SPAN 303 - Adv Spanish Grammar
Course Description: Reviews all phases of communication skills with practice in understanding, speaking, and writing grammatically correct Spanish. Teaches specific components of Spanish grammar: the Spanish verbal system, the subjunctive, ser versus estar, and other problematic aspects of grammar. Taught in Spanish.
Fulfills: MLO 2
Fulfills: MLO 2
Course Reflective Narratives
Advanced Spanish Grammar became one of my favorite classes mainly due to the usage of a textbook that I really gravitated towards. We initiated the class by discussing the concept of what defines grammar and what our perspectives were on the topic. There exists great variation on this topic with the prescriptive grammar perspective strictly defining and enforcing the rules of the language. On the other hand, there is sociolinguistics which tends to look at the usage of the language as a whole in all of its variations. In Gramática Avanzada by Naomi Shin and Kim Potowski, the text was written in a way that took linguistic variation into account along with the teaching of practical grammatical concepts in the language. I find myself going back to this work from time to time to understand grammatical concepts in a proactive manner. As part of our final research project, we conducted a linguistic analysis of an interview with Cuban-American rapper Pitbull. It was in this project that we were able to look and his linguistic characteristics such as usage of code-switching, levels of formality, and usage of conjugation. Applied to my future studies in Spanish and teaching, I have in mind to think of grammar as flexible and not rigid. While there are some concepts that can’t change such as the existence of nouns and verbs, grammar is progressively modified to fit the needs of a developing population. Inclusive language comes to mind and understanding the grammar of even that aspect allows for a welcoming view into language variation. Furthermore, I look forward to continuing my studies of Spanish grammar and variation in the application of my future career in language education.