Elementary Spanish Online (SPAN 160)

"I really can’t emphasize enough that I liked how it was structured; I liked the organization of the course as a whole. One, because I had never used Collab before ... they had organized the course in such a digestible way, it made it easy to navigate…And the professors were very communicative…both in content delivery and in feedback" (from a 2020 student).

SPAN 160 is a non-credit elementary-level Spanish course consisting of six online modules and activities. It is designed for students with an initial placement into SPAN 1060 (students who place into this level generally have 1-2 years of high school Spanish experience), incoming College of A&S transfer students, and, when space permits, rising second-year College students.

The goal of this course is to prepare students for Intermediate Spanish (SPAN 2010) through reading, writing, speaking, and listening practice and review of appropriate vocabulary and structures. Some students may be placed into SPAN 1060 instead of SPAN 2010.

This course requires 5-6 hours of self-directed work per week for six weeks, including participation in a virtual community with speaking practice and weekly online mentor conversation meetings in small groups. You will sign up for weekly online group conversation sessions during the first week.

Students will take a post-placement diagnostic to determine course placement after completing all six online modules. Students who complete all aspects of the course–including all six modules, attend all online conversation sessions, and complete the post-placement diagnostic and course evaluation–will be guaranteed a space in a Spanish course in the fall semester. We cannot guarantee the time will work with your schedule.

This class is not for credit, and there is no cost; all class materials are free. The class WILL show on your UVA transcript. Students who complete all six modules and the post-placement exam will earn a grade of N (no grade); a grade of N does not impact the GPA.

THIS 6-WEEK COURSE WILL RUN FROM JUNE 10–JULY 28 WITH AN OFFICIAL START DATE OF JUNE 16. ENROLLMENT IS BY APPLICATION ONLY; THE APPLICATION WILL OPEN ON April 14.