Spanish, Minor
Requirements - Minor
Students minoring in Spanish must complete at least 21 semester credit hours of Spanish courses at or above the 2000 level, including a minimum of 6 hours at the 3000 level or above, with a grade of “C” or better. Minors must complete all of the following courses:
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| SPAN 2201 | Intermediate Spanish I | 3 |
| SPAN 2202 | Intermediate Spanish II | 3 |
| SPAN 2211 | Intermediate Grammar and Composition | 3 |
| SPAN 2212 | Intermediate Oral Communications 1 | 3 |
| or SPAN 2215 | Spanish for Heritage Speakers | |
| SPAN 3350 | Cultural Competency for Professional Contexts | 3 |
| or SPAN 3360 | Introduction to Community Interpreting in Spanish | |
| One additional SPAN course at the 2000-level or above. | 3 | |
| One additional SPAN course at the 3000-level or above. | 3 | |
| Total Hours | 21 | |
- 1
Heritage speakers—students who grew up in a Spanish-speaking home—should take SPAN 2215 Spanish for Heritage Speakers instead of SPAN 2212 Intermediate Oral Communications.
Students who declare a Spanish minor may not also declare the Medical Spanish minor or the Spanish for Mental Healthcare minor.
Minors in Spanish must demonstrate Intermediate-Mid level proficiency or higher in spoken Spanish according to the 2024 ACTFL proficiency guidelines. Students should arrange to take the oral proficiency exam during the semester prior to the semester in which they plan to graduate. This ACTFL oral proficiency exam is administered online for a modest fee and may be repeated for an additional fee until the required level of proficiency is demonstrated. After taking the test, students receive a nationally-recognized certificate of their oral Spanish proficiency from ACTFL. For information on the ACTFL online test, contact Dr. Rafael Iglesias at (630) 829-6268.
The minor in Spanish is designed to:
- Enable students to develop at least Intermediate-Mid level proficiency in all four skills, as described in the ACTFL guidelines. At this level students will be able to:
- Create with the language;
- Handle successfully a variety of uncomplicated, basic and communicative tasks and social situations;
- Talk simply about self and family members;
- Ask and answer questions and participate in simple conversations on topics beyond the most immediate needs, such as personal history and leisure time activities; and
- Be generally understood by sympathetic interlocutors, although misunderstandings may still arise; and
- Expose students to the traditions, values and lifestyles of a culture different from their own.
- Introduce students to the grammatical structures and terminology most commonly used in a variety of professional settings including health care, business and finance, and law and law enforcement.
Students in the Spanish program will achieve the following student learning outcomes (SLOs):
Student Learning Outcome 1: Ask simple questions in the target language
- University SLOs: 1. Disciplinary Competence and Skills; and 3. Communication Skills.
Student Learning outcome 2: Handle straightforward survival situations in the target language
- University SLOs: 1. Disciplinary Competence and Skills; and 3. Communication Skills
Student Learning Outcome 3: Comprehend routine listening tasks in the target language, such as highly contextualized messages, straightforward announcements, or simple instructions
- University SLOs: 1. Disciplinary Competence and Skills; and 3. Communication Skills
Student Learning Outcome 4: Meet practical writing needs in the target language
- University SLOs: 1. Disciplinary Competence and Skills; and 3. Communication Skills
Student Learning Outcome 5: Understand information conveyed in relatively simple and predictable texts in the target language
- University SLOs: 1. Disciplinary Competence and Skills; and 3. Communication Skills
Student Learning Outcome 6: Provide examples of daily life practices in the target language, including topics such as food, housing, family relations, and celebrations
- University SLOs: 1. Disciplinary Competence and Skills; 3. Communication Skills; and 6. Global Awareness and Cultural Competence
Student Learning Outcome 7: Explain important differences between the daily life practices of native speakers of the target language and those of the student’s own culture
- University SLOs: 1. Disciplinary Competence and Skills; 3. Communication Skills; and 6. Global Awareness and Cultural Competence
Student Learning Outcome 8: Use the target language appropriately to demonstrate awareness of important cultural implications of its use
- University SLOs: 1. Disciplinary Competence and Skills; 3. Communication Skills; and 6. Global Awareness and Cultural Competence.