Spanish and Portuguese Studies

SPN1130: Beginning Spanish I is for students with no experience in the language and begins with greetings and other basics in Spanish on the first day of class. Students will gain linguistic skills to communicate using practiced words and phrases to talk about familiar topics related to school, home, and the community at the Novice-Mid level. Through relevant and interesting activities, assignments, and assessments, you will further develop 21st Century Skills to function in Spanish in basic personal, academic, and career-related situations. Students also participate in LinguaMeeting sessions, where you will have online conversations with Spanish-speaking professionals and other 1130 students in small groups.

Students in SPN 1130 work with the following themes in Contraseña:

• In Unit 1 (“Who am I?”), you and your classmates will learn to introduce and describe yourselves. You will acquire the tools to interpret and create social media profiles in Spanish, including vocabulary about basic self-description and the Spanish verbs ser and estar for to be.
• In this Unit 2 (“Who are you?”), you will acquire the skills needed to carry out a conversation in Spanish that includes initiating and ending basic conversations, asking and answering basic questions, talking about courses and majors, and using the plural forms of the verbs ser and estar.
• In Units 3 and 4 (“What do I have to do this week?”), you will learn about other students through sharing weekly schedules and describing a university campus. You will learn the days of the week, telling time, and talking about classes, responsibilities, and activities in the present tense.
• In Unit 5 (“Who do I admire?”), you will talk about people you admire. You will read informal and formal texts that support nominations for different awards. You will talk about personality traits, describe what people think and do, and learn formulaic expressions used in formal correspondence. You will also learn to express what you know using the verbs meaning to know, saber and conocer.
• In Unit 6 (“Who is my family?”), you will describe families today. You will learn how to talk about family members, describe their appearance, personalities, and actions using related vocabulary and verbs in the present.
• In Unit 7 (“How to maintain good health?”), you will talk about sports and other popular pastimes. You will learn irregular verbs in the present tense as well as command forms to tell a friend (tú) to do something.

Assessments include Mini-Integrated Performance Assessments (IPAs) where you work with authentic materials in Spanish like written texts or videos to answer questions, write short texts, and have a conversation with a classmate. You will also create your own video describing what your life is like as a student.

SPN1131: Beginning Spanish II is for students with some basic experience in the language. Students will continue to build linguistic skills to communicate using studied words and phrases to talk about familiar topics related to school, home, and the community at the Novice High level. Activities, assignments, and assessments in SPN 1131 will specifically target 21st Century Skills to help make Spanish relevant, meaningful, and interesting to students. This course will also require you to participate in LinguaMeeting sessions, where you will meet online with a Spanish-speaking professional and have conversations in the target language.

SPN 1131 instructors create units based on the following themes in Contraseña:

• There will be a brief review of SPN1130 with a focus on describing yourself and others (physical appearance, age, nationality/origins, personality, studies, likes and dislikes, hobbies, schedule, etc.) and life today.
• Unit 8 will focus on foods, your eating habits, basic meal preparation, and how to express food preferences. You will learn to talk about things in the past using regular verbs in the preterit tense.
• Unit 9 will focus on parts of the body, symptoms, illnesses, and other issues related to maintaining good health. You will learn how to use reflexive verbs like sentirse or cuidarse to express ideas related to staying healthy, and how to make recommendations using formal (Ud. / Uds.) commands.
• Unit 10 will focus on popular professions that require academic preparation at the college level and beyond. You will talk about professional functions and discuss how you are preparing for your future profession in the present progressive tense (like “Estoy estudiando …”). You will also explore how some professions and jobs shape identities in the Spanish-speaking world.
• In Unit 11, you will focus on clothing, accessories, fashion, and personal style and how clothes relate to and impact identity, community, and/or the environment. You will also learn how be more concise by using direct and indirect object pronouns (like “Mi madre me dio el reloj.” > “Mi madre me lo dio.”).
• Unit 12 will focus on travel and the environment and learning how to describe situations and states in the past using the imperfect tense (“Cuando era niño …”). Then, you will explore and use comparisons of equality and inequality to express some environmental challenges in the Spanish-speaking world.

Assessments include Mini-Integrated Performance Assessments (IPAs) where you work with authentic materials in Spanish like written texts or videos to answer questions, write short texts, and have a conversation with a classmate. You will also create your own video describing your professional history, skills, and plans.

There is not a university-wide language requirement. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), the B.A. in Arts, and students in the College of Journalism and Communications pursuing the foreign language option must fulfill a “proficiency” based requirement. This requirement is met by successfully completing SPN1131 or a higher-level course, regardless of whether you took SPN 1130 or not. So, you can fulfill the CLAS requirement faster (and spend less money) by moving up to SPN1131 or higher based on your background and skills.

It most likely means you’re in the wrong level and need to move up. You have had too many years of Spanish instruction to take SPN1130. Review the feedback carefully, especially where you see an X in red (which means that your experiences don’t match course prerequisites). Please read through this FAQ section carefully to address many of the most common questions and concerns about placement. Please read the feedback on your background form and consider moving to the class indicated on the form across from the red X. The final decision is ultimately yours.

No! SPN 1130 and SPN 1131 are designed for traditional adult second language learners and therefore not recommended for Spanish heritage language learners. There is a parallel track of courses designed specifically for the special needs of Heritage learners (offered during Fall and Spring). The Spanish Heritage Language Program at UF is for those students who have been exposed to Spanish through out-of-the-classroom experiences, such as interacting with family and/or friends, extended residence in a Spanish-speaking country, growing up in Miami, etc. If you or your instructor think(s) that you might be a heritage learner, contact the coordinator of the Heritage Language Program, Dr. Víctor Jordán (vjordan@ufl.edu), to learn about the program and its benefits to students (including completing the language requirement in one class rather than two). Dr. Jordan will communicate with you, the instructor, and the course coordinator about placement. All classes in the Heritage Language Program fulfill the language requirement.

