Not allowed for students of the Spanish for Heritage Speakers class. Not recommended for Upper Intermediate students.

This subject is intended to develop students´ communicative linguistic competence through a variety of linguistic activities that include comprehension and self-expression (as primary processes), always based on interaction. Interaction is the keystone of the learning process, due to its crucial role in communication. The contextual use of the language is central to the course. Therefore, there is a focus on cultural aspects of the use of Spanish in Spain. The course aims: - To develop the ability to reflect on the use on language, and to apply strategies that allow for improvement in their own learning process. - To develop the knowledge of pragmatic categories and functions, so that these interact with the knowledge of grammatical categories and norms to ensure success in their communicative exchanges. - To foster the development of their knowledge of linguistic culture and cultural linguistics in Spanish; in other words, the cultural knowledge that enables the daily linguistic exchanges and that is essential to communicative competence. - To expand communicative and interpretive competence in non-standard situational contexts, and more concretely, in the colloquial variety, which is the basis of daily existence. - To improve their general mastery of Spanish, by adequating language to the specific context.

The course is structured in three areas, within which the features of colloquial Spanish will be studied through different kinds of texts. 1. The colloquial in written texts - Lexical features of colloquial Spanish: intensified lexemes, formulaic closings, jargon, and metaphors - Text types: informal letters and emails, magacines, ads, opinion pieces, interviews, comics, and songs 2. The colloquial in daily conversations - Phonological features: intonation and pause, prolongation, and emphasizing - Conversational strategies: connection, intensification, and attenuation - Text types: TV programs and series (segments), interviews, debates, monologues and comic sketches, and movie scripts 3. The interaction among the young - Linguistic distinctive features - Behavioural features: courtesy and "rudeness" - Themes - Text types: TV programs and series (segments), interviews, debates, monologues and comic sketches, and movie scripts