E1: Novice Level

Interpretive Listening

I can recognize a few memorized words and phrases when I hear them spoken.

Interpretive Reading

I can recognize a few letters or characters. I can identify a few memorized words and phrases when I read.

Interpersonal Communication

I can communicate on some very familiar topics using single words and phrases that I have practiced and memorized.

Presentational Speaking

I can present information about myself and some other very familiar topics using single words or memorized phrases.

Presentational Writing

I can copy some familiar words, characters or phrases.

Investigation of Products and Practices

I can identify some products and practices of cultures.

Understanding of Cultural Perspectives 

I can identify some basic cultural beliefs and values.

Participation in Cultural Interaction 

I can function at a survival level in an authentic cultural context.

Summary:

The curriculum objectives for the NOVICE LEARNER PROGRAM  encompass the American Standards and the National ACTFL Standards for World Languages. In accordance with these standards, students develop the four skills of language learning: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Objectives:

Person-to-Person Communication

The student will exchange simple spoken and written information in Spanish.

• Use basic greetings, farewells, and expressions of courtesy both orally and in writing.

• Express likes and dislikes, requests, descriptions, and directions.

• Ask questions and provide responses about self and other familiar topics, such as family members, personal belongings, school and leisure activities, time, and weather.

• The student will demonstrate skills necessary to sustain brief oral and written exchanges in Spanish, using familiar phrases and sentences.

• Initiate, sustain, and close brief oral and written exchanges with emphasis on the present time.

• Use formal and informal forms of address in familiar situations.

• Use gestures and simple paraphrasing to convey and comprehend messages.
  

Listening and Reading for Understanding

The student will understand simple spoken and written Spanish presented through a variety of media and based on familiar topics.

• Identify main ideas and some details when listening and reading.

• Comprehend simple, culturally authentic oral and written materials, such as announcements, messages, and advertisements that use familiar vocabulary and grammatical structures.

• Follow simple instructions, such as those about classroom procedures or for using computers and other classroom technology.

• The student will use verbal and nonverbal cues to understand simple spoken and written messages in Spanish.

• Differentiate among statements, questions, and exclamations.

• Use basic gestures, body language, and intonation to clarify the message.
  

Oral and Written Presentation

The student will present information orally and in writing in Spanish, using a variety of familiar vocabulary, phrases, and structural patterns.

• Present information gathered from informal conversations, class presentations, interviews, readings, and/or a variety of media sources.

• Describe basic information about such topics as self, family members and others, events, interests, school, recreational activities, and personal belongings with emphasis on control of the present tense.

• Demonstrate increasing attention to accurate intonation and pronunciation, especially when presenting prepared material orally.

• Demonstrate increasing attention to accurate word order, punctuation, accents and other diacritical marks, and spelling when writing.

• The student will present rehearsed material in Spanish, including brief narratives, monologues, dialogues, poetry, and/or songs.

• Use appropriate verbal and nonverbal techniques, such as voice inflection, gestures, and facial expressions.

• Communicate ideas in an organized manner, using appropriate visual and/or technological support.
  

Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products

The student will develop an awareness of perspectives, practices, and products of Spanish- speaking cultures.

• Identify some viewpoints of Spanish-speaking cultures, such as those relating to time, education, transportation, and the roles of family members.

• Identify some customs and traditions of Spanish-speaking cultures, such as greetings, celebrations, holiday practices, and forms of address that demonstrate politeness.

• Identify some important historical and contemporary individuals associated with significant events from Spanish-speaking cultures.

• Identify some products of Spanish-speaking cultures, such as natural and manufactured items, creative and fine arts, forms of recreation and pastimes, dwellings, language, and symbols.

• The student will recognize that perspectives, practices, and products of Spanish-speaking cultures are interrelated.

• Recognize that the viewpoints, customs and traditions, and products of Spanish speakers, such as the concepts of the extended family, a daughter’s 15th birthday, and typical foods, shape Spanish-speaking cultures.

• Identify major cities and geographical features in Spanish-speaking countries and the reasons they are significant in the cultures of those countries.
  

Making Connections through Language

The student will connect information about the Spanish language and Spanish-speaking culture(s) with concepts studied in other subject areas.

• Give examples of the use of Spanish vocabulary, phrases, proverbs, and symbols in other subject areas.

• Relate content from other subject areas to topics discussed in Spanish class, such as current events from Spanish-speaking countries or the influence of Spanish-speaking explorers and settlers on various regions of the United States.
  

Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons

The student will demonstrate understanding of the significance of culture through comparisons between Spanish-speaking cultures and the cultures of the United States.

• Compare patterns of behavior and interaction found in the United States with those of Spanish-speaking societies.