The WebCape is designed to help us determine the best course for you based on your academic background in Spanish. It is just one tool in the toolbox to get a complete picture of where you should be placed. The test is multiple-choice and covers grammar, reading, and vocabulary. It is an adaptive test, which means that the question difficulty will vary depending on how you respond.

If you were able to take educated guesses on the test and come out with correct responses, you may know more Spanish than you think. In any event, the final score is reported within a range-which means it is not about which questions you got right, and which ones you got wrong. It is an overall judgment of your skill that is an approximation of what you can currently do given the chance to apply yourself in the classroom. While the results are not to be considered precise, they certainly do give an accurate indicator that you should move up should all the other factors (i.e. years of study, grades earned etc.) corroborate your score. Please read the feedback on your background form to get an idea of where you should be placed.

No. SPN 1130 is for beginners, and if you have previous experience and your WebCAPE score suggest it – then you should move up at least to SPN 1131 (which, 1131 alone fulfills the graduation requirement for nearly all CLAS majors instead of having to take both 1130 and 1131). I understand that you may be reluctant to move up, but maybe reading a little more through these FAQS about 1130 and 1131 will help you make an informed decision. Please read the feedback on your background form to get an accurate idea of where you should be placed. The final decision is ultimately yours.

SPN 1130 is the very first course in the sequence and starts from the beginning (“¡Hola!”). Over the course of the semester, students will learn how to describe their lives and others’ lives in the present. If you feel comfortable describing in the present, or feel it will come back to you pretty quickly, please consider moving up to SPN 1131 (see the syllabi for all classes here). In that course, students are introduced to the past tenses so that they can describe and narrate in the past. The structure of the two courses is identical; the differences are the themes and related vocab they work with and the major grammar points tied to description. Read the course description for SPN1131 above. The final decision is ultimately yours.

SPN1131 is not necessarily going to be more involved than SPN1130– as they are both 5-credit courses and see the same amount of LinguaMeetings, Integrated Performance Assessments (IPA’s), grading, and participation structure. A general guideline for the amount of time you should plan to dedicate to this and any other University course is 2-3 hours of homework per course credit hour. That means for SPN1130 & 1131 plan to dedicate 10-15 hours outside of class to these courses.

Students often lowball their own capabilities and put themselves in a class that they’ve already taken because they’re intimidated by the language, and feel they need to “shore up,” or “re-fortify” their skills before moving up. Our advice is that if your background form has indicated that you are in the wrong level, you will not leave with anything more than what you came in with because there is no challenge to provoke your growth, linguistic or otherwise. In other words, if you want to play the game better, you have to play at a higher level and with better players. Please read the course description for SPN1131 above and consider moving up. The final decision is ultimately yours.

Both SPN1130 AND SPN1131 use the SAME online platform and textbook that includes online LinguaMeeting sessions. (Contraseña 7.0 by Lord & Rossomondo (LingroLearning). Contraseña is an innovative program. There is no physical textbook – it’s completely digital and is made for today’s online learner. It’s the first of its kind in Spanish! This course requires that students have access to the textbook from the second day of class, and participates in the UF All Access program for the course program, Contraseña with LinguaMeeting. UF All Access will provide you with your required materials digitally at a reduced price and the ability to pay using your student account.

Both SPN1130 AND SPN1131 use the SAME online platform (LingroLearning) and program (Contraseña 7.0 by Lord & Rossomondo) that includes online LinguaMeeting sessions. You do not have to return Contraseña if you drop 1130 and register for 1131.
If you transfer from SPN1130 to SPN1131 during Drop/Add and have already redeemed an All Access code or purchased access, contact LingroLearning LiveChat or hubsupport@lingrolearning.com with a request to move your payment to the new course.

Students in all Lower Division Spanish classes will have the entire period of Drop/Add plus some additional time to complete the first round of work for those who add the course to their schedule at the last minute. See the day-by-day calendar on the syllabus for the specific due date.

Yes! We provide a pre-signed form on Canvas → Modules → ¿Necesitas ayuda?/Need help? → S/U Grade option form. Note* you must download the form in order to see the necessary signatures that you’ll need to submit this form to the Registrar’s office.

See the syllabi for all classes here.

All students handle their own drop/add on one.ufl.edu.

Keep checking one.ufl.edu hourly. There will be much movement in and out of every section all throughout the week of drop/add. In the event that you cannot find a spot, you can take the course during another semester (Summer/Fall/Spring) or consider taking either SPN1130 & SPN1131 online with Flexible Learning if eligible.

Limited seats are available in SPN 1130 online. Currently, residential students can search for an open seat in an SPN 1130 section labeled “Online (100%)”.

Students in SPN 1130 & 1131 can also discuss if they are eligible to take the course via Flexible Learning with an academic advisor in their College. Flexible Learning is an online program in which students can go at their own pace. If you are a CLAS student, see information on setting up a meeting for advising here. From there, the Flex staff will review the student’s application and make the final decision.

It is important that you examine the Spanish Placement and Equivalency Charts, because if you retake a class that you already have credit for, you will overwrite those credits and they will be lost. There is no “double-dipping” with the Registrar. Note* that we do not accept “pre-AICE” nor “AB initio” credits.

For Summer A classes, contact Dr. Jennifer Wooten (wooten@ufl.edu). For Summer C classes, contact Dr. Fernán Gomez-Monedero (fernan.gomezmone@ufl.edu).

