Spanish

Spanish Courses

Faculty and Staff Listing

Professors
P. Robles-García, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.

Spanish Courses Coordinator  
Professor Pablo Robles-García
Maanjiwe nendamowinan, 4th floor (Room 4134)
spa.coordinator.utm@utoronto.ca

Program Coordinator – Languages
Professor Chiu-Hung Chen
Maanjiwe nendamowinan, 4th floor (Room 4166)
lan.pc.utm@utoronto.ca

Undergraduate Program Assistant
Jester Manansala
Room 4186, Maanjiwe nendamowinan
905-569-4321
info.langst@utoronto.ca


Spanish Courses

SPA100Y5 • Spanish for Beginners

Introduction to the Spanish language for beginning students; overview of basic grammatical structures, development of vocabulary and oral and written expression.

Exclusions: Grade 12 Spanish or SPA100Y1 or LGGA30H3 or LGGA31H3 or equivalent beginner knowledge. Students are REQUIRED to complete the Spanish Language Assessment Questionnaire at https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/language-studies/language-course-assessment-questionnaires if they have any prior experience with the language.

Distribution Requirement: Humanities
Total Instructional Hours: 48L/24T
Mode of Delivery: In Class, Online (Summer only)

SPA219H5 • Spanish for Heritage and Native Speakers I

This course is designed for heritage and native speakers with little to no knowledge of written Spanish who have basic to fluent speaking and comprehension abilities. The course provides foundations in understanding the Spanish grammatical system, opportunities to increase vocabulary and to develop writing skills and the ability to use the language across different contexts including in more formal situations. Students MUST complete the Spanish Language Assessment Questionnaire before enrolling in this course. Please visit https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/language-studies/language-course-assessment-questionnaires

Prerequisites: As determined by the Spanish Language Assessment (https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/language-studies/language-course-assessment…).
Exclusions: SPA100Y5 or SPA219Y5 or SPA219Y1 or SPA220Y5 or SPA220Y1 or SPA319H5 or SPA320Y5

Distribution Requirement: Humanities
Total Instructional Hours: 24L/12T
Mode of Delivery: In Class

SPA221H5 • Intermediate Spanish I

This course is designed to enhance students' abilities to engage with native Spanish speakers in culturally appropriate ways, tackle problem-solving situations, express complex opinions, emotions, and wishes, and provide detailed descriptions and comparisons of authentic materials from the Spanish-speaking world. It offers an advanced Spanish curriculum tailored for non-native speakers, focusing on a thorough review of complex grammatical structures and intensive practice in both written and oral expression to improve overall proficiency.

Prerequisites: SPA100Y5 or SPA100Y1
Exclusions: SPA219H5 or SPA220Y5

Distribution Requirement: Humanities
Total Instructional Hours: 24L/12P
Mode of Delivery: In Class

SPA222H5 • Intermediate Spanish II

This course is designed to advance students' abilities in narrating and describing events, focusing on the past, future, and basic present subjunctive tenses. Students will engage with more complex materials from Spanish-speaking cultures, allowing them to exchange detailed descriptions and comparisons. Through a thorough grammar review, students will deepen their understanding of Spanish structures and enhance their strategies for managing various communicative tasks in more sophisticated social situations. The course also incorporates reading authentic Spanish texts, with focused practice on expanding vocabulary and improving both oral and written expression. By the end of the course, students will have a strong command of advanced intermediate Spanish, preparing them for more complex language use and comprehension.

Prerequisites: SPA221H5
Exclusions: SPA219H5 or SPA220Y5

Distribution Requirement: Humanities
Total Instructional Hours: 24L/12P
Mode of Delivery: In Class

SPA235H5 • Music and Dance in Hispanic Culture

This course will explore the heritage and the modern manifestations of some Latin American, Caribbean, and Spanish musical styles and their accompanied dance forms. This course highlights the historical evolution of several prominent genres of music and dance, the place of music and dance in modern culture and their contribution in national identity and shows how European colonization and the slave trade impact on indigenous sounds and rhythms. The course is organized thematically and geographically and will be taught in English. Students who take this course for Spanish Language Citation must complete written course work in Spanish. As part of this course, students may have the option of participating in an international learning experience that will have an additional cost and application process.

Prerequisites: Open to all students.
Recommended Preparation: SPA100Y5 and SPA220Y5 or SPA259H5

International Component: International - Optional
Distribution Requirement: Humanities
Total Instructional Hours: 24L/12P
Mode of Delivery: In Class

SPA259H5 • Introduction to Hispanic Culture

Forms of cultural expression in Spain, Latin America and Spanish-speaking North America, with study of representative media, including literature, journalism, film, visual art, and the urban environment. Introduction to methods of cultural analysis.

Prerequisites: SPA100Y5
Corequisites: SPA220Y5
Exclusions: SPA323Y1 or SPA323H1

Distribution Requirement: Humanities
Total Instructional Hours: 24L
Mode of Delivery: In Class

SPA275H5 • Latin American Cinema

A survey of Latin American cinema, analyzed within historical, social, political, and cultural contexts. Aesthetic and social forms and questions of identity will also be studied. Throughout the course, the cinema of various Spanish speaking nations, regions, and historical periods will be highlighted. The course is taught in English. Students who take this course for Spanish Language Citation must complete written course work in Spanish.

Exclusions: SPA375H1
Recommended Preparation: SPA100Y5 and SPA220Y5 or SPA259H5.

