Spanish Vocabulary: Sports, Travel, and the Home

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/spanish-vocabulary-sports-travel-home

Introduction

# Course Review: Spanish Vocabulary: Sports, Travel, and the Home ## Introduction If you're looking to enhance your Spanish vocabulary and communication skills in an engaging way, Coursera's course, *Spanish Vocabulary: Sports, Travel, and the Home*, is an excellent choice. This robust course is part of a broader specialization and serves as a bridge to more advanced discussions about sports, travel, and living arrangements within the rich cultural context of the Spanish-speaking world. Below, I'll provide an overview of the course structure, content, and why I highly recommend it for anyone interested in elevating their Spanish fluency. ## Course Overview *Spanish Vocabulary: Sports, Travel, and the Home* focuses on expanding your vocabulary and grammatical understanding necessary for discussing various cultural elements. By the course's end, you will not only be able to converse about sports and travel but also articulate your living arrangements and experiences in both the past and present tenses. ### Syllabus Breakdown 1. **Module 1: Talking About Sports and Pastimes** - This module kicks off with an exploration of sports, a vital aspect of many Spanish-speaking cultures. You'll learn vocabulary associated with different sports and pastimes while practicing how to discuss ongoing events. - A key feature of this module is the introduction of the progressive tense, allowing you to express actions in progress. - Additionally, you'll gain a deeper understanding of helping verbs and how to utilize the verb *hacer* to create adverbs, enhancing your conversational skills. - Engaging with a soccer player in the *perspectivas* section adds a real-world context that makes learning practical and relatable. 2. **Module 2: Talking About Travel** - Travel is another essential topic in the Spanish-speaking world, and this module equips you with terminology for discussing trips and travel experiences. - You will be introduced to the past tense, allowing you to narrate past experiences and describe events that have happened. - This section also emphasizes the frequent use of certain adverbs with the past tense, paving the way for more nuanced conversations and storytelling. - Meeting Fer, who shares her travel adventures in Southeast Asia, provides inspiration and context for using the vocabulary practically. 3. **Module 3: Talking About Your Living Arrangements** - The final module focuses on life experiences related to living arrangements, discussing varied lifestyles from farm life to urban living. - You will practice storytelling in the past, learning to differentiate between the imperfect and preterite tenses. - Introduction to irregular preterite verbs adds complexity to your understanding of verb conjugations. - Rebeca, another engaging persona in the *perspectivas* section, shares her experiences with different living conditions, further enriching your learning experience. ## Why You Should Take This Course 1. **Comprehensive Vocabulary Building**: The course naturally flows through different themes, allowing you to build a lexicon that is both practical and culturally relevant. 2. **Focus on Conversational Skills**: Engaging with real-life scenarios and interviews with native speakers provides an immersive learning experience, helping you develop confidence in speaking. 3. **Structured Learning Path**: The syllabus is thoughtfully structured, progressively introducing complex concepts while reinforcing past knowledge. 4. **Community of Learners**: Coursera allows you to interact with fellow learners, offering additional support and practice opportunities that can be incredibly beneficial. 5. **Access to Expert Instruction**: The course is designed by educators specializing in language acquisition, ensuring high-quality instruction and resources. ## Conclusion *Spanish Vocabulary: Sports, Travel, and the Home* on Coursera is a remarkable course for anyone eager to enhance their Spanish skills while diving into culturally significant topics. I wholeheartedly recommend this course to language learners at an intermediate level who wish to expand their vocabulary and improve their conversational abilities in a fun and engaging way. Enroll now, and get ready to discuss everything from your favorite sports to your latest travel adventures in Spanish!

Syllabus

Module 1: Talking About Sports and Pastimes

We will kick off this first module with a discussion of sports and favorite pastimes. You will build your Spanish vocabulary in these areas as well as practice talking about ongoing events. We will discuss how to use helping verbs with the present participle, and you will expand your understanding and use of the verb hacer to form new combinations and create new adverbs. We’ll also interact with a soccer (fútbol) player in the perspectivas portion of the module.

In this module we will add vocabulary that will help you talk about trips and travel. You will also begin to work with the past tense, and describe things that happened in the past. We will also explore the adverbs frequently associated with the past, and you’ll expand your command of the verb hacer to signal “ago”. Finally, in the perspectivas portion of the module, you’ll meet Fer and hear about her adventures in Southeast Asia.

In this last module we will discuss living arrangements such as life on the farm or in the city, or living with family or on your own. You will practice narrating stories that happened in the past and compare the imperfect tense to the preterite. We will introduce some irregular preterite verbs and in the perspectivas section, you will listen carefully to Rebeca who will talk about several of the living arrangements she has experienced.