SPN1131: Beginning Spanish II is for students with some basic experience in the language. Students will continue to build linguistic skills to communicate using studied words and phrases to talk about familiar topics related to school, home, and the community at the Novice High level. Activities, assignments, and assessments in SPN 1131 will specifically target 21st Century Skills to help make Spanish relevant, meaningful, and interesting to students. This course will also require you to participate in LinguaMeeting sessions, where you will meet online with a Spanish-speaking professional and have conversations in the target language.

SPN 1131 instructors create units based on the following themes in Contraseña:

• There will be a brief review of SPN1130 with a focus on describing yourself and others (physical appearance, age, nationality/origins, personality, studies, likes and dislikes, hobbies, schedule, etc.) and life today.
• Unit 8 will focus on foods, your eating habits, basic meal preparation, and how to express food preferences. You will learn to talk about things in the past using regular verbs in the preterit tense.
• Unit 9 will focus on parts of the body, symptoms, illnesses, and other issues related to maintaining good health. You will learn how to use reflexive verbs like sentirse or cuidarse to express ideas related to staying healthy, and how to make recommendations using formal (Ud. / Uds.) commands.
• Unit 10 will focus on popular professions that require academic preparation at the college level and beyond. You will talk about professional functions and discuss how you are preparing for your future profession in the present progressive tense (like “Estoy estudiando …”). You will also explore how some professions and jobs shape identities in the Spanish-speaking world.
• In Unit 11, you will focus on clothing, accessories, fashion, and personal style and how clothes relate to and impact identity, community, and/or the environment. You will also learn how be more concise by using direct and indirect object pronouns (like “Mi madre me dio el reloj.” > “Mi madre me lo dio.”).
• Unit 12 will focus on travel and the environment and learning how to describe situations and states in the past using the imperfect tense (“Cuando era niño …”). Then, you will explore and use comparisons of equality and inequality to express some environmental challenges in the Spanish-speaking world.

Assessments include Mini-Integrated Performance Assessments (IPAs) where you work with authentic materials in Spanish like written texts or videos to answer questions, write short texts, and have a conversation with a classmate. You will also create your own video describing your professional history, skills, and plans.

SPN2200: Intermediate Spanish I is for students with basic experience in the language. SPN 2200 sees you build on the skills you developed in SPN 1131 (or similar) and work towards Intermediate-Low proficiency. You will communicate using simple to sometimes complex sentences to talk about everyday life (including universal themes like family, love, social roles and issues, etc.). You will further develop 21st Century Skills to function appropriately in Spanish in basic personal, academic, and career-related situations in multilingual communities at home and around the world. You will participate in LinguaMeeting sessions, where you will have conversations online with a Spanish-speaking professional and some other 2200 students.

SPN 2200 & 2201 use a textbook called Contextos, and the short films around which each chapter is built guide the class. [Note: SPN 2200 is occasionally offered asynchronously. That class differs substantially from the in-person course described below, so consult Dr. Crystal Marull at cmarull@ufl.edu about the details of that class.]

• In Chapter 1, students summarize and reflect on the plot of the short film Éramos pocos and compare and contrast cultural practices and attitudes about the care and role of the elderly in a family and food and meals. You will express, ask about, and understand actions and activities that take place in the present (review of ser / estar and the present tense) and describe family members and relationships with a variety of phrases and words.
• In Chapter 2, students critically view the short film La lotería and interpret cultural conflicts and perspectives in the film surrounding compatibility and relationship stressors, types of relationships, and traditional and changing attitudes towards being single. You will learn to describe actions that took place in the past using the preterit tense and direct object pronouns and to describe romantic and other interpersonal relationships.
• In Chapter 3, students will summarize and discuss De cómo Hipólito Vázquez encontró magia donde no buscaba, a short film from Argentina. You will also analyze, identify, and interpret cultural conflicts and perspectives on entertainment, sports, and childhood. You will work on describing and narrating in the past using the preterit and imperfect tenses and explaining for whom or to whom actions are done using indirect object pronouns.
• In Chapter 4, students examine the film, Kay Pacha, to talk about examples of informal economies, indigenous populations, and gender roles. You will also learn to refer to people and objects using both indirect and direct pronouns and to give directions and instructions using formal (Ud., Uds.) and informal (tú) commands.
• In Chapter 5, students work with the short film Hispaniola to discuss cultural conflicts that center on the themes of migration, race / ethnicity, and borders / boundaries in the film. Students will be able to use the subjunctive mood to express unrealized, hypothetical or non-existent actions and conditions.

Assessments include Mini-Integrated Performance Assessments (IPAs) where you work with authentic materials in Spanish like written texts or videos to answer questions, write short texts, and have a conversation with a classmate. You will have an extended conversation with a Spanish speaker you know about their own experiences as related to the themes of the course and then write about it.

There is not a university-wide language requirement. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), the B.A. in Arts, and students in the College of Journalism and Communications pursuing the foreign language option must fulfill a “proficiency” based requirement. This requirement is met by successfully completing SPN1131 or a higher-level course, regardless of whether you took SPN 1130 or not. So, you can fulfill the CLAS requirement faster (and spend less money) by moving up to SPN1131 or higher based on your background and skills.

It most likely means you’re in the wrong level and it is time to move up to the intermediate 2000 level. You have had too many years of Spanish instruction to take SPN1131. Review the feedback carefully, especially where you see an X in red (which means that your experiences don’t match course prerequisites). Please read through this FAQ section carefully to address many of the most common questions and concerns about placement. Please read the feedback on your background form and consider moving to the class indicated on the form across from the red X. The final decision is ultimately yours.

