Pitt in Spain - July Session

The course is aimed at students who wish to have a comprehensive and thorough knowledge of Spanish phonetics, and improve their pronunciation. It is structured from a practical point of view, always focusing on practical exercises within a theoretical context. It is important for students to hear and contrast first, and modify and improve later, through a detailed study of phonemes, syllables, stress and a general knowledge of the Spanish phonetic alphabet. This study will delve into phonetic transcription with exercises and explanations to train them in order to achieve an effective use of the language.

This course is intended for students with an advanced level of Spanish who have specific medical/scientific background.  Medical translation, like any specialized translation, requires specific definitions and terminology. Language as well as concepts are equally important. The course will have a theoretical and practical approach. On the one hand, students will learn the role of the medical translator, they will analyze specific English and Spanish medical texts and they will work with direct and indirect translations, that is from Spanish into English and from English into Spanish. Moreover, students will be introduced to interpretation and intercultural mediation in a medical context through different exercises.

Cinema is one of the most popular artistic representation due to its expressive power and narrative ability. Film productions allow us to gain knowledge of and come closer to the Spanish reality from two perspectives: as a historical document and as an aesthetic expression. In this course, students will learn about the Spanish by filming speech, taking as reference important directors and films in the history of Spanish cinema. Moreover, the course aims to make a journey through the history of Spain, from the Civil War until today, taking as reference film productions on this historical period. Spanish film productions are studied from a multidisciplinary perspective to analyze the most relevant historical periods of contemporary Spain. In addition to studying and undertaking critical analysis from different perspectives, students will have the opportunity to acquire the specialized language used in cinema and historiography, enabling them to improve their speaking and to be able to write down their ideas in Spanish, as well as appreciating cinema as a form of artistic and cultural expression that reflects the history of Spain.

This course aims to improve students’ oral and conversational skills. The course provides both linguistic and cultural knowledge. Units follow a linguistic progress for this which goes from the verb to be; ser / estar / haber; prepositions; reflexive verbs; direct and indirect pronouns; irregular verbs; past perfect / imperfect / indefinite; simple future; the conditional tense and the present subjunctive. These grammar points are studied in a context that is related to cultural aspects in Spain. Thus students will see topics such as; the parts of the house, giving directions, using public transportation, food, fashion, a doctor’s visit, cultural festivals: Fallas, bullfighting, Christmas and Easter, among others.

The course offers a historical and interdisciplinary overview of the most relevant characteristics and events of Spanish culture and civilization up to now. It is important to learn and understand the history and the past in order to fully understand Spanish history and society today. This course provides an interdisciplinary approach that integrates the social, political, artistic, religious, ethnographic, anthropological and economic perspectives that will help students understand in greater depth the reality and challenges of the country throughout the different historical periods.

This course is aimed at students who are interested in improving their language skills in a business scenario. The course, its activities, assignments and assessments have a communicative approach, and real-life and business situations are proposed. It focuses mainly on the acquisition of company-specific terminology, oral expression and communication, written expression in letters, resumes and other specialized documents, without forgetting the essential elements involved for a correct cultural and linguistic expression.

The aim of this course is to bring students closer to the life and work of our most influential authors of the 20th and 21st centuries. We will study the essential stylistic features of each author and we will situate them in a particular period or movement. The aim is to integrate different art forms into the most recent historical development, in order for students to identify them in the literary texts of each period.

The course is aimed at students who wish to enhance their communication skills in Spanish. To achieve this goal, new grammatical structures will be introduced, and others that have already been acquired by the student will be strengthened. This course requires students to have passed level B (intermediate level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) in order for them to be able to learn about the contents explained in class with no difficulty. The contents of the course will include four skills: speaking, writing, listening and reading comprehension. Students will therefore acquire greater confidence and independence, enabling them to express themselves in Spanish fluently. Cultural and social aspects will also have great presence and they will be integrated into the communication process.