College Spanish Tutoring

Spanish I: An Introduction to the Language

Spanish I serves primarily as an introduction to the language. Many people who take this course have little to no experience speaking the language. Usually, this first course focuses on basic grammar tenses such as present (el presente); the most frequently used past tenses, preterite (el pretérito) and imperfect (el imperfecto); and future (el futuro). The class also tends to teach basic vocabulary terms that can be used day-to-day. This may include school terms, home items, animals, etc. This course focuses a lot on memorization of core concepts, so some great resources include Quizlet and flashcards. This course is all about repetition. Some useful dictionary references for beginner students include SpanishDictionary.com (an online Spanish-English dictionary that also has a separate webpage for verb conjugations) and WordReference.

Spanish II: The Second Semester of Beginner Spanish

Spanish II builds on many of the topics of Spanish I. Some tenses commonly learned include subjunctive, and conditional. This class focuses on conversational terms and tends to help the student to have basic conversations in Spanish. There is usually an emphasis on improving one’s speaking proficiency. A great way to master this course is practice. With a tutor, you will be able to practice common phrases and grammar concepts. At this stage in learning the language, students will build a greater vocabulary that allows for more precise expression through the written and spoken word. With this in mind, our tutors will be able to provide help in editing drafts of written assignments and can correct speaking errors before spoken exams or class presentations.

Spanish III, IV, & Beyond

Usually at this point in the Spanish course load, the classes are conducted entirely in Spanish, and students are often expected to express their opinions on complex topics in the target language. While this may seem daunting, it is very rewarding to witness one’s growth in language proficiency up to this point. Immersion is important in the development of fluency in Spanish. Some common topics taught in this course include learning more advanced vocabulary and communication skills that are relevant to speaking about such themes as literature, art, current events, and politics — to name a few. In addition, some grammatical topics include the conditional tense, perfect tenses, and comparison of many tenses. 

At this stage in your learning, it is often helpful to start consuming more media in the target language, whether that be through reading news outlets of Spanish-speaking countries or watching movies and TV shows in Spanish. Because of dialectical variation, it is useful not to limit yourself to solely Spanish media from Spain. Thankfully, streaming platforms like Netflix have many TV shows available in Spanish (Élite [Elite], Alta Mar [High Seas], La casa de papel [Money Heist], La Casa de las Flores [The House of Flowers]). You can also stay up to date on current events by reading El País, which provides both Spanish national news and international news, or El Mundo, which also provides global news (as its name would suggest).