No! Neither SPN 1131 nor SPN 2200 are designed for traditional adult second language learners and therefore not recommended for Spanish heritage language learners. There is a parallel track of courses designed specifically for the special needs of Heritage learners (offered during Fall and Spring). The Spanish Heritage Language Program at UF offers SPN1601 (Beginner Accelerated Review) for those students who have been exposed to Spanish through out-of-the-classroom experiences, such as interacting with family and/or friends, extended residence in a Spanish-speaking country, growing up in Miami, etc. If you or your instructor think(s) that you might be a heritage learner, contact the coordinator of the Heritage Language Program, Dr. Víctor Jordán (vjordan@ufl.edu), to learn about the program and its benefits to students (including completing the language requirement in one class rather than two). Dr. Jordan will communicate with you, the instructor, and the course coordinator about placement. All classes in the Heritage Language Program fulfill the language requirement.

The WebCape is designed to help us determine the best course for you based on your academic background in Spanish. It is just one tool in the toolbox to get a complete picture of where you should be placed. The test is multiple-choice and covers grammar, reading, and vocabulary. It is an adaptive test, which means that the question difficulty will vary depending on how you respond.

If you were able to take educated guesses on the test and come out with correct responses, you may know more Spanish than you think. In any event, the final score is reported within a range-which means it is not about which questions you got right, and which ones you got wrong. It is an overall judgment of your skill that is an approximation of what you can currently do given the chance to apply yourself in the classroom. While the results are not to be considered precise, they certainly do give an accurate indicator that you should move up should all the other factors (i.e. years of study, grades earned etc.) corroborate your score. Please read the feedback on your background form to get an idea of where you should be placed.

No. SPN 1131 is the second sequence of beginner Spanish, and you are not a beginner. If you have had two or more years of previous experience and/or your WebCAPE score suggests it – then you should move up at least to SPN 2200 (which will also/alone fulfill the graduation requirement for nearly all CLAS majors). We understand that you may be reluctant to move up, but maybe reading a little more through these FAQS will help you make an informed decision. Please read the feedback on your background form to get an accurate idea of where you should be placed. The final decision is ultimately yours.

With your background of two or more years, you probably know more Spanish than you realize. A lot of students in 2200 don’t take 1130 and 1131 here; they come in directly from high school because they’ve had a solid foundation like you. For your benefit, SPN 2200 starts with a chapter-long review of the present tense and ser vs. estar (which, by the way, SPN 1131 does not), moves on to preterit and imperfect (just like 1131), and then finishes with subjunctive (which is when you want / hope / request that someone else does something, like “Quiero que los estudiantes estudien”).
What is great about 2200 is that we talk about substantial themes (diverse families, childhood and child labor, discrimination, etc.), A lot of students in 2200 don’t take 1130 and 1131 here; they come in directly from high school because they’ve had several courses like you. Take a look at the syllabus for SPN2200 here and re-read the course description for SPN2200 above.

Consider that SPN1130 & 1131 are not necessarily going to be easier or less involved – as they are 5-credit courses. A general guideline for the amount of time you should plan to dedicate to this and any other University course is 2-3 hours of homework per course credit hour. That means that for SPN1130 & 1131 plan to dedicate 10-15 hours outside of class to these courses. SPN2200 (Intermediate I) is only a 3-credit course. The workload and time commitment will reflect this difference at an estimated 6-9 hours of homework outside of class per week.

Students often lowball their own capabilities and put themselves in a class that they’ve already taken because they’re intimidated by the language, and feel they need to “shore up,” or “re-fortify” their skills before moving up. Our advice is that if you are in the wrong level, you will not leave with anything more than what you came in with because there is no challenge to provoke your growth, linguistic or otherwise. In other words, if you want to play the game better, you have to play at a higher level with better players. Please read the course description for SPN2200 above.

Both the Intermediate SPN2200 & 2201 use a textbook called Contextos by McGraw-Hill (Connect). There is no physical textbook – it’s completely digital and is made for today’s online learner. This course requires that students have access to the textbook from the second day of class, and participates in the UF All Access program for the course program, UF All Access will provide you with your required materials digitally at a reduced price and the ability to pay using your student account. LinguaMeeting sessions in SPN2200 & 2201 are not included in ALL ACCESS and will be purchased separately. Instructions to purchase LinguaMeeting are posted on the Canvas course site.

When a course is dropped the UF All Access charges are automatically refunded. This usually takes place within 3 days of the class being removed from your schedule. You can view changes on your student account at One UF. If it has been longer than 5 days since you dropped the course, please email All Access with your UF ID number & Course Code (i.e. SPN 1131).

Students in all Lower Division Spanish classes will have the entire period of Drop/Add plus some additional time to complete the first round of work for those who add the course to their schedule at the last minute. See the day-by-day calendar on the syllabus for the specific due date.

Yes! We provide a pre-signed form on Canvas → Modules → ¿Necesitas ayuda?/Need help? → S/U Grade option form. Note* you must download the form in order to see the necessary signatures that you’ll need to submit this form to the Registrar’s office.

See the syllabi for all classes here.

All students handle their own drop/add on one.ufl.edu.

Keep checking one.ufl.edu hourly. There will be much movement in and out of every section all throughout the week of drop/add. In the event that you cannot find a spot, you can take the course during another semester (Summer/Fall/Spring).

Sections of SPN 2200 / 2201 / 2240 are generally offered in person. Occasionally, though, intermediate courses are available online synchronously (with live sessions on Zoom) or asynchronously (no live sessions). Check ONE.UF to see how the course is offered during a particular spring, summer, or fall semester (synchronous sessions are listed as 100% online with a day/time included while asynchronous classes show as 100% online with no specific day/time listed). Online courses are equivalent to face-to-face sections in their overall goals, but the details of the course (including the textbook/program, assignments and assessments, etc.) will differ.

It is important that you examine the Spanish Placement and Equivalency Charts, because if you retake a class that you already have credit for, you will overwrite those credits and they will be lost. There is no “double-dipping” with the Registrar. Note* that we do not accept “pre-AICE” nor “AB initio” credits.

