Short course
Spanish: Intermediate Conversation
Course status:
Applications being accepted
Dates:
14/04/2027 - 16/06/2027
Study format:
In-person weekly
Fees:
£315.00
Join this course to develop your confidence in spoken Spanish across a range of everyday contexts, including personal, social and professional settings. Through engaging activities, multimedia resources, and interactive discussions, you will build confidence in listening and speaking.
The course will help expand your vocabulary, refine grammar accuracy, and improve your fluency while discussing topics such as travel, relationships, work, and leisure activities. We will explore nuanced language use, including formal and informal registers, and some idiomatic expressions Join this course to develop your confidence in spoken Spanish across a range of everyday contexts, including personal, social, and professional settings.
Is this the right level course for you?
To benefit from the course, participants should have done one of the following:
- Completed our Spanish: Intermediate level courses (Part 1 and Part 2); or
- Studied Spanish for approximately three years; or
- Achieved or are near the B1 Level of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages in Spanish.
New students, who have not completed 'Part 1' and 'Part 2', whose proficiency in the language is appropriate for the course level are very welcome.
Book this course
Book your place online using the button below.
Level and demands
This course is pitched at B1 Level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
Find out more about our language levels.
Course aims
Develop learners’ conversational skills to interact more confidently in familiar situations, at work, and while travelling in a country where the language is spoken.
Course objectives
- Develop learners’ listening comprehension skills to understand the language of diverse speakers, including different accents and faster speech.
- Enhance fluency through class activities that cover a variety of situations likely to be encountered at work, in social contexts, and while travelling abroad.
- Encourage the use of a variety of lexical repertoire, grammar structures, and registers to construct clear and coherent sentences.
- Consolidate understanding of cultural nuances, some idiomatic expressions, and social etiquette.
Programme details
Course starts 14 April 2027
This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Wednesdays, 5.00-7.00pm.
The weekly schedule below is intended to give an indication of the main topic(s) likely to be covered in each session. Please note that these may sometimes change according to the tutor’s discretion to reflect the interests of course participants.
Week 1: How did it all begin?
Week 2: Turning points and life decisions
Week 3: Living elsewhere – immigration, travel, and identity
Week 4: Dilemmas and what would you do?
Week 5: Utopias and fears – the world we’d like (or not) to see
Week 6: The power of storytelling – myths, legends and personal tales
Week 7: Food, identity and cultural memory
Week 8: Work, ambition and what defines success
Week 9: Media, misinformation and digital life
Week 10: Rituals, celebrations and how we mark time
Grammar points
– Pretérito indefinido, imperfecto, and pretérito perfecto
– Pretérito pluscuamperfecto, narrative review, conditionals
– The present subjunctive in expressions of emotion, opinion, and uncertainty
– The imperfect subjunctive and conditional (second conditional)
– The subjunctive mood, future expressions, speculative conditionals
– Reported speech (estilo indirecto), use of se in impersonal constructions
– Relative clauses and cohesive devices for narration
– Por vs para in abstract and figurative use
– The passive voice and reflexive passive
– Prepositions and discourse connectors in the more complex expression of thoughts
Key functions
– Origin stories, first memories, important past experiences
– Reflecting on personal and historical “what ifs” and key decisions
– Exploring what it means to live abroad or between cultures
– Moral or social dilemmas, giving advice, role-playing problem solving
– Imagining better (or worse) futures: environment, society, AI, politics
– Telling personal or fictional stories, using tension and detail
– Connecting food and memory, sharing traditions and identity
– Discussing career paths, values and personal definitions of success
– Analysing digital culture, expressing opinions on news and media
– Describing and comparing traditions, reflecting on the passage of time
Teaching methods
You will learn through practical, task‑based classroom activities that encourage the active use of the target language. Sessions typically integrate meaningful scenarios, pair and small‑group work, and collaborative problem‑solving in a supportive and friendly environment. These tasks bring together speaking, listening, reading, and writing, enabling you to apply the language purposefully in real‑world situations.
The course is designed to build your spoken and listening abilities while deepening your understanding of cultural nuances, etiquette, and everyday usage. We will work with new grammatical structures through meaningful, communicative tasks, and you will continue developing your reading and writing skills both in class and independently through self‑study.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be better prepared to:
- understand standard speech at natural speed in a variety of situations likely to be encountered at work, in social contexts and while travelling abroad.
- speak more confidently in a variety of contexts, initiating, maintaining, and closing conversations on a range of topics.
- use a range of lexical repertoire and grammar structures to express ideas and give reasons.
- recognise cultural nuances, registers and some idiomatic expressions.
Assessment methods
Formative assessment will be conducted through a range of collaborative activities, including discussions, debates, role‑plays, and short presentations, in which learners use the language to achieve communicative goals. Tasks based on authentic or semi‑authentic audio and video materials will be used to evaluate learners’ understanding of spoken language in context. Participants are encouraged to engage actively in these activities to benefit from continuous tutor feedback and support ongoing progress.
Mr Esteban Cichello Hubner
Esteban Cichello-Hubner studied International Relations, Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition at Hertford College, University of Oxford and completed a teaching degree at the OU Education Department. He then pursued his Spanish Philology studies at the University of Salamanca. Esteban is an author and an experienced foreign modern languages tutor who has taught several courses at the Oxford University Language Centre and OUDCE.
Mr Leonardo Sanchez Gorosito
Leonardo Sagor is a native qualified Modern Foreign Languages tutor. He is originally from South America and has taught several courses at the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education throughout his career. He is also a composer, a guitar player and a talented singer. Leonardo graduated from the University of Salamanca and obtained his PGCE at the University of Bedfordshire. He is a tireless traveller who has explored more than 50 countries. He recorded his voice for the legendary Michel Thomas language courses and is currently working on teaching Spanish through cinema.
Certification
Digital badge
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be issued with an official digital badge from the Department for Continuing Education, University of Oxford. In order to be issued with your badge, you will need to have attended at least 80% of the course.
After the course, you will receive an email with a link and instructions on how to download your digital badge. You will be able to add this badge to your email signature and share it on social media if you choose to do so.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course fee | £315.00 |
Funding
If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, or are a care-leaver in the UK, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:
Concessionary fees for short courses
Recommended reading
Recommended reading is optional and you are not required to purchase these books to study this course.
Library facilities
All weekly class students may become borrowing members of the Rewley House Library, part of the Bodleian Libraries, for the duration of their course. Prospective students whose courses have not yet started are also welcome to use the Library for reference.
- More information about the Library can be found on the Bodleian Libraries website.
- This guide for Weekly Class students also provides further information.
Course reading
- Practice Makes Perfect / Dorothy Devney Richmond
- Diccionario online de la lengua española: https://dle.rae.es/ / RAE
Textbooks
No textbook required. All course materials will be provided by the course tutor.
Module code: O26P609XSW
Please use the ‘Book now’ button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form.
