Academic Catalog

Spanish, Minor

Requirements - Minor in Spanish

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 or department-approved equivalents:

SPAN 2201Intermediate Spanish I3
SPAN 2202Intermediate Spanish II3
SPAN 2211Intermediate Grammar and Composition3
SPAN 2212Intermediate Oral Communications 13
Students must complete three additional courses above the SPAN 2212 level, at least 6 semester credit hours of which must be at or above the 3000 level. 9
Total Hours21
1

Heritage speakers should not take SPAN 2212 Intermediate Oral Communications but seek departmental advice and approval for an alternative course above SPAN 2212 Intermediate Oral Communications.

Minors in Spanish must demonstrate Intermediate-Mid level proficiency or higher in spoken Spanish according to the 2012 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. 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, acella@ben.edu. The ACTFL oral proficiency interview may be repeated for an additional fee until the required level of proficiency is demonstrated.

The minor in Spanish is designed to:

  1. 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:
    1. Create with the language;
    2. Handle successfully a variety of uncomplicated, basic and communicative tasks and social situations;
    3. Talk simply about self and family members;
    4. 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
    5. Be generally understood by sympathetic interlocutors, although misunderstandings may still arise; and
  2. Expose students to the traditions, values and lifestyles of a culture different from their own.
  3. 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.