Spanish, Bachelor of Arts
College: College of Liberal Arts
Department: Languages and Literature
Student Type: Traditional Undergraduate
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Campus: Both Lisle Campus and Mesa Campus
Requirements – Bachelor of Arts in Spanish
A Spanish major must complete at least 36 semester credit hours from among Spanish courses numbered 2201 or above, all with a grade of "C" or better. The 36 semester credit hours (typically 12 classes) must include all of the following courses or equivalents:
| 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 |
| SPAN 2221 | Introduction to Hispanic Literature | 3 |
| SPAN 2230 | Spanish Civilization and Culture | 3 |
| SPAN 3231 | Latin American Civilization and Culture | 3 |
| SPAN 3310 | Advanced Hispanic Literature | 3 |
| SPAN 4311 | Advanced Composition | 3 |
| SPAN 4312 | Advanced Oral Communications | 3 |
| Two additional elective classes at or above the 3000 level 2 | 6 | |
| Total Hours | 36 | |
- 1
Heritage speakers—students who grew up in a Spanish-speaking home—should not take SPAN 2212 Intermediate Oral Communications but seek departmental advice and approval for an alternative course above SPAN 2212 Intermediate Oral Communications.
- 2
In order to satisfy the 36-semester-credit-hour graduation requirement, Spanish majors must also take two additional elective classes at or above the 3000 level, which will typically be taken as part of their study abroad experience and/or an internship.
Spanish majors are required to participate in a study abroad experience in a Spanish-speaking country, but in some extraordinary circumstances, a waiver of this requirement may be requested from the chair of the Department of Languages and Literature. In place of studying abroad, students who are granted a waiver may be required to participate in an internship (earning a minimum of 3 semester credit hours) with a service agency, educational institution or company where Spanish is used extensively.
Spanish majors must demonstrate Intermediate-High level proficiency or higher in spoken Spanish according to the 2012 ACTFL proficiency guidelines. It is highly recommended that students take the oral proficiency exam immediately after the study abroad experience, but they should at a minimum 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. 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. Tony Cella at (480) 878-6702 or acella@ben.edu. The ACTFL oral proficiency interview may be repeated for an additional fee until the required level of proficiency is demonstrated.
Students are encouraged to combine the Spanish major with a major or minor in another discipline such as international business and economics, psychology, criminology, political science, pre-law, health sciences, or social work.
Other Information
Demonstrating Proficiency in Spanish and Placement Credit through Department
A Spanish placement exam is required for students who have any previous experience in Spanish, including high school Spanish classes, home use (heritage speakers), or study abroad, and for those students who have a lapse of a year or more in their language studies.
If a student takes a Benedictine University placement exam, is placed into SPAN 1102 Elementary Spanish II or higher, and completes at least one SPAN course at Benedictine above the SPAN 1101 Elementary Spanish I level in which he/she earns a grade of “C” or better, the student should submit a “Petition for External Credit” (forms available on the Office of the Registrar page of the Benedictine University website). After completing the appropriate form, the student should print an unofficial copy of his or her transcript from MyBenU and attach it to the Petition for External Credit form. The form and the attachment should then be given to Dr. Tony Cella at (480) 878-6702 or acella@ben.edu for approval of departmental placement credit. Under no circumstances will academic credit or waiver of a language requirement be awarded on the basis of performance on the placement exam alone.
