01:940:360
SPANISH FOR COMMERCE
This course, fully conducted in Spanish, is open to students of diverse majors, backgrounds and interests. An intermediate mid, or higher, level of comprehension and language proficiency is required. It is intended to introduce concepts and practices of business, finance, economics, international relations and customs in the Spanish speaking world (a growing market of more than 360 million potential customers). In addition to learning business and finance concepts and their nuances, the appropriate language will be learned in context. Much emphasis is placed on geography, history and culture – factors that influence each country’s way of conducting business.
Active participation of each student is encouraged, expected and required, as it constitutes a significant part of the final grade. Each will be expected to do a presentation on a country and a financial/business theme of their choice during the semester. Students will learn Project Management by following all steps needed to do a Job Search. A personal interview will complete that phase. For the final third of the grade, students will present a culminating project. In groups of three or four, they will create an idea, product or service and coordinate a persuasive presentation to the rest of the class and the instructor.
Prerequisite:
Successful completion of 940:325 Advanced Grammar and Composition
Learning Goals:
In accordance with our Department Learning Goals, students in this course will improve their interpretive, interpersonal and presentational skills. They will be exposed to a large quantity of information from a variety of sources that will be discussed in small groups and presented by the students themselves, in addition to the instructor. The vocabulary of business and finance will be introduced and used in context in addition to information on every Spanish speaking country or group (as the one in the USA) that forms a significant market.
Method of Evaluation:
The final grade will have three major components:
- Participation, homework, individual presentations
- Mid-term quiz, Personal interview, preparation of job search papers
- Final persuasive group (2-4) presentation pitching an idea, service or product.
Required Texts:
No official book is required. But many readings will be assigned from newspapers, journals, financial and business books and on-line sources.