latin America. Drawing from a variety of genres, including short stories, poetry, fables, essays, and excerpts from novels and plays, students will systematically develop their ability to read and understand authentic works, express their ideas orally and in writing, and employ literary terms and concepts in analyzing content and style.
Prerequisite(s): SLC-303 or SLC-304 or SLC-318 or waived per SLC-100 assessment.
SLC-397 Independent Study (0 credits)
Under the approval and direction of a faculty member, independent study is available to students.
SLC-400 Reflection/Spanish Immersion Experience (2 credits)
The student contracts with the instructor to fulfill one of three options or a combination thereof in order to improve her facility in communicating in a near native fashion with another people in their cultural setting. These options include participation in a Spanish language immersion or experimental program in the United States or abroad, or a period of residence in a country in which Spanish is the official language.
Prerequisite(s): Other information: Consent of instructor to enroll.
SLC-403 Advanced Grammar & Composition (3 credits)
In this advanced course, the student has the opportunity to observe and demonstrate standard use of the Spanish language. They interact in Spanish using appropriate linguistic skills, and demonstrates quality and consistency in written performance, focusing on the integration of standard structural usage (including word forms and accents) and cultural idiom. For the bilingual native speaker, this course provides the opportunity to reexamine and refine patterns of usage in a variety of linguistic and cultural situations.
Prerequisite(s): SLC-303 or SLC-318 or waived per SLC-100. This course requires 8-12 hrs of service learning in the community. Fulfills SLC capstone requirement.
SLC-410 Senior Seminar: Spanish for the Professions (4 credits)
Prerequisite(s): SLC-403 complete., INTERN 383 taken previously or concurrently.
SLC-420 Spanish & Latin American Cinema (4 credits)
The course, taught entirely in Spanish, focuses on building written and oral language skills through cinema. Learning Spanish through cinema is an appealing and interactive way to connect with the society, culture, and history of countries throughout Latin America and Spain while learning the language. The course will review grammatical constructions through practical usage and present students with new vocabulary. In addition, students will refine their listening comprehension in Spanish as they actively explore, analyze and compare cultures. Students will enhance their written communication skills by writing essays and film reviews; their oral communication skills will improve with discussions, debates, and oral presentations. Students will also be introduced to filmic devices used in cinema, with emphasis on those popular among Latin American or Spanish filmmakers.
Prerequisite(s): SLC-303 or waived per SLC-100 Placement Assessment.
SLC-466 Hispanic Civilization (4 credits)
Offered in Spring Term only. The course is a focused study of significant aspects of Hispanic civilization in Spain, Latin America and the United States. Readings, class discussions and spoken and written work are in Spanish. Topics will rotate and may include: sociolinguistics, immigration and human rights, food in literature, medicine in literature, and Afro-Hispanic music and dance.
Prerequisite(s): SLC-303 or waived per SLC-100 Placement Assessment
SLC-497 Independent Study (0 credits)
Under the approval and direction of a faculty member, independent study is available to students.