Students seeking a Spanish major or minor should be aware that courses below the SPAN 2201 Intermediate Spanish I level, although they count as hours toward graduation, do not fulfill any requirement for the major or the minor. All students should be aware that a maximum of 9 hours of placement credit in Spanish for language courses are allowed per student. Therefore, if, for example, a student places into SPAN 2202 Intermediate Spanish II or above and has received AP, IB or CLEP credit for SPAN 1101 Elementary Spanish I (3 credit hours) and SPAN 1102 Elementary Spanish II (3 credit hours), that student cannot also receive 9 credit hours of departmental placement credit for any of Benedictine University’s elementary and intermediate language courses (SPAN 1101 Elementary Spanish I-SPAN 2202 Intermediate Spanish II). This rule does not apply to credit obtained through the AP Spanish Literature exam, which typically will be accepted at Benedictine University as the equivalent of SPAN 2291 Intermediate Topics in Spanish Language and Hispanic Literature and Culture (3 credit hours). Once posted to the student’s transcript, AP, CLEP or IB credit cannot be removed, therefore it is highly recommended that students pursuing or considering a major or minor in Spanish consult with the Spanish Program Director before posting AP, IB, or CLEP credit. The granting of external credit for courses at or above the SPAN 2211 Intermediate Grammar and Composition level will only be considered in exceptional circumstances. Students should also be aware that SPAN 2211 Intermediate Grammar and Composition/SPAN 2212 Intermediate Oral Communications are parallel courses and not sequential courses so that completing SPAN 2212 Intermediate Oral Communications does not imply proficiency in SPAN 2211 Intermediate Grammar and Composition.
New External Credit Articulation in Modern Languages (IB, AP, CLEP, Seal of Biliteracy, and Credit through Department)
| AP Score (Language) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credit hours granted1 | 0 | 0 | SPAN 2201 | SPAN 2201 + SPAN 2202 | Same as 4 |
| Placement (students may choose to take the Webcape placement test to potentially obtain a higher placement) | SPAN 1102 | SPAN 2201 | SPAN 2202 | SPAN 2211 | Same as 4 |
| Potential additional external credit through department2 | SPAN 1101 | SPAN 1101 + SPAN 1102 | SPAN 1101 + SPAN 1102 | SPAN 1102 | Same as 4 |
- 1
The total number of credit hours granted in a modern language, regardless of mode—AP, IB, CLEP, Seal of Biliteracy, and Credit through Department—cannot exceed 9.
- 2
In order to obtain credit through the department, the Benedictine class in which the student was placed (or any other pre-approved by the department) must be taken and completed with “C” or higher.
| AP Score (Literature) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credit hours granted1 | 0 | 0 | SPAN 2291 | SPAN 2291 + QLR | Same as 4 |
- 1
The three hours obtained by posting this credit do not count toward the 9 credit-hour limit for modern language placement credit.
| Seal of Biliteracy | Courses |
|---|---|
| Credit hours granted1 | SPAN 1101 + SPAN 1102 |
- 1
The total number of credit hours granted in a modern language, regardless of mode—AP, IB, CLEP, Seal of Biliteracy, and Credit through Department—cannot exceed 9.
| IB Score (Group 2 - Language Acquisition) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6-7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credit hours granted1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | SPAN 2201 | SPAN 2201 + SPAN 2202 | Same as 5 |
| Placement (students may choose to take the Webcape placement test to potentially obtain a higher placement) | SPAN 1102 | SPAN 2201 | SPAN 2202 | SPAN 2211 | Same as 5 | |
| Potential additional external credit through department2 | SPAN 1101 | SPAN 1101 + SPAN 1102 | SPAN 1101 + SPAN 1102 | SPAN 1102 | Same as 5 |
- 1
The total number of credit hours granted in a modern language, regardless of mode—AP, IB, CLEP, Seal of Biliteracy, and Credit through Department—cannot exceed 9.
- 2
In order to obtain credit through the department, the Benedictine class in which the student was placed (or any other pre-approved by the department) must be taken and completed with “C” or higher.
Demonstrating Language Proficiency in Languages Other than Spanish
Candidates for the B.A. degree in some programs (e.g., English Language and Literature, History, Philosophy, Writing and Publishing, Theology) are required to demonstrate competency in a second language by successful completion of at least one language course typically at or above the 2202 level. Students in the Scholars Program are required to demonstrate the ability to speak, read and write a second language at a level equivalent to six semesters of college study (completion of SPAN 2211 Intermediate Grammar and Composition and SPAN 2212 Intermediate Oral Communications).
