Description of the courses offered through Spanish for Foreigners Section

LAL-091 Spanish for Foreigners I T-P-C 8-0-8

The Spanish for Foreigners I course (LAL–091) is aimed toward students who barely know the language. It blends functional and grammatical elements, a contextualized vocabulary and practice, as well as cultural aspects of the Hispanic world, which will permit the students to acquire the basic knowledge they need (both oral and written) in order to integrate themselves into the Spanish-speaking environment through effective communication.

LAL-092 Spanish for Foreigners II T-P-C 8-0-8

The Spanish for Foreigners II course (LAL-092) has an essentially instrumental orientation and requires eight weekly hours of class time. The intention is to develop the students' Spanish communication abilities at both the oral and written levels. Grammatical themes, language fundamentals, a contextualized vocabulary and practice, and cultural aspects of the Hispanic world are presented, including examples from Spain , Latin America, and the Dominican Republic . In this way, it is hoped that by the end of the course the students are able to integrate themselves into the Spanish-speaking environment through effective communication .

LAL-093 Spanish for Foreigners III T-P-C 6-0-6

The Spanish for Foreigners III course has an essentially instrumental orientation and requires four weekly hours of class time. The intention is to develop the students' Spanish communication abilities at both the oral and written levels. Complex grammatical components, a contextualized vocabulary and practice, and cultural aspects from the Hispanic world are presented, with examples from Spain , Latin America, and especially the Dominican Republic . In this way, it is hoped that by the end of the course the students can actively integrate themselves into the Spanish-speaking environment, not only through good comprehension, but also because of their high levels of oral and written expression.

LAL-140 Conversation I (Special Course) T-P-C 3-0-3

This course was developed as an intensive program (12 hours per week of class for four weeks) at a basic level, and has been designed so that the students learn to communicate orally and to interact adequately in a Spanish-speaking environment. In addition to improving their oral expression, this course aims to help students correct their oral discourse (pronunciation). Also, it aims to expand their active vocabulary and oral comprehension, thus achieving a more fluid and expressive speaking style. To achieve this, the course includes some theoretical principles, a series of communicative activities, and exercises about pre-selected thematic readings. Students must have a basic knowledge of Spanish, must be familiar with structures such as subject-verb-objects, and at least with present-tense, past, and future verb conjugations in the indicative mode.

LAL-232 Spanish Language I T-P-C 3-0-3

The principal objective of this course is to offer students the necessary tools to develop and improve their linguistic abilities in oral and written Spanish. It requires previous knowledge of the basic grammatical structures of the language. This course has an essentially communicative orientation, through which the students can perfect their comprehension and their oral and written expression. Select Spanish grammatical structures will be reviewed and students' vocabulary widened, while at the same time they explore themes related to Hispanic society.

LAL-240 Intermediate Spanish Conversation T-P-C 3-0-3

This course is intensive (12 hours per week of class for four weeks) and seeks to develop Spanish communication, above all at the oral level, and to improve the students' Spanish pronunciation, widen their vocabulary, and teach them some aspects of Dominican culture. In order to accomplish this, they will be taught some basic theoretical principles, will participate in a series of communicative activities, and will discuss a series of pre-selected thematic readings. In the classroom, they will take part in presentations, oral readings, and pronunciation, hearing, and comprehension exercises, among others. Students must already have a solid grasp of basic grammatical structures in Spanish.

LAL-250 Intermediate Spanish Grammar T-P-C 3-0-3

This intensive course has an essentially instrumental orientation. It requires fifteen (15) hours per week of class time. The aim is to develop students' abilities in Spanish communication at both the oral and written levels. To achieve this, they will be presented with basic grammatical concepts, a conceptualized vocabulary and practice, and cultural aspects of the Hispanic world: Spain , Latin America, and especially the Dominican Republic . In this way, it is hoped that, by the end of the course, the students can actively integrate themselves into a Spanish-speaking environment.

