Department of Modern Languages
Spanish Program

Sequence of Courses for Heritage and Non Heritage Learners and Language Requirements

The Spanish Program at the Department of Modern Languages offers two tracks for the fulfillment of Language Requirements by students: Spanish for Non Heritage Learners and Spanish for Heritage Learners.

Which students qualify as Heritage Learners of Spanish?

Many students, whether they consider themselves or not “bilinguals” or “native speakers”, are exposed to different linguistic, social, and cultural situations affecting their knowledge of Spanish. Most of them are “passive learners”, i.e. are able to comprehend to a great extent the spoken language even if they lack adequate knowledge of the written, reading and communicative aspects of it. Born, raised, or educated in the U.S. they may consider themselves “Hispanics” although they have grown speaking principally English at work, home or school. Quite often many of these students “mix” English and Spanish in daily conversations resulting in the so called “Spanglish” which greatly interferes with the study of the language. In the great majority they have achieved a certain speaking and listening ability outside the classroom, but lack formal training in the language making it difficult to acquire the skills needed for the correct and acceptable use of Spanish. Such students should not register in Spanish courses for Non-Heritage Learners.

PLEASE NOTE:

A PLACEMENT TEST WILL BE ADMINISTERED ON THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS. ANY STUDENT ASSESSED TO BE HERITAGE LEARNER WHO ENROLLS IN A COURSE FOR NON-HERITAGE LEARNERS WILL BE OBLIGATED TO SWITCH TO A HERITAGE LANGUAGE COURSE DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF CLASSES.

ANY STUDENT WHO DOES NOT ATTEND THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS WILL BE DROPPED ADMINISTRATIVELY.

The following two tracks of Spanish courses apply respectively to Non Heritage Learners and Heritage Learners:

I. SPANISH FOR NON-HERITAGE LEARNERS

SPN 1130 (5 credits) Spanish I
Designed specifically for beginning university students with no previous language study. Emphasis on oral Spanish and on acquiring basic language skills.

SPN 1131 (5 credits) Spanish II
Emphasis on oral Spanish and on acquiring language skills.

SPN 2200 (3 credits) Intermediate Spanish I
Provides intermediate training in the acquisition and application of basic language skills. Prerequisites: SPN 1131 or equivalent.

SPN 2201 (3 credits) Intermediate Spanish II
Last course of a four-semester sequence which implements a proficiency –oriented approach. Focuses on the development of listening and reading comprehension skills, and encourages maximum oral interaction and the practice of writing.

SPN 3301 (3 credits) Review Grammar and Writing
Practice in contemporary usage through selected readings in culture and civilization. Development of writing and speaking ability in extemporaneous contexts. This course will be conducted exclusively in the target language. For non-native speakers.

II. SPANISH FOR HERITAGE LEARNERS

SPN 2340 (3 credits) Intermediate Spanish for Native Speakers
Improvement of spelling, grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, and oral skills for Hispanic bilinguals educated in the U.S. with less than two years of formal training in Spanish but whose mother tongue is Spanish. Prerequisite: Ability to understand Spanish.

SPN 2341 (3 credits) Accelerated Intermediate Spanish for Native Speakers
Develop cultural and linguistic competence through intensive oral and written work. Emphasis will be given to reading and writing skills. Prerequisite: SPN 2340

SPN 3343 (3 credits) Advanced Spanish for Native Speakers
Improvement of literacy skills through grammar review, composition, and selected readings of representative Hispanic writers, including Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Chicano authors. For U.S. Hispanics with at least two years of formal training in Spanish. Prerequisites: SPN 2340 or permission of the instructor.

FLENT/FLEX Requirement

FLENT/FLEX is a state-mandated requirement. It stands for Foreign Language Entrance, Foreign Language Exit. To meet this requirement, students must either “enter” (FLENT) with a foreign language, or “exit” (FLEX) with a foreign language. To be clear, the foreign language is a language other than English, including American Sign Language.

Students Satisfy FLENT/FLEX as Follows:

I Did Not “Enter” With Any of the Above. Now What? You can “exit” FIU with a foreign language (FLEX) using one of these options: