Spanish is the primary language in over 20 countries worldwide. It is spoken by 560 million people globally. There are 460 million native Spanish speakers, making Spanish the second largest population of native speakers in the world. Speaking Spanish offers limitless opportunities to explore other cultures, people and societies as well as travel throughout the awe-inspiring Hispanic world with confidence. We encourage you to learn this growing language, which is important today and will be even more so in the future. This course will allow students to: •enhance their linguistic skills. •develop control of the Spanish language to convey meaning, using spoken and written skills, for both practical and intellectual purposes. •develop language learning skills and strategies, including communication strategies to sustain communication and build fluency and confidence. •engage critically with intellectually stimulating texts, films and other materials originally produced in Spanish, understanding them within their cultural and social context. •develop knowledge about matters central to the society and culture, past and present, of the countries where Spanish is spoken.