Distribution Requirement: Humanities
Total Instructional Hours: 24L/24P
Mode of Delivery: In Class

SPA305H5 • Spanish for Business and Media

An intermediate level Spanish course focusing on topics and language related to professional and media spheres. Students will work with language appropriate for the workplace, newsprint, and online media, as well as financial and diplomatic institutions. Topics studied will include foreign affairs, business, advertisement, and the geopolitics of Spain, Latin and North America. Students will gain literacy and intercultural skills, as well as critical thinking skills through the study of workplace culture, newsprint and social media, current and historical political events. Writing practice may include letters, CVs, opinion pieces, as well as social media posts.

Prerequisites: SPA220Y5 or permission of the department.
Exclusions: SPA323H5 or SPA323Y1 or SPA323H1

Distribution Requirement: Humanities
Total Instructional Hours: 24L
Mode of Delivery: In Class

SPA319H5 • Spanish for Heritage and Native Speakers II

This course is designed for heritage and native speakers with solid reading and writing abilities in Spanish as well as fluent speaking and listening skills. The course provides opportunities to develop a complex Spanish grammatical system as well as opportunities to increase vocabulary, and develop writing skills and the ability to use the language across different contexts including in more formal situations.

Prerequisites: As determined by the Spanish Language Assessment Questionnaire (https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/language-studies/language-course-assessment…).
Exclusions: SPA100Y5 or SPA219Y5 or SPA219Y1 or SPA219H5 or SPA220Y5 or SPA220Y1 or SPA320Y5 or higher

Distribution Requirement: Humanities
Total Instructional Hours: 24L/12P
Mode of Delivery: In Class

SPA321H5 • Advanced Spanish I

This course is designed to enhance students' abilities to engage with native Spanish speakers in culturally appropriate ways, tackle problem-solving situations, express complex opinions, emotions, and wishes, and provide detailed descriptions and comparisons of authentic materials from the Spanish-speaking world. It offers an advanced Spanish curriculum tailored for non-native speakers, focusing on a thorough review of complex grammatical structures and intensive practice in both written and oral expression to improve overall proficiency.

Prerequisites: SPA220Y5 or SPA222H5
Exclusions: SPA319H5 or SPA320Y5

Distribution Requirement: Humanities
Total Instructional Hours: 24L/12P
Mode of Delivery: In Class

SPA322H5 • Advanced Spanish II

This course aims to deepen students' skills in interacting with native Spanish speakers in a culturally sensitive manner, addressing complex problem-solving scenarios, articulating nuanced opinions, emotions, and desires, and providing detailed descriptions and analyses of authentic materials from the Spanish-speaking world. It offers an advanced Spanish curriculum tailored for non-native speakers, focusing on a broad range of complex grammatical structures and intensive practice in both written and oral expression to enhance overall proficiency.

Prerequisites: SPA321H5
Exclusions: SPA319H5 or SPA320Y5

Distribution Requirement: Humanities
Total Instructional Hours: 24L/12P
Mode of Delivery: In Class

SPA323H5 • Business Spanish

Practical uses of spoken and written Spanish for business contexts. This course builds on grammar and vocabulary knowledge already acquired at the intermediate level.

Prerequisites: SPA220Y5
Exclusions: SPA323Y1, SPA323H1

Distribution Requirement: Humanities
Total Instructional Hours: 24L
Mode of Delivery: In Class

SPA390H5 • Cross-cultural Communication and Pragmatics in the Spanish-speaking World

The course introduces students to the different ways in which speakers communicate across the diverse Spanish-speaking world. Students will analyze how culturally defined politeness, social norms, and speaker identities impact how language is used in diverse Spanish-speaking countries. Students will also explore, identify, and solve problems resulting from cultural differences between Spanish and other languages. Furthermore, students will develop pragmatic competence in Spanish and will compare variation in pragmatic norms among different Spanish-speaking communities.

Corequisites: SPA219Y5 or SPA319H5 or SPA320Y5

Distribution Requirement: Humanities
Total Instructional Hours: 24L
Mode of Delivery: In Class

SPA420H5 • Advanced Topics on Spanish Grammar

Study of traditional topics of Spanish grammar from a linguistic perspective with the goal of improving students’ knowledge and usage of Spanish grammar and language understanding in general. Topics include (but are not limited to): word order variation patterns, subject types, the verbal system, and the Spanish copulas. This course employs a cross-linguistic approach, as some of these topics are discussed from a comparative perspective. This course is taught in Spanish.

Prerequisites: SPA219Y5 or SPA320Y5 or as indicated by Spanish Language Assessment Questionnaire (https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/language-studies/language-course-assessment-questionnaires).
Exclusions: SPA420H1 and SPA421H1

Distribution Requirement: Humanities
Total Instructional Hours: 36L
Mode of Delivery: In Class

SPA443H5 • Studies in Spanish Linguistics: Pragmatics

This course introduces students to the discipline of linguistics through a focus on Spanish- speaking communities and the linguistic diversity amongst them. This advanced task-based course focuses on developing students’ pragmatic competence in Spanish, or the ability to use the language appropriately in different social contexts. To do so, students will analyze how culturally confined politeness norms, contextual elements, and speakers’ identities impact how language is used to carry out different speech acts such as requests, invitations, and apologies, among others, and will compare variation in pragmatic norms among different Spanish-speaking communities.

Prerequisites: SPA320Y5 or (SPA219Y5 and permission of the instructor)

Distribution Requirement: Humanities
Total Instructional Hours: 36L
Mode of Delivery: In Class

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