For Summer A classes, contact Dr. Jennifer Wooten (wooten@ufl.edu). For Summer C classes, contact Dr. Fernán Gomez-Monedero (fernan.gomezmone@ufl.edu).

SPN2200: Intermediate Spanish I is for students with basic experience in the language. SPN 2200 sees you build on the skills you developed in SPN 1131 (or similar) and work towards Intermediate-Low proficiency. You will communicate using simple to sometimes complex sentences to talk about everyday life (including universal themes like family, love, social roles and issues, etc.). You will further develop 21st Century Skills to function appropriately in Spanish in basic personal, academic, and career-related situations in multilingual communities at home and around the world. You will participate in LinguaMeeting sessions, where you will have conversations online with a Spanish-speaking professional and some other 2200 students.

SPN 2200 & 2201 use a textbook called Contextos, and the short films around which each chapter is built guide the class. [Note: SPN 2200 is occasionally offered asynchronously. That class differs substantially from the in-person course described below, so consult Dr. Crystal Marull at cmarull@ufl.edu about the details of that class.]

• In Chapter 1, students summarize and reflect on the plot of the short film Éramos pocos and compare and contrast cultural practices and attitudes about the care and role of the elderly in a family and food and meals. You will express, ask about, and understand actions and activities that take place in the present (review of ser / estar and the present tense) and describe family members and relationships with a variety of phrases and words.
• In Chapter 2, students critically view the short film La lotería and interpret cultural conflicts and perspectives in the film surrounding compatibility and relationship stressors, types of relationships, and traditional and changing attitudes towards being single. You will learn to describe actions that took place in the past using the preterit tense and direct object pronouns and to describe romantic and other interpersonal relationships.
• In Chapter 3, students will summarize and discuss De cómo Hipólito Vázquez encontró magia donde no buscaba, a short film from Argentina. You will also analyze, identify, and interpret cultural conflicts and perspectives on entertainment, sports, and childhood. You will work on describing and narrating in the past using the preterit and imperfect tenses and explaining for whom or to whom actions are done using indirect object pronouns.
• In Chapter 4, students examine the film, Kay Pacha, to talk about examples of informal economies, indigenous populations, and gender roles. You will also learn to refer to people and objects using both indirect and direct pronouns and to give directions and instructions using formal (Ud., Uds.) and informal (tú) commands.
• In Chapter 5, students work with the short film Hispaniola to discuss cultural conflicts that center on the themes of migration, race / ethnicity, and borders / boundaries in the film. Students will be able to use the subjunctive mood to express unrealized, hypothetical or non-existent actions and conditions.

Assessments include Mini-Integrated Performance Assessments (IPAs) where you work with authentic materials in Spanish like written texts or videos to answer questions, write short texts, and have a conversation with a classmate. You will have an extended conversation with a Spanish speaker you know about their own experiences as related to the themes of the course and then write about it.

SPN2201: Intermediate Spanish II sees you build on the skills you developed in SPN 2200 (or similar) and work towards a proficiency level of Intermediate-Mid. That means that you will communicate using simple and complex utterances to talk about topics like access to resources (food, housing, transportation, job), life goals, and personal beliefs. You will further develop 21st Century Skills to function appropriately in Spanish in personal, academic, and career-related situations in multilingual communities at home and around the world. You will participate in LinguaMeeting sessions where you will have one-on-one conversations online with a Spanish-speaking professional.

SPN 2201 uses a textbook called Contextos, and the short films around which each chapter is built guide the class after a brief review of major themes and linguistic skills from SPN 2200. [Note: SPN 2201 is occasionally offered asynchronously. That class differs substantially from the in-person course described below, so consult Dr. Crystal Marull at cmarull@ufl.edu about the details of that class.]

• Chapter 6 sees students reflect on the plot of the short film No hay pan and interpret cultural conflicts and perspectives related to communities, consumerism, and modernization. You will express past events and conditions using the present perfect (“He comprado…”) and the past perfect (“Había comprador…”) tenses to talk about what has and had been done in various communities. Students will also use the passive voice and impersonal expressions to describe consumer behavior and trends.
• In Chapter 7, students will describe key aspects of the Cuban Revolution and the causes and effects of embargoes via the short film Pedaleando. Students will describe embargoes, trade restrictions, and shortages using adjective clauses that include the subjunctive when necessary.
• In Chapter 8, activities and conversations will focus on the short film Casitas. Students will identify the cultural conflicts and perspectives that the film showcases, including housing, unemployment, and life goals. You will express, ask about, and understand actions and activities that will or would take place using the future and conditional tenses respectively.
• The short film that will form the backdrop of Chapter 9 is Minuto 200, and it will engage students in describing religious beliefs, attitudes toward death and dying, and ways in which people communicate. You will also work with understanding false or hypothetical actions and activities in both the present and the past tenses using the subjunctive and learn about various other uses of the subjunctive.

Assessments include Integrated Performance Assessments (IPAs) where you work with authentic materials in Spanish like written texts or videos to answer questions, write short texts, and have a conversation with a classmate. You will also create your own short film individually or with classmates at the end of 2201.

There is not a university-wide language requirement. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), the B.A. in Arts, and students in the College of Journalism and Communications pursuing the foreign language option must fulfill a “proficiency” based requirement. This requirement is met by successfully completing SPN1131 or a higher-level course, regardless of whether you took SPN 1130 or not. So, you can fulfill the CLAS requirement faster (and spend less money) by moving up to SPN1131 or higher based on your background and skills.

It most likely means you’re in the wrong level and need to move up. You have had too many years of Spanish instruction to take SPN2200. Review the feedback carefully, especially where you see an X in red (which means that your experiences don’t match course prerequisites). Please read through this FAQ section carefully to address many of the most common questions and concerns about placement. Please read the feedback on your background form and consider moving to the class indicated on the form across from the red X. The final decision is ultimately yours.

