Spanish Lower Intermediate

This course can be applied to the UBC Certificate in Spanish, Practical and Business or taken as a standalone course.

If you are able to conduct a simple conversation about familiar topics with only some hesitation, then register for Spanish Lower Intermediate. In this immersion course, focus on using Spanish in authentic real-life situations. Continue to expand your vocabulary, and start to elevate your level of language by learning more complex structures with a communication goal in mind.

Concentrate on speaking correctly, and distinguishing between the past, present, and future tenses. Begin to learn about nuances of Spanish, including correct levels of language to use in various situations. Our experienced instructors help you gain confidence in your Spanish speaking skills in an interactive and relaxed atmosphere.

By the end of the course, you’ll be able to:

• describe your daily routine
• express events in the past to do with travel or work
• say what you are doing right now

Course outline

This is not a prescriptive list. Exact course outlines will be determined by the instructor to best meet the needs of the class. It is meant to serve as a guideline and suggest what may be covered at this level. It is often necessary to repeat levels in order to become completely comfortable with the skills at each stage with a different teacher and style.

Communicative objectives

• describe your daily routine
• express events in the past to do with travel or work
• say what you are doing right now

Linguistic objectives

• review of estar
• progressive verbs
• irregular verb patterns such as: u > ue, i > ei
• reflexive verbs
• por vs. para
• past tense
• conocer vs saber

Expected Effort

You can expect to spend about three hours per week attending live, virtual classes and completing course work on your own time. Expect double this amount during the intensive summer term.

Textbook

This course does not require the purchase of a textbook. Course materials are provided by the instructor.

Course Format

This course is offered online and/or in-person. See Available Sessions for details on the course format.

Our online conversational courses offer a virtual classroom experience where you can see and interact with your teacher and classmates over Zoom. Log in at a set time to participate in individual, pair and group work, ask questions and receive feedback from your instructor.

Outside of class time, access course materials online at your own pace for up to three weeks after the course ends.

In-person classes are offered at UBC Robson Square in downtown Vancouver. 

Learn more about online learning at Extended Learning.

How am I assessed?

This is a non-credit course without letter or numerical grades. You receive verbal feedback on your conversation and grammar skills from your instructor during class. Written homework is typically corrected in class. Some lesson modules may include quizzes.

Record of completion

A record of completion will be emailed to students who participate and satisfy the course requirements within two weeks of the course end date. Course completion means 80% attendance and/or 80% completion of mandatory assignments.

Technology requirements

For all languages classes, you’ll need access to the internet, a personal email account and an up-to-date web browser.

For online classes, you will also need a video camera and a microphone on your device.

The day before your course starts, you will receive an email with instructions on how to access the course.