• Demonstrate an awareness that social practices and personal interactions differ among cultures.
  Demonstrate an awareness of unique elements of the student’s own culture.

• The student will compare basic elements of the Spanish language to those of the English language.

• Recognize cognates, genders, level-appropriate idioms, and differences in sound systems and writing systems.

• Recognize basic sound distinctions and intonation patterns and their effect on the communication of meaning.
  

Communication across Communities

The student will explore situations in which to apply Spanish language skills and cultural knowledge beyond the classroom setting for recreational, educational, and occupational purposes.

• Present examples of the Spanish language and the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries evident in and through media, entertainment, and technology.

• Use resources, such as individuals and organizations in the community or accessible through the Internet, to gain information about the Spanish-speaking world.

Social Functions

• Geography

• Time, Weather and Leisure

• Days of the week

• Months of the year

• Basic weather expressions

• Telling time and basic time divisions Simple pastimes and basic sports Question words

Friends, Family and Home

• Simple description of people (physical and personality) Basic temporary states of emotion/well-being

• Simple description of things

• Basic colors

• Basic clothing Immediate family Basic parts of the body Basic parts of the house

School, Education and Work

• Basic classroom activities

• Basic classroom objects

• Basic mathematical operations

• Cardinal numbers up to 1,000 and ordinal numbers from 1st through 10th Basic professions

• Common greetings and farewells Basic expressions of courtesy Basic introductions

• Proper Names

• Expressing likes and dislikes

• Basic food and drink expressions, reading a menu

• Names of 21 Spanish- speaking countries, their capitals, and nationalities Simple geographical divisions (continent, country, city, town)

• Cardinal points (north, south, east, and west)

• Nature and the environment (basic plants and animals)

Travel and Transportation

• Simple places in a city

• Basic directions

• Basic modes of transportation

NOVICE: SPANISH LEVEL 1 

GRAMMAR OBJECTIVES 

• Nouns and Articles

• Adjectives

• Verbs

• Gender and number of nouns

• Definite articles (el, la, los, las)

• Use of definite articles with a title

• Contractions with “al” and “del”

• Use of definite article with day of the week to express “on” Indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas)

• Possession of nouns (use of de+noun to express ‘s) Diminutive ending –ito, -ita

• Adjective agreement with nouns in gender and number Position

• Short form possessives (mi, tu, su, etc.) Demonstratives

• Ordinal Numbers 1st – 10th Cardinal numbers 1-1000

• Subject-verb agreement

• Present Tense

• a. regular ar, er and ir verbs

• b. irregular verbs: ser, estar, ir, tener, oír, decir, venir

• c. irregular “yo” forms: salir, conocer, saber, hacer, dar, ver, poner d. stem-changing verbs

• e. the expression “hay” (the present of haber)

• Not required but highly recommended.

• Preterite tense

• a. regular ar, er and ir verbs

• b. irregular verbs: ser, ir, hacer, dar, ver

• Negative construction

• Affirmative tú commands of regular ar, er and ir verbs

• Ser vs. estar

• Verbs followed by an infinitive: tener que, poder, querer, ir a, acabar de, hay que

• Use of gustar

• Hacer used in weather expressions Present Progressive

• Adverbs

• Pronouns

• Prepositions

• Conjunctions

• Interjections

• Adverbs of affirmation (sí, cómo no, por supuesto, también)

• Adverbs of negation (no, nada, nunca, tampoco)

• Adverbs of time and frequency (tarde, temprano, siempre, ahora, hoy, nunca, después de, antes de, etc.)

• Adverbs of place (aquí, allí)

• Subject

• Direct Object Indirect Object Interrogative Demonstrative

• Prepositions (de, a, en, con, para, sin, según, entre) Conmigo, contigo

• Basic directions

• Basic modes of transportation (a pie, en tren, por avión, etc.)

• Simple conjunctions (y, o, e, u, pero)

• Simple interjections (¡Ay!, ¡Oye!, ¡Caramba!)

• Interrogatives

• Word order of statements and questions Personal “a”

LISTENING

• Sound of all letters of the alphabet Statement vs. question intonation

• Comprehend simple spoken statements and questions Comprehend commands in Spanish

• Recognize sound patterns

WRITING

• Ask/answer basic questions/statements in the affirmative and negative Pray in Spanish

• Demonstrate oral proficiency

• Able to read and comprehend simple written text

• Answer questions with complete sentences

• Write a paragraph using correct grammar and appropriate vocabulary

CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION

• Exposure to names of the most important holidays and explanation of how they are celebrated

• Exposure to geography of Latin America and Spain