No! Neither SPN2200 nor SPN2201 are designed for traditional adult second language learners and therefore not recommended for Spanish heritage language learners. There is a parallel track of courses designed specifically for the special needs of Heritage learners (offered during Fall and Spring). The Spanish Heritage Language Program at UF is for those who have been exposed to Spanish through out-of-the-classroom experiences, such as interacting with family and/or friends, extended residence in a Spanish-speaking country, etc. If you or your instructor feel(s) that you might be a heritage learner, contact the coordinator of the Heritage Language Program, Dr. Víctor Jordán (vjordan@ufl.edu), to learn about the program and its benefits to students (including completing the language requirement in one class rather than two). Dr. Jordan will communicate with you, the instructor, and the course coordinator about placement. All classes in the Heritage Language Program fulfill the language requirement.

The WebCape is designed to help us determine the best course for you based on your academic background in Spanish. It is just one tool in the toolbox to get a complete picture of where you should be placed. The test is multiple-choice and covers grammar, reading, and vocabulary. It is an adaptive test, which means that the question difficulty will vary depending on how you respond.

If you were able to take educated guesses on the test and come out with correct responses, you may know more Spanish than you think. In any event, the final score is reported within a range-which means it is not about which questions you got right, and which ones you got wrong. It is an overall judgment of your skill that is an approximation of what you can currently do given the chance to apply yourself in the classroom. While the results are not to be considered precise, they certainly do give an accurate indicator that you should move up should all the other factors (i.e. years of study, grades earned etc.) corroborate your score. Please read the feedback on your background form to get an idea of where you should be placed.

This is more than likely not the right choice. SPN2200 is designed to be a transition into the Intermediate level Spanish. If you have had 4 or more years of Spanish language instruction, done relatively well in those courses (regardless of your WebCape score) then the advanced intermediate SPN2201 is probably a better fit for you.

Grammatically, in 2201 students learn (sometimes for the first time) to use perfect tenses (haber + -ado, -ido, [irreg]), future, conditional, and the subjunctive (including imperfect subjunctive, like “Quería que mis estudiantes estudiaran”). You would have seen several, if not all, of these grammar points in your AP/Honors/or Spanish 4 class. (see the syllabi for all Lower Division Spanish courses here). In 2201, students are introduced to the past tenses so that they can describe and narrate in the past. The structure of SPN2200 and 2201 is similar; the differences are the themes and related vocab they work with and the major grammar points tied to description. Read the course description for SPN2201 above.

SPN2201 is not necessarily going to be more involved than SPN2200– as they are both 3-credit courses and see the same amount of LinguaMeetings, Integrated Performance Assessments (IPA’s), grading, and participation structure. A general guideline for the amount of time you should plan to dedicate to this and any other University course is 2-3 hours of homework per course credit hour. That means for SPN2200 & 2201 plan to dedicate 6-9 hours outside of class to these courses.

Students often lowball their own capabilities and put themselves in a class that they’ve already taken because they’re intimidated by the language, and feel they need to “shore up,” or “re-fortify” their skills before moving up. Our advice is that if your background form has indicated that you are in the wrong level, you will not leave with anything more than what you came in with because there is no challenge to provoke your growth, linguistic or otherwise. In other words, if you want to play the game better, you have to play at a higher level with better players. Please read the course description for SPN2201 above.

Both the Intermediate SPN2200 & 2201 use a textbook called Contextos by McGraw-Hill (Connect). There is no physical textbook – it’s completely digital and is made for today’s online learner. It’s the first of its kind in Spanish! This course requires that students have access to the textbook from the second day of class, and participates in the UF All Access program for the course program, UF All Access will provide you with your required materials digitally at a reduced price and the ability to pay using your student account. LinguaMeeting sessions in SPN2200 & 2201 are not included in ALL ACCESS and will be purchased separately. Instructions to purchase LinguaMeeting are posted on the Canvas course site.

LinguaMeeting sessions in SPN2200 & 2201 are not included in ALL ACCESS and will be purchased separately. Instructions to purchase LinguaMeeting are posted on the Canvas course site.

Both the Intermediate SPN2200 & 2201 use a textbook called Contextos by McGraw-Hill (Connect). You do not have to return this book to drop 2200 and register for 2201.

Students in all Lower Division Spanish classes will have the entire period of Drop/Add plus some additional time to complete the first round of work for those who add the course to their schedule at the last minute. See the day-by-day calendar on the syllabus for the specific due date.

Yes! We provide a pre-signed form on Canvas → Modules → ¿Necesitas ayuda?/Need help? → S/U Grade option form. Note* you must download the form in order to see the necessary signatures that you’ll need to submit this form to the Registrar’s office.

See the syllabi for all classes here.

All students handle their own drop/add on one.ufl.edu.

Keep checking one.ufl.edu hourly. There will be much movement in and out of every section all throughout the week of drop/add. In the event that you cannot find a spot, you can take the course during another semester (Summer/Fall/Spring).

Email your background form with your UFID, the section #number and course into which you are trying to register to the Administrative Coordinator of the Lower Division Spanish Program; For Fall and Spring classes please contact Dr. John Flanagan johnflanagan@ufl.edu.

Sections of SPN 2200 / 2201 / 2240 are generally offered in person. Occasionally, though, intermediate courses are available online synchronously (with live sessions on Zoom) or asynchronously (no live sessions). Check ONE.UF to see how the course is offered during a particular spring, summer, or fall semester (synchronous sessions are listed as 100% online with a day/time included while asynchronous classes show as 100% online with no specific day/time listed). Online courses are equivalent to face-to-face sections in their overall goals, but the details of the course (including the textbook/program, assignments and assessments, etc.) will differ.