LAL-310 Spanish Phonetics T-P-C 3-0-3

This course is an introductory study of the sonorous sounds of the Spanish language in both their theoretical and practical aspects, aimed toward non-native Spanish speakers who have achieved an advanced level of Castilian grammar. It consists of three weekly hours of theory and practice in class, strengthened through a series of complementary readings and the constant application of pronunciation exercises and other ways of familiarizing students with the sounds of Spanish.

LAL-330 Advanced Spanish I T-P-C 6-0-6

This course has been designed with the goal of the students mastering the Spanish language in an integrated manner. It includes the development of their communicative abilities through oral and written practice, and a focus on complex grammatical structures. Students will be presented with communicative contexts through readings, discussions, and debates about real-world themes and cultural aspects of the Caribbean, Latin America, Spain , and especially the Dominican Republic . It requires previous knowledge of the basic grammatical structures and colloquial lexicon.

LAL-331 Advanced Spanish II T-P-C 4-0-4

This course offers students the necessary tools to develop their communicative abilities, as well as to reinforce their previous knowledge about the most complex Spanish grammatical concepts. They will be presented with readings about Hispanicamerican cultural themes from the Caribbean, Spain , and the Dominican Republic , with the aim of practicing their comprehension and oral and written production, as well the acquisition of contextual vocabulary. It requires mastery of the grammatical and oral structures that were previously learned at the intermediate level.

LAL-332 Spanish Language II T-P-C 3-0-3

The essential aim of this course is to offer students the theoretical-practical elements necessary to help them to profoundly know and use the grammar of the Spanish language. It requires previous mastery of the most common spoken grammatical structures as well as mastery of informal Spanish writing. The knowledge of complex grammatical structures, the Spanish verbal system, and the use of the language's various prepositions will be emphasized in this course, as well as the use of both the normative and new vocabulary acquired to improve the students' skills in written composition.

LAL-334 Special Grammar and Conversation T-P-C 3-0-3

This course offers students the theoretical-practical structures necessary for them to build upon their previous knowledge of Spanish grammar and apply what they know to daily life. They will perfect their communicative abilities through both oral and written exercises that are based upon their understanding of diverse texts and through in-class conversations about Hispanic-American social-cultural themes.

LAL-350 Advanced Grammar and Composition T-P-C 3-0-3

This course is intensive in character and is comprised of two communicative components: grammar and composition. Both are oriented toward exposure to theory and writing practice, with the aim of consolidating students' previous knowledge. It requires previous mastery of the most common grammatical structures of both spoken and written Spanish. The writing practices are aimed at the comprehension and production of texts through the reading, analysis, and writing of descriptions, narrations, and essays.

LAL-351 Spanish Grammar II T-P-C 4-0-4

The essential objective of this course is to offer students the theoretical-practical elements necessary to help them know and use well the grammar of the Spanish language. It requires previous mastery of the most common spoken and written Spanish grammatical structures. The use of complex grammatical constructions will be emphasized, the verbal system in general, as well as the principal rules for correct concordance both when speaking and writing.

LAL-360 Advanced Spanish Writing T-P-C 4-0-4

This course offers students the theoretical and practical elements necessary for them to acquire the ability to accurately understand written Spanish. The practical process is oriented toward the comprehension of texts through reading, analysis, and the writing of narrations, descriptions, essays, and brief research studies. Additionally, students are expected to demonstrate their understanding of the formal aspects and characteristics of style, with the aim of improving their ability to compose written text in the Spanish language .

LAL-370 Caribbean Short Stories T-P-C 3-0-3

This course has been designed with the goal of teaching students to recognize the distinct manifestations of one of the most extensive Hispanicamerican genres, through which they can also learn to understand for themselves the distinct political, social, and cultural aspects of Spanish speakers in the Antilles . The course content will include examples of the principal Antillean Spanish-speaking authors, both long and short stories, as well as essays about the trajectory of short stories.

LAL-371 Introduction to Hispanic Literature T-P-C 3-0-3

This course is aimed at students whose knowledge of the Spanish language is basic. It presents an introduction to literary analysis within the Hispanic culture, for which readings on Spain and Latin America are emphasized. Concise and elemental themes will be dealt with, such as art and esthetics, a general discussion of the implications of literature, and the four basic genres: narrative, poetry, drama, and essay.

