Business Spanish

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This Advanced Spanish Business course seeks to develop language skills such as listening, speaking, reading, writing, and translation/interpretation for professional business purposes.
In this course, the student will receive a solid foundation regarding vocabulary and discourse on different types of firms, human resources, intercultural communication and the modern world of business and communications. The course will also help develop their geographical knowledge and cultural understanding of the Hispanic world, essential for doing business successfully in the global market.

JUSTIFICATION
The Spanish language has taken an unprecedented boom in recent years. This is due, in large part, to the economic growth of the Spanish speaking countries and their increasing integration into cultural and historical processes making the Spanish language, a necessary language in the field of business, science and technology.

Thanks to its strategic geographical position in the Latin American Caribbean, Barranquilla, a cosmopolitan city, has become over the years, the epicenter of the cultural pulse of the entire region. The warmth and friendliness of its people, its sunny and tropical environment, its growing industry and the high academic quality of educational institutions make Barranquilla a proper city for the development of international programs.

In this regard, the Languages Institute at Universidad Del Norte wanted to take the lead in spreading the language and culture in the Caribbean region. Our extensive experience in the area, has led to the design of a curriculum that integrates language and cultural learning, method that not only achieves the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language, but also enriches the cultural experience of all students.

GENERAL OBJECTIVES
At the end of this course the student will:

• Write effectively at advanced level letters and other documents required for communication in the field of business.
• Participate appropriately in different types of professional situations and negotiations, interviews, courtesy visits, etc.
• Exchange points of view, and personal and professional experiences around topics of interest.
• Develop linguistic strategies language to succeed in the Latin American business world.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
At the end of this course the student will:

Listening comprehension

• Understand any kind of spoken language, whether live or in broadcasts such as conferences or lectures, even when delivered at fast native speed.
• Understand without much effort television shows about everyday situations of working life of a company.

Reading comprehension

• Identify the role and typology of a text or document, and the intention of its author or sender.
• Understand the main ideas and extract specific information from oral texts in different themes to work.
• Identify general and specific information in a text, make inferences and draw conclusions

Written expression

• Produce well-structured texts by organizing ideas and information coherently and intelligibly.
• Prepare reports from notes taken from a lecture, talk or lecture using language specific business context.

Oral Expression

• Provide clear, detailed descriptions on relevant topics such as employee concerns, the working environment on the productivity of a company as well as the keys to motivating staff, developing particular points and rounding off with an appropriate conclusion.
• Show good linguistic knowledge of social norms in the world of a company.

Oral interaction

• Participate and maintain a small group discussion on issues of general interest and business where developing arguments for and against is demonstrated.
• Identify and develop vocabulary about companies, investment, advertising and banking world.
• Adequately cope in a negotiation using appropriate language resources for the situation.

CONTENTS
This course seeks to give students a solid foundation in the field of business through exercises with a communicative approach.
Students will become familiar with the basic terms of trade and the economy in Latin American countries and they will be able to integrate that knowledge with the geographical context and culture of these countries.

FUNCTIONAL CONTENT

• Vocabulary related to the business world
• The language of business professionals
• Classification of companies
• Trade and its components
• Banking
• Bank documents: checks, transfers ...
• Corporate positions and functions

CULTURAL CONTENT

• The economy of Spain
• The economy of Latin America
• Internationalization of Latin American companies
• Major markets in Latin America: MERCOSUR, MCRA, CAN
• Globalization

METHODOLOGY
This program is based on a situational approach in which the students, through various situations, are immersed in a variety of labor and social contexts that encourage negotiation.

During class, instructor and students will recreate different kinds of everyday life situations in the world of business; for example, learn the steps to join a company dedicated to agricultural products whose main clientele is in Colombia.

In addition, we will use audiovisual media (videos, movies, newspapers, magazines, internet and articles of interest) to ensure variety and quality as well as the implementation of activities such as comprehensive readings of various types of texts and communicative practices.

EVALUATION
The academic monitoring of efforts, progress and achievements of the students is a result of teacher observations regarding student's performance in class activities, and written exams, interviews and conversations with the teacher and in class role plays. Students must carry out a project following the teacher's instructions where the structures and vocabulary learned in class are used. The evaluation process will be as follows:

Oral presentations - 40%
Written exams - 20%
Vocabulary quizzes - 10%
Final Exam - 30%

RESOURCES

• Dictionaries
• Video Manual
• Lab Manual
• CDs
• DVDs/Videos
• Television
• Overhead projector
• Computer Lab
• Computer Programs
• Internet
• Video beam
• Flashcards
• Photocopies
• Games
• Textbooks: Panorama, Enfoques, Aula Internacional

STUDENTS PROGRESS REPORT
During the course, the teacher will give the students the results of evaluations with feedback on their performance. After completing the course, the student will receive a final grade and may request a certificate of completion at the Registrar Office including the final grade obtained if required.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Emilio Iriarte Romero y Emilia Núñez Pérez: Empresa Siglo XXI. Nivel avanzado - superior. EDINUMEN. Madrid.

Mª José Pareja: Temas de Empresa. Nivel avanzado. EDINUMEN. Madrid

Olga Juan, Cecilia Ainciburu, Ana Zaragoza, Beatriz Muñoz: En Equipo.es. Nivel avanzado. EDINUMEN. Madrid.

Ángel Felices, Emilio Iriarte, Emilia Núñez y M. ª Ángeles Calderón: Cultura y Negocios. Niveles avanzado ? superior. EDINUMEN. Madrid.

Pablo Bonell, Marisa de Prada, Carlos Schmidt y Ana Señor: Negocio a la vista. Niveles avanzado ? superior. EDINUMEN. Madrid.
Marcelo Tano: Socios. Nivel Avanzado. DIFUSION. Madrid.
Aslihan Agdanli: La dimensión intercultural de las actividades de los manuales de español de los negocios del nivel B2-C1 del MCER.
Gisèle Prost, Alfredo Noriega: Al Día, Curso de español para los negocios. Nivel superior.
Wanda Lauterborn: Comunicaciones por Teléfono. ARCO LIBROS. Madrid.
Ana María Brenes Garcia: Exposiciones de Negocios en Español. ARCO LIBROS. Madrid.
Josefa Gómez de Enterría y Sánchez: La Comunicación Escrita en la Empresa. ARCO LIBROS. Madrid.