Hispanic studies: developing autonomous language – learning strategy for Spanish WebCT

Abstract

This project aimed to develop a complete on-line resource for Ab Initio students in Hispanic Studies in order to prepare them to join the post A-level group in the second year. Furthermore, it also aimed to assist students from other programmes with important gaps in their knowledge of Spanish.

These materials serve two main educational purposes:
a)Reinforcing classroom material with activities oriented towards lexical and grammatical practice as well as reading and listening comprehension. This set of materials provides the students with tools and techniques for revising the content presented in the classroom, for deepening their understanding of particular key concepts and for analysing their own process of learning.

b) Developing learning strategies to enhance autonomy and responsibility, as the students are encouraged to reflect on their learning in order to improve the outcome. This helps them to examine their own contribution to their learning as well as to monitor their own progress. This constitutes a useful guidance for independent study time and practical guidance on how to learn.