LAL-372 Contemporary Hispanicamerican Literature T-P-C 3-0-3

This course is designed to provide students with knowledge of the distinct literary manifestations of the Spanish-speaking society of the past century. It will cover examples of the most representative authors of the 20th century in the genres of poetry, short stories, essays, and novels.

LAL-373 Contemporary Dominican Literature T-P-C 3-0-3

This course comprises a panoramic vision of Dominican writers of the 20th century, with special attention to poetry and narrative in order to appreciate the imagination, social-cultural relations, and esthetic literary and spiritual values expressed through the texts.

LAL-420 Advanced Spanish III T-P-C 4-0-4

This course provides a general description of the Spanish linguistic system. It gives a general vision of its dialects, in particular of Dominican Spanish, and its contact with the English language. It aims at demonstrating that the study of linguistics contributes to an understanding of the similarities and differences among the Hispanic dialects and how they share universal properties with other languages. It requires a deep mastery of complex Spanish grammatical structures, both written and spoken.

LAL-432 Intensive Spanish Language T-P-C 3-0-3

This course has a general goal of offering students the theoretical-practical structures that, building upon their previous knowledge of Spanish grammar, can be applied to daily life, while at the same time correcting some grammatical errors that generally apply to those who learn Spanish as a second language. Oral practice will be strengthened through communicative and contextualized written exercises.

LAL-470 Panorama of Hispanicamerican Literature T-P-C 3-0-3

This course presents a general vision of the historic evolution of Hispanicamerican literature through its literary movements, the most representative authors, and their works in relation to the historic reality within which they were produced.

LAL-471 Literature of Hispanicamerican and Caribbean Women T-P-C 3-0-3

This course has been designed with the aim of providing the students with knowledge of our literature that has been written by women and teaching them to value it from the point of view of gender and the intellectual achievements of women and their writing throughout the history of literature. Examples from both the 19th and 20th centuries will be covered, particularly the 20th century, as well as from the present day.

LAL-472 Hispanic Caribbean Literature T-P-C 3-0-3

This course offers a panoramic vision of the literature of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean from the Colonial Era through the Contemporary Era, emphasizing the 19th and 20th centuries. Students will read, analyze and discuss representative works of each corresponding era from Cuba , the Dominican Republic , and Puerto Rico . The analyses will be complemented by secondary readings of a diverse nature.

ING-381 The Methodology and Practice of ESL T-P-C 2-4-4

This course is oriented toward those who have mastered the English language and are interested in the field of teaching second languages. It has been designed to provide student-professors with the appropriate and required instructions, strategies, techniques, and practice to enable them to become qualified teachers of English as a second language.

LAC-380 Community Service T-P-C 2-3-3

This is both a theoretical and practical course, oriented toward providing the students with living examples that permit them to analyze and understand the reality of public, private, and mixed service institutions, their social, political, and economic orientations, and the diverse actors who participate in them.

LAC-381 Dominican Social Themes T-P-C 3-0-3

The content of this course is based on a conjunction of themes that demonstrate the principal aspects of the political, social, and economic reality of the contemporary Dominican Republic . The course covers problematical topics as well as dynamic internal topics, such as international elements that have played a major role in the evolution and development of today's Dominican lifestyle.

LAC-382 Dominican-Haitian Relations T-P-C 3-0-3

This course examines, in an introductory manner, the reality of Haiti and the Dominican Republic , touching upon the natural history of both societies as well as the historic, political, economic, and cultural factors that have influenced the relations of both nations. There will be complementary activities, such as a visit to a batey and/or to the border region (Dajabón), as well as the viewing of videos, among others.

