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Hispanic Studies and German (BA) (UCAS RR42)
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Hispanic Studies and German at Warwick
This course will not be available for 2022 entry, but you may be interested in our BA Modern Languages degree.
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- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5fkxT-thSs
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- RR42
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- Bachelor of Arts (BA)
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- 4 years full-time, normally including a year abroad
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- 26 September 2022
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- Modern Languages and Cultures
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- University of Warwick
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Our Hispanic Studies and German (BA) degree enables you to gain expertise in two major world languages and cultures by devoting equal weight to each.
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This joint degree allows you to gain expertise in two major languages and cultures by devoting equal weight to each.
You will take core modules in Spanish and German language every year, combining these with a range of literary, cultural and political options.
After your first year, you will choose from a large selection of specialist cultural modules. Cultural modules will extend your knowledge and understanding of the literature, culture, society and politics of the Spanish-speaking and the German-speaking worlds.
You will normally spend a year abroad, consolidating and enhancing your learning.
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In your first year, you will follow a core Spanish language programme at either beginner or advanced level, and take a core German language module.
In your intermediate and final years, you will have a core module for both Spanish and German language, and a choice of a selection of other modules.
Our modules cover a broad range of subjects in culture, society, literature, politics, philosophy, film and history.
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We employ a variety of teaching styles within the School of Modern Languages including:
- Lectures
- Seminars (consisting of around 15 students and focussing on student participation)
- Written and spoken language classes in small groups
You will spend the rest of your time:
- Studying independently
- Preparing for classes
- Reading
- Analysing materials set for study
- Writing essays
- Working on your language skills
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Seminars generally involve around 15 students.
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You will have around 12 hours of contact time per week.
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We will track your progress through:
- Language assignments
- Essays
- Presentations
- Portfolio submissions
- Examinations (written and oral)
To help you improve your skills you will receive detailed and personalised feedback throughout your course.
Your intermediate- and final-year marks each contribute 50% of your final degree classification.
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Study abroad
We strongly recommend that you take a year abroad as part of your modern languages degree, if you are able to. If you are unable to take a year abroad you will move to a three-year. You will be required to complete further language reinforcement work. You will also be encouraged to spend time abroad in other ways, during vacation times.
If you are studying German for the first time, you would normally spend your third year abroad. If you are studying Spanish for the first time, or you have proficiency in both languages, your year abroad may be in either your second or third year.
You will usually spend your year abroad doing one of three things:
- Working as a language assistant teaching English in a primary or secondary school
- Studying full-time at a partner university in your chosen country
- On a work placement
Find out more about flexible Year Abroad options
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AAB to include Spanish or German
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36 to include 5 in Higher Level Spanish or German
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We welcome applications from students taking BTECs alongside an A level in either Spanish or German.
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Year One
Modern Spanish Language 1
Do you have A level or an equivalent in Spanish and want to consolidate, extend and refine your skills to advanced level? This module will equip you with sound grammatical and linguistic foundations, with the aim of increasing your confidence in reading, listening, speaking and writing in Spanish. You'll use authentic resources in a variety of media from around the Hispanic world, including books, articles, newspapers, television, music, and podcasts , as well as taking part in our virtual language exchange with students at the Universidad Javeriana de Bogotá, Colombia, a fantastic way to expand the language and intercultural skills outside the classroom. During the module, students will develop their skills through a combination of classroom sessions, guided learning activities and appropriate self-study resources. Weekly classes will cover reading, language in use, grammar and functional aspects of Spanish such as translation, extended writing and oral expression, which are reinforced through complementary activities on Moodle, our multimedia VLE.
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Modern Spanish Language for Beginners
As a beginner in the acquisition of the Spanish language, you’ll gain a keen grammatical awareness, a sound understanding of cultures and societies across the Hispanic world, and most of all, confidence in reading, listening, speaking and writing in Spanish. Using authentic resources, including newspapers, television and radio, you are expected to end your course able to sustain everyday conversations in Spanish, read authentic texts, follow the gist of TV extracts and write at an intermediate level in Spanish. You'll also work on basic translations to and from Spanish as a means of consolidating your knowledge.
Modern German Language 1
You will develop your translation, grammatical and speaking skills in German, and in doing so broaden your vocabulary and range of idiom, expression and awareness of various stylistic registers. You will work in a pair or group on a media project under the supervision of a tutor, which will contribute to your end-of-year mark in spoken German.
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Modern German Language for Beginners
As a beginner in the acquisition of the German language, you will cover the main linguistic skills in speaking, listening, writing and reading. You will focus on gaining grammatical accuracy as well and communicative fluency and competence. By the end of the year, you will be expected to be able to sustain everyday conversations in German, read authentic texts such as newspaper articles, follow the gist of TV extracts and be able to write an intermediate range of texts in German. You will also work on basic translations to and from German as a means of consolidating your knowledge.
A Hispanic Studies cultural module:
Language, Text and Identity in the Hispanic World
How has the Spanish language travelled around the world and what happens when it co-exists with other languages? How do writers use language to explore identity, and what happens when they work between two (or more) languages? What skills do we need as readers to interpret the nuances of texts that travel between languages? This module will equip you with an understanding of the cultural and sociolinguistic diversity of the Hispanic world, and a strong grounding in the literary and cultural analysis of texts that address this diversity. The module explores the different varieties of Spanish spoken around the world, along with some of the principal languages that share its territory. It also reads a variety of texts that negotiate national and gender identities across linguistic and cultural borders, with a focus on those that travel between non-hegemonic Hispanic contexts and the Anglosphere.
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Icons and Representations of the Hispanic World
Have you ever wondered where the familiar stereotypes of Spain and Latin America come from? How have they circulated and been received at different times and in different places? And how have Spaniards and Latin Americans represented themselves to travellers, tourists, artists, and even invaders? This course introduces you to a wide range of written and visual icons and representations of the Hispanic world, in both Spanish and English. We investigate topics which, in different ways, pose important questions about studying other languages and cultures.
A German cultural module:
The Changing Face of Germany in Film and Text
In your study of the intellectual history of post-war Germany, you will consider the rise of the mass media and the role played by writers and intellectuals. Through your analysis of diverse literary and filmic texts, you will build your understanding of major landmarks in German history, including post-WWII political reconstruction, the development of the press in the Federal Republic, unification and military reintegration, the opposition to rearmament and student movements, and migration and settlement. The work of intellectuals such as Heinrich Böll, Peter Weiss, Bernhard Schlink, Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Paul Verhoeven will inform your studies.
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Power and Passion: The Making of Modern German Culture
Starting with the study of the social milieu of late 18th century Germany, you will consider the cultural and intellectual changes of this period, and in particular the rise of the middle classes in the Age of Enlightenment. You will engage with the work of the globally significant writers of this period, including Goethe and Schiller, and study the light they cast on the emerging middle-class consciousness just prior to the cataclysmic changes of the French Revolution of 1789.
Intermediate Year
Modern Spanish Language 2
On this module, you'll extend your competence in Spanish. You'll deepen your understanding of advanced grammatical and linguistic structures, increase the range and sophistication of your vocabulary, and refine your use of register in authentic spoken and written discourse. You'll use resources from a variety of media from around the Hispanic world, and take part in our virtual language exchange with students in Latin America and Spain. At the end of the course, you should have sufficient mastery to discuss different topics, report on your independent reading and support your opinions with solid arguments.
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Modern Spanish Language 2 (Post-beginners)
This module for post beginners follows the first year Module HP102 and seeks to consolidate the language skills gained in students’ first year of study. The aim of this module is to further extend and refine competence in modern Spanish. It covers the main linguistic (oral, aural, written, spoken) skills, and seeks to promote the continued acquisition of grammatical awareness and essential communicative competences. At the end of the course, you will be able to understand discourse about concrete and abstract topics, to give presentations about different topics, to report on the results of your independent reading and research, and to state your point of view and support it with solid arguments.
Modern German Language 2
In this second-year module, you will increase your general and specialised vocabulary in German through translation into English and German, essay-writing in German, spoken and listening comprehension, and work on business-related materials. In pursuit of these aims, you will learn to identify and rectify grammatical problems, and gain increased sensitivity towards language in general, and an awareness of register, semantics and style in particular. You will also gain important research skills, including correct use of dictionaries.
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Modern German Language 2 (Post-beginners)
You will increase the range of your general and specialised vocabulary in German, improve your speaking, listening and comprehension skills, and develop your ability to translate from German, including through a sound knowledge of grammar, register, semantic nuances and style. There will be opportunities to write in German and to work on business-related materials.
A selection of optional modules in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (60 credits)
Final Year
Modern Spanish Language 3
This module will consolidate your linguistic skills acquired in the intermediate year and extend them through translation, writing, reading, speaking and listening activities. A range of assessments will be offered for students to track and reflect on their progress through the provision of regular feedback. Students will also be provided with complementary autonomous learning and grammar activities and directed to appropriate activities for self-study in order to develop independent learning strategies.
The aim of this module is to refine fluency in spoken and written Spanish, working towards a C2 standard of the CEFR. Emphasis will be placed on sophisticated translation and writing, as well as oral and comprehension skills, using an appropriate range of complex linguistic structures, vocabulary, register and style.
Modern German Language 3
In this third-year module, you will use vocabulary of increasing sophistication in both general and specialised fields, and improve your skills in spoken and written German and translation. You will improve your listening and reading comprehension skills, and learn to identify and rectify grammatical problems. An important aim of the course is to cultivate sensitivity towards language in general, and an awareness of register, semantics and style in particular.
A selection of optional modules in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (60 credits)
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- There may be costs associated with other items or services such as academic texts, course notes, and trips associated with your course. Students who choose to complete a work placement or study abroad will pay reduced tuition fees for their third year.