It is important that you examine the Spanish Placement and Equivalency Charts, because if you retake a class that you already have credit for, you will overwrite those credits and they will be lost. There is no “double-dipping” with the Registrar. Note* that we do not accept “pre-AICE” nor “AB initio” credits.

For Summer A classes, contact Dr. Jennifer Wooten (wooten@ufl.edu). For Summer C classes, contact Dr. Fernán Gomez-Monedero (fernan.gomezmone@ufl.edu).

SPN2201: Intermediate Spanish II sees you build on the skills you developed in SPN 2200 (or similar) and work towards a proficiency level of Intermediate-Mid. That means that you will communicate using simple and complex utterances to talk about topics like access to resources (food, housing, transportation, job), life goals, and personal beliefs. You will further develop 21st Century Skills to function appropriately in Spanish in personal, academic, and career-related situations in multilingual communities at home and around the world. You will participate in LinguaMeeting sessions where you will have one-on-one conversations online with a Spanish-speaking professional.

SPN 2201 uses a textbook called Contextos, and the short films around which each chapter is built guide the class after a brief review of major themes and linguistic skills from SPN 2200. [Note: SPN 2201 is occasionally offered asynchronously. That class differs substantially from the in-person course described below, so consult Dr. Crystal Marull at cmarull@ufl.edu about the details of that class.]

• Chapter 6 sees students reflect on the plot of the short film No hay pan and interpret cultural conflicts and perspectives related to communities, consumerism, and modernization. You will express past events and conditions using the present perfect (“He comprado…”) and the past perfect (“Había comprador…”) tenses to talk about what has and had been done in various communities. Students will also use the passive voice and impersonal expressions to describe consumer behavior and trends.
• In Chapter 7, students will describe key aspects of the Cuban Revolution and the causes and effects of embargoes via the short film Pedaleando. Students will describe embargoes, trade restrictions, and shortages using adjective clauses that include the subjunctive when necessary.
• In Chapter 8, activities and conversations will focus on the short film Casitas. Students will identify the cultural conflicts and perspectives that the film showcases, including housing, unemployment, and life goals. You will express, ask about, and understand actions and activities that will or would take place using the future and conditional tenses respectively.
• The short film that will form the backdrop of Chapter 9 is Minuto 200, and it will engage students in describing religious beliefs, attitudes toward death and dying, and ways in which people communicate. You will also work with understanding false or hypothetical actions and activities in both the present and the past tenses using the subjunctive and learn about various other uses of the subjunctive.

Assessments include Integrated Performance Assessments (IPAs) where you work with authentic materials in Spanish like written texts or videos to answer questions, write short texts, and have a conversation with a classmate. You will also create your own short film individually or with classmates at the end of 2201.

SPN 2240: Intensive Communication in Spanish is popularly known as our Conversation I class. This course sees you further build your confidence in the linguistic and grammatical skills that you developed in previous courses (including SPN 2201) to prepare you for 3000- and 4000-level classes and other experiences in Spanish. The proficiency target of the course is Intermediate-Mid (with some students moving towards Intermediate-High). That means you will be able to communicate orally using some complex utterances to tell stories, express thoughts and opinions, exchange ideas, and present information.

Several short films and articles via the textbook Revista will introduce students to the following themes; the relationship between reality and fantasy; previous and current conceptions of love; the connections between communication / social media and personality; and various types of interpersonal relationships. In relation to those themes, you will make comparisons between products (things people create and use) and practices (what people do) to understand perspectives (what people believe and value) in your culture/s and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world.

Students also develop specific linguistic, sociocultural, and discursive skills related to interacting with others. Such skills include: mastering theme-specific vocabulary and idiomatic expressions; expanding your vocabulary repertoire and expanding the use of certain grammatical points (note that little “new” grammar is introduced in 2240 since the expectation is that you have worked with the most commonly used concepts in previous courses); understanding some differences between Spanish-speaking countries with respect to history, customs and current cultural affairs; understanding well the written word in various genres and the spoken word in various accents; recognizing the tone, the perspective and argument of a text and contextualizing it; summarizing an argument; expressing, supporting, explaining, and defending an opinion; disagreeing respectfully; and using techniques like circumlocution to compensate for lapses in other communication skills.

A key activity in SPN 2240 is actively participating in one-on-one conversations with a Spanish-speaking professional via LinguaMeeting. Assessments include Integrated Performance Assessments (IPAs) where you work with authentic materials in Spanish like written texts or videos, create a short video, and have a conversation with a classmate. You will also create an original podcast episode with a classmate at the end of the course.

There is not a university-wide language requirement. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), the B.A. in Arts, and students in the College of Journalism and Communications pursuing the foreign language option must fulfill a “proficiency” based requirement. This requirement is met by successfully completing SPN1131 or a higher-level course, regardless of whether you took SPN 1130 or not. So, you can fulfill the CLAS requirement faster (and spend less money) by moving up to SPN1131 or higher based on your background and skills.

Yes! SPN 2240 is the first class that counts towards the major or minor! It is a necessary requirement before breaking into all 3000 and 4000 level courses. You may take it concurrently with SPN 3300 (Spanish Grammar and Composition I).

It most likely means you don’t have the prerequisites (SPN2201) to take this course. However, If your high school/college background and WebCape score indicate that you would be successful, please send your background form, UFID, and preferred section# of SPN2240. For Fall and Spring classes please contact Dr. John Flanagan johnflanagan@ufl.edu.

