» DELE Intermedio (B2) course outline

This course gives training in Upper-Intermediate to Advanced Spanish for the purpose of the DELE Intermedio (B2) Exam. It covers appropriate language skills, techniques and methodology, and offers lots of exam focussed language expansion in the key skill areas of reading, writing, listening, speaking, grammar and vocabulary. While the course gives training in the examination language skills, students who join do not have to do the examination, as it also covers and improves on general skills and knowledge. Assessment in the course involves an initial language level and skills identification test, by means of a written and oral test. There are also three mock examinations, which test the skills of the students in operating in Spanish at the required level or beyond, and in using Spanish effectively in academic or work contexts.

1) Reading and Research Skills (Comprensión Lectora)

• Skimming and Scanning
• Identifying key points
• Selective reading techniques
• Identifying conjecture, fact and fiction
• Developing active reading skills (reading for understanding)

2) Writing Skills (Expresión Escrita)

• Formal and informal letters, descriptive essays, las redacciones, la narración y la argumentación
• Introduction, Body, Conclusion, Main Points, etc.
• Stylistics : Paragraphing, Punctuation, Sentence Structure, Linkers, synonyms, formal vs informal language, the language of reports
• Reading the question – task, points
• Summarizing, note taking skills and rewriting notes
• Changing and improving language : summarizing complex information, adapting, editing, reducing word counts

3) Listening Skills (Comprensión Auditiva)

• Listening for gist : Radio, Television, Presentations, Lectures, etc.
• Listening for understanding : Key words, linkers, rhetorical devices, etc.
• Characteristics of spoken Spanish as sign-posts – emphasis, intonation, stress patterns, etc.
• Accent variation (Regional accents – Spain, Central and South America, etc.)
• Note taking from presentations, lectures, and other spoken discourse
• Listening while thinking for Negotiation – paying attention to the other person/people

4) Grammar and Vocabulary (Gramática y Vocabulario)

• Grammar, idioms, vocabulary development, active skills in Spanish, etc.
• Grammar – informal-formal, personal-impersonal, verb tense/aspect/mood, modality, sentence structure, prepositions, articles, etc.
• Use of language for effect : idioms, slang, formality, indirect vs direct speech, collocations.
• Widening the language experience : transformations, synonyms and antonyms, vocabulary expansion, word building

5) Speaking Skills (Expresión Oral)

• Giving personal information
• Describing sequences – narratives, reasons, suppositions, narrative structure
• Presentation Skills and Stylistics : Informal, Formal and Technical Spanish
• Structure of formal spoken presentations (marketing, lectures, class reports, etc.)
• Planning your presentation
• Rhetorical Devices
• Negotiation Skills, Accepting and Giving Reasons
• Off-the-cuff presentations.
• Pronunciation and fluency development (pronunciation of sounds, words, sentences, paragraphs, stress and intonation)

The three mock examinations are from past examination papers. These test the skills of the students in:

(a) their capacity to operate in Spanish at the required level or beyond, and
(b) their ability to use Spanish effectively in the academic and working worlds.