While the final decision regarding fulfillment of a student’s second language proficiency requirement rests with the student’s program, the Department of Languages and Literature has traditionally helped students in other programs satisfy these requirements by proctoring proficiency examinations in Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Korean, Pashto, Persian, Punjabi, Russian and Spanish. Writing (online-based or paper and pencil exams) and/or oral proficiency examinations (conducted online or by phone interviews) in dozens of other languages can also be arranged through LTI (Language Testing International), a partner of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). It is the student’s responsibility to pay the fee associated with these proficiency examinations. For information on the ACTFL language proficiency tests, contact Dr. Tony Cella at (480) 878-6702 or acella@ben.edu.
Placement Tests versus Language Proficiency Examinations
It is important to understand that placement tests and language proficiency examinations are fundamentally different.
Placement exams (via Webcape and/or interview with instructor) simply allow academic advisors to identify a language course offered at Benedictine University (in Arabic, Chinese, or Spanish) in which students are most likely to succeed given their current level of proficiency, but under no circumstances are they used by themselves to grant credit and/or to fulfill any graduation requirement. Only if a student takes a Benedictine University language placement exam, is placed into a 1102-level class or above, and completes at least one language course at Benedictine above the 1101 level in which he/she earns a grade of “C” or better, can he/she then petition for up to 9 semester credit hours of departmental external credit (in addition to any credit earned by passing the course itself). If, for example, a student is placed in CHIN 2202 Intermediate Mandarin II (3 semester credit hours), and he/she passes this course with a “C” or better, credit for CHIN 1101 Elementary Mandarin I, CHIN 1102 Elementary Mandarin II and CHIN 2201 Intermediate Mandarin I can be requested by submitting a “Petition for External Credit” form as long as no AP, CLEP or IB credit in Chinese has been earned for these courses or equivalents.
ACTFL language proficiency examinations, on the other hand, are closely proctored and more comprehensive and rigorous than placement tests. As such, they are designed to determine whether students have reached the proficiency level necessary to satisfy the language requirement of a particular program.
For more information about language proficiency testing procedures, please contact the program director, Dr. Tony Cella at (480) 878-6702 or acella@ben.edu.
Study Abroad and Internships
All majors and minors in languages are strongly encouraged to spend at least a summer, and preferably a semester, studying abroad. This experience is vital in that it gives the student the opportunity to experience firsthand the culture he or she has studied at Benedictine. It also provides intensive real-life language exposure and practice that simply cannot be replicated in the classroom.
Benedictine students have access to a variety of internship opportunities (highly recommended for students pursuing a major or minor in Medical Spanish) and study abroad programs through Benedictine University and other accredited institutions. The languages faculty, in cooperation with the staff of the Office of International Programs and Services, will assist each student in selecting the program best suited to his or her interests, and scheduling and financial needs.
Students in the Languages Programs (Arabic, Chinese, and Spanish) will achieve the following student learning outcomes (SLO):
Student Learning Outcome 1: Demonstrate proficiency in all four skills of the target language at the intermediate level as defined by ACTFL (low, mid, high). The appropriate intermediate level will vary depending on the language studied and whether the student is a major or a minor in the language.
• University SLO: 1. Disciplinary Competence and Skills; 3. Communication Skills; 6. Global Awareness and Cultural Competence
Student Learning Outcome 2: Recognize key aspects of target culture.
• University SLO: 1. Disciplinary Competence and Skills, and 6. Global Awareness and Cultural Competence
Student Learning Outcome 3: Demonstrate knowledge of the target civilization, including its geography, history, art, literature, diversity (e.g. linguistic, ethnic, religious), and current political issues and their international ramifications
• University SLO: 1. Disciplinary Competence and Skills; 2. Critical and Creative Thinking Skills, 3. Analytical Skills; 6. Global Awareness and Cultural Competence
Student Learning Outcome 4: Display cultural competence in both formal and informal contexts in target culture(s).
• University SLO: 1. Disciplinary Competence and Skills; 3. Communication Skills, 6. Global Awareness and Cultural Competence; 9. Personal Development