The Language Acquisition ‘Ab Initio’ is a language course for beginners and designed to be studied over two years by students who have no previous experience of learning the target language. The main focus of the course is on the acquisition of language required for purposes and situations in everyday social interaction. Ab Initio courses are only available at Standard Level (SL).

At the end of Spanish ab initio, candidates will be expected to demonstrate ability to:

• Communicate information and ideas clearly and effectively, in a limited range of situations
• Understand and use accurately the essential spoken and written forms of the language in a limited range of situations
• Understand and use a limited range of vocabulary in common usage
• Use a register that is generally appropriate to the situation
• Show an awareness of some elements of the culture(s) related to Spanish

The students will:

• Engage in original and spontaneous oral and written communications, expressing own opinions and preferences with the level-appropriate vocabulary and structures
• Exchange detailed information through different written and oral communication means, using complex sentence structures in past, present, and future time
• Identify and explain plot elements, main ideas and pertinent details when reading or listening in Spanish
• Create dialogues in Spanish
• Produce spoken and written presentations appropriate to the audience and in accordance with the instructions
• Use presentation techniques including audio-visual aids and/or technological support
• Discuss the interrelationships among the perspectives, practices, and products of different Hispanic societies
• Recognise the existence of local, regional, and national differences in pronunciation, vocabulary, and usage among Hispanic countries
• Reinforce and broaden language skills and cultural background by accessing interdisciplinary, authentic, and virtual resources in Spanish

Course Expectations

• Spanish will be the primary language of instruction; students are expected to contribute positively to the class and to use Spanish the majority of the time
• Students are expected to participate in all class activities to the best of their ability
• Students are expected to do their homework and to review those aspects that they might find more difficult on a daily basis
• Students are encouraged to read books, magazines and newspapers, and to take opportunities to use the language outside the classroom in order to improve their language skills