LAC-383 Introduction to Dominican Folklore T-P-C 3-0-3

During this course, a complete and systematic panorama of the various branches and aspects of the study of folklore will be explored, with particular emphasis on those areas of Dominican folklore that are especially rich in manifestations. By the very nature of the folklore that is studied, the course is developed within a wide theoretical range, always emphasizing Dominican references. Students will be exposed to videos, will make short excursions, and will participate in presentations built around brief research studies prepared by the students themselves.

LAC-384 History of the Caribbean T-P-C 3-0-3

This course introduces the history of the region, with reference to the Spanish Caribbean as well as to the non-Hispanic Caribbean (English, French, and Dutch).

LAC-385 Latinamerican Culture and Society T-P-C 3-0-3

In this course students examine, in an exploratory and introductory manner, the formation of the Latinamerican cultures and societies. Special attention is paid to the principal historic landmarks, to the processes and socio-cultural forces that have impacted, provided potential, or blocked the development of Latinamerican societies. Analysis will be centered on the three great continental stages: the Caribbean, Central America, and South America .

LAC-386 Afrocaribbean Culture T-P-C 3-0-3

This course examines the roots that culturally define “Afrocaribbean” in all of its diversity, specificity, and unity. The principal political-ideological, religious, and artistic manifestations will be analyzed within the various Caribbean regions.

LAC-387 Hispanic Caribbean Culture and Society T-P-C 3-0-3

This course analyzes the various cultures that have formed in the Hispanic Caribbean as a socio-historic unity within the Caribbean culture, considering the similarities and diversities within which their cultural richness lies. The historic and social processes that influenced the formation and development of different societies and forms of being in Cuba , Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic will be compared. The diverse manifestations and representative political, philosophical, and educational movements will also be studied, as well as artistic and literary production in the Hispanic Caribbean.

LAC-388 Gender and Society in the Hispanic Caribbean T-P-C 3-0-3

In this course, the situation of women in the Hispanic Caribbean will be analyzed from the perspective of human development. For some of the course's themes, a comparative analysis will be made of the situation of women in the Dominican Republic , Puerto Rico, and Cuba . At the same time, there will be a review of the variables of health, education, work, politics, and art, and their levels of development within these three countries.

LAC-389 Socio-Political and Eco. Processes of the Contemporary Dom. Rep. T-P-C 3-0-3

The content of this course is based on a combination of themes whose principal aspects are the political, social, and economic reality of the contemporary Dominican Republic . The course includes topics that touch upon internal dynamics as well as the most important international aspects that contribute to today's Dominican life.

LAC-401 Independent Study T-P-C 3-0-3

This course combines theoretical-practical content with aspects related to the principal concepts, methods, and techniques of scientific investigation. The thread that binds together and guides the various elements of the course is to be found within the process of generating new knowledge and implementing basic or fundamental solutions to the problems of the health of the Dominican Republic .

LAC-480 Dominican Identity and its Symbolic Construction T-P-C 3-0-3

This course examines the way in which the Dominican culture has historically been identified through the lens of “hispanidad.” It analyses the traditional patriotic symbols and Dominican society itself, with the aim of explaining the tensions that have existed among the various sectors. Finally, students will study the various levels of exclusionism in the past, with the aim of implanting a new, more comprehensive concept of Dominican identity and the Dominican nation.

ART-132 Latinamerican Cinema T-P-C 1-2-2

In the field of the Civilization of the Imagination , cinema is recognized as one of the most effective mediums for diffusing human ideals and human realities. Furthermore, it is an excellent vehicle through which we can learn the social, political, and cultural reality of the past and present of our Latin American nations that produce films. For these and other reasons, Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra offers within the department of Spanish for Foreigners a semester course titled “Latinamerican Cinema,” which serves as a reference point for those who are interested in a deeper, more profound knowledge of this field. The course also covers the theoretical components of cinematography and a comprehensive history of this “seventh art” form.

ART-135 Culture and Society through Cinema T-P-C 2-2-3

Through the study of cinema, students can come to know, at a deeper level, the important accomplishments of our Latinamerican history. This course also offers the opportunity to appreciate, through the analysis of selected films, the essential features that have influenced the cultures of the Latinamerican people.