No! SPN2240 is designed for traditional adult second language learners and therefore not recommended for Spanish heritage language learners. There is a parallel track of courses designed specifically for the special needs of Heritage learners (offered during Fall and Spring). The Spanish Heritage Language Program at UF is for those students who have been exposed to Spanish through out-of-the-classroom experiences, such as interacting with family and/or friends, extended residence in a Spanish-speaking country, etc. If you or your instructor feel(s) that you might be a heritage learner, contact the coordinator of the Heritage Language Program, Dr. Víctor Jordán (vjordan@ufl.edu), to learn about the program and its benefits to students (including completing the language requirement in one class rather than two). Dr. Jordan will communicate with you, the instructor, and the course coordinator about placement. All classes in the Heritage Language Program fulfill the language requirement.

The WebCape is designed to help us determine the best course for you based on your academic background in Spanish. It is just one tool in the toolbox to get a complete picture of where you should be placed. The test is multiple-choice and covers grammar, reading, and vocabulary. It is an adaptive test, which means that the question difficulty will vary depending on how you respond.

If you were able to take educated guesses on the test and come out with correct responses, you may know more Spanish than you think. In any event, the final score is reported within a range-which means it is not about which questions you got right, and which ones you got wrong. It is an overall judgment of your skill that is an approximation of what you can currently do given the chance to apply yourself in the classroom. While the results are not to be considered precise, they certainly do give an accurate indicator that you should move up should all the other factors (i.e. years of study, grades earned etc.) corroborate your score. Please read the feedback on your background form to get an idea of where you should be placed.

Yes, in fact you must. You cannot skip SPN2240. It is designed to be a transition into the Upper Division levels of Spanish, and is a requirement in order to do so. Should you plan on majoring or minoring in Spanish, SPN2240 will be required for that as well.

If, through your years of academic Spanish instruction you have already been exposed to the perfect tenses (haber + -ado, -ido, [irreg]), future, conditional, and the subjunctive (including imperfect subjunctive, like “Quería que mis estudiantes estudiaran”) then you are a good candidate for SPN2240. You would have seen several, if not all, of these grammar points in your AP/Honors/or Spanish 4 class. (see the syllabi for all Lower Division Spanish courses here). In 2240, students will not see the introduction of new grammar, but rather become exceedingly proficient in the speaking aspects of the same grammar from SPN220l. This course sees you building your confidence in the linguistic and grammatical skills that you developed in the intermediate level. Read the course description for SPN2240 above.

SPN2240 is not necessarily going to be more involved than SPN2201– as they are both 3-credit courses and see the same amount of LinguaMeetings, Integrated Performance Assessments (IPA’s), grading, and participation structure. A general guideline for the amount of time you should plan to dedicate to this and any other University course is 2-3 hours of homework per course credit hour. That means that for SPN2240 plan to dedicate 6-9 hours outside of class to these courses.

Students often lowball their own capabilities and put themselves in a class that they’ve already taken because they’re intimidated by the language, and feel they need to “shore up,” or “re-fortify” their skills before moving up. Our advice is that if your background form has indicated that you are in the wrong level, you will not leave with anything more than what you came in with because there is no challenge to provoke your growth, linguistic or otherwise. In other words, if you want to play the game better, you have to play at a higher level with better players. Please read the course description for SPN2240 above.

SPN2240 uses the online textbook Revista 6th edition (not available through All Access) / 5-month access on the Vista Higher Learning (VHL) platform or the UF Bookstore. LinguaMeeting sessions in SPN2240 are not included in ALL ACCESS either and will be purchased separately. Instructions to purchase LinguaMeeting are posted on the Canvas course site.

LinguaMeeting sessions in SPN2240 are not included in ALL ACCESS and will be purchased separately. Instructions to purchase LinguaMeeting are posted on the Canvas course site.

When a course is dropped the UF All Access charges are automatically refunded. This usually takes place within 3 days of the class being removed from your schedule. You can view changes on your student account at One UF. If it has been longer than 5 days since you dropped the course, please email All Access with your UF ID number & Course Code (i.e. SPN 2201).

Students in all Lower Division Spanish classes will have the entire period of Drop/Add plus some additional time to complete the first round of work for those who add the course to their schedule at the last minute. See the day-by-day calendar on the syllabus for the specific due date.

Technically, a student can take SPN2240 as S/U, but they shouldn’t do so if there is any possibility that they will take classes beyond 2240. The only scenario where a student might take 2240 S/U is when they take 2240 as a senior just because they want to learn more / do more beyond 2201. Contact the coordinator of SPN2240 – Dr. Su Ar Lee (sulee@ufl.edu) for guidance.

See the syllabi for all classes here.

All students handle their own drop/add on one.ufl.edu.

Keep checking one.ufl.edu hourly. There will be much movement in and out of every section all throughout the week of drop/add. In the event that you cannot find a spot, you can take the course during another semester (Summer/Fall/Spring)

If your previous academic background (high school or other college/university) and WebCape score indicate that you would be successful, please send your background form, UFID, and preferred section# of SPN2240. For Fall and Spring classes please contact Dr. John Flanagan johnflanagan@ufl.edu.

Sections of SPN 2200 / 2201 / 2240 are generally offered in person. Occasionally, though, intermediate courses are available online synchronously (with live sessions on Zoom) or asynchronously (no live sessions). Check ONE.UF to see how the course is offered during a particular spring, summer, or fall semester (synchronous sessions are listed as 100% online with a day/time included while asynchronous classes show as 100% online with no specific day/time listed). Online courses are equivalent to face-to-face sections in their overall goals, but the details of the course (including the textbook/program, assignments and assessments, etc.) will differ.

It is important that you examine the Spanish Placement and Equivalency Charts, because if you retake a class that you already have credit for, you will overwrite those credits and they will be lost. There is no “double-dipping” with the Registrar. Note* that we do not accept “pre-AICE” nor “AB initio” credits.

For Summer A classes, contact Dr. Jennifer Wooten (wooten@ufl.edu). For Summer C classes, contact Dr. Fernán Gomez-Monedero (fernan.gomezmone@ufl.edu).