Master in Spanish as a Foreign Language: Research and Professional Practices

Objectives and competences

Objectives and competences

Objectives

The aim of this master's degree is to train experts in Spanish as a foreign language or as a second language (SFL/L2). For this purpose, students will gain deep, systematic knowledge of the main characteristics of Spanish language and culture, which can then be applied to processes of teaching Spanish to learners with other initial languages.

Competences

• Linguistic, pragmatic and cultural knowledge of the use of Spanish in context, to plan teaching in SFL/l2 environments.
• Specialised knowledge on linguistic and cultural variety in the Spanish-speaking world, to attain broad competence in the use of Spanish.
• Capacity to assess linguistic and communicative quality of texts or discourses that are oral, written, audiovisual and digital produced in Spanish using the media and social networks and assessing their educational potential.
• Knowledge of the main research trends for the teaching of foreign languages and their application in the FL/L2 classroom.
• Capacity to assess linguistic and cultural knowledge of Spanish students.
• Ability to organise the teaching/learning process in an SFL/L2 course.
• Capacity to integrate the knowledge required to use various information and communication technologies in the SFL classroom.
• Capacity to design and produce material to develop the four types of communication, language skills, sociolinguistic competence and pragmatic competence.
• Capacity to design and carry out a research study on SFL/L2.
• Capacity to critically assess the methodological design of empirical studies on SFL/L2.
• Capacity to identify, understand and assess the main types of studies on SFL/L2.
• Capacity to transfer and apply the research results in SFL/L2 into teaching practice.

Access and admission

Applicant profile and access requirements

Recommended applicant profile

The ideal candidates to take the master's degree are graduates in Spanish. In addition, the study programme could be interesting for Spanish or international students of other languages, linguistics, humanities, social sciences, teacher training, translation and interpretation, or education.
Our course is attractive to graduates in any area who are interested in studying the Spanish language, to learn about its structure and gain a command of the contexts of its interpersonal and social use. It could also be interesting to students who are aware of the importance of an expert command of Spanish as a relevant skill. Consequently, the coordinating committee of the master's degree will study each of the applications and could accept students from different academic backgrounds to the ideal if they have a special interest in the study programme and can prove that they have professional experience (or have carried out training activities) relating to the area of Spanish as a foreign language.

Access requirements and conditions

General requirements
In accordance with Article 16 of Royal Decree 1393/2007, of 29 October, students wishing to be admitted to a university master's degree must hold one of the following qualifications:

• Official Spanish university degree.


• A degree issued by a higher education institution within the European Higher Education Area framework that authorizes the holder to access university master's degree courses in the country of issue.


• A qualification issued by an institution outside the framework of the European Higher Education Area. In this case, applicants must request homologation of the degree to its equivalent official Spanish university qualification or obtain express approval from the University of Barcelona, which will conduct a study of equivalence to ensure that the degree is of a comparable level to an official Spanish university qualification and that it grants access to university master's degree study in the country of issue. Admission shall not, in any case, imply that prior qualifications have been recognized as equivalent to a Spanish master's degree and does not confer recognition for any purposes other than that of admission to the master's degree course.

Specific requirements
Graduates in Spanish (no bridging courses required) have priority.
Graduates with previous training related to the following courses: graduates in linguistics, philology (of any language), modern languages, humanities, translation and interpretation, teacher training and foreign language teaching methodology (no bridging courses required).
Graduates of qualifications other than the above, in areas similar to the master's degree (humanities or social sciences), may need to take bridging courses if they do not have previous training in linguistics or philology
(12 ECTS), depending on the specialisation, the subjects that were taken in the degree, the teacher training courses in SFL/L2 that they have completed before the master's degree or their professional experience in SFL/L2 teaching.
Candidates of the master's degree who are from foreign universities, even if they are graduates in philology, may need bridging courses if the review of their academic transcripts shows that they have only instrumental training in Spanish.

Pre-enrolment

Calendar

1 March - 15 September 2024.

Notes:

• Pre-enrolment fee: A pre-enrolment fee of 30,21 euros is charged. Students who apply to more than one master's degree must pay the fee for each pre-enrolment request. Pre-enrolment requests cannot be processed until this fee has been paid.Fees will only be refunded if the master's degree in question is suspended.
• Reserved places: A maximum of 5% of the new places of the master's degree are reserved for students who meet the general and specific access requirements and accredit the recognition of a degree of disability equal to or greater than 33%.

Required documentation

• Pre-enrolment application
  
• Photocopy of degree certificate or equivalent qualification. In case of admission, foreign degrees that require so should be translated and authenticated through diplomatic channels before completing the enrolment.
  
• Other specific documentation related to the selection criteria

Selection criteria

The master's degree coordination committee considers the following criteria, in the order of priority indicated below:

1. Bachelor's degree in Spanish Philology or equivalent (60%).
2. Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Linguistics, Philology (of any other language), Translation and Interpreting, Teacher Training, Teacher Training in Foreign Languages ​(50%).
3. Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Humanities and disciplines related to social sciences (40%).
4. Strength of academic record and curriculum vitae (20%).
5. Language skills. A good level of English is essential (Level B2, CEFR);  merit is also given for knowledge of other languages that have traditionally been studied in Spain such as French, Italian and German (­level B1), and other languages such as Chinese or Russian (level A2), from different places in the world in which the interest in studying Spanish has increased considerably (10%).
6. Other training, personal interests and motivation for studying the master's degree (5%).
7. Personal interview, if required by the Coordination Committee (5%).

 

Command of Spanish language for international students from countries where the mother tongue is not Spanish. An admission criteria is that international students must have an advanced Spanish language level (C1-C2). Candidates who can provide evidence of this level of Spanish knowledge with an official diploma DELE are given priority.

Notification

The Commission will resolve the admissions in the first days of July. Candidates accepted for the master's degree receive notification via email and a letter issued by the Secretary's Office of the Faculty of Philology and Communication.

Enrolment

As a general rule, at the UB you will be required to enrol online. Remember that you can lose your place if you do not enrol on the day you have been assigned

• Documents required for enrolment
• Procedure to formalize enrolment
• Grants and financial aid (in Catalan)
• Economic information (in Catalan)

Welcome

• Student Support Service
• Grants and financial aid (in Catalan)
• Accommodation

Course curriculum

Subjects and course plans

Distribution of credits

List of subjects

Subject	Type	Language	Credits
Specialization: BC for admission to the Master's Degree in Spanish as a Foreign Language: Research and Professional Practices
Introduction to Spanish Language for Teachers of Spanish as a Foreign Language/Second Language I	Optional	1st semester	6
Introduction to Spanish Language for Teachers of Spanish as a Foreign Language/Second Language II	Optional	1st semester	6

Bridging courses

Subject	Type	Language	Credits
Specialization: Spanish as a Foreign Language: Research and Professional Practices
Analysis and Design of Teaching Units	Compulsory	2nd semester	3
Approaches in the Teaching of Spanish as a Foreign Language/Second Language	Optional	1st semester	3
Didactic Strategies for the Use of ICTs in the Spanish as a Foreign Language/Second Language Classroom	Optional	2nd semester	3
Digital Linguistic Resources for the Teaching of Spanish as a Foreign Language/Second Language	Optional	2nd semester	3
Final Project	Compulsory	1st semester 2nd semester	9
Institutional or Company Placement	Compulsory	1st semester 2nd semester	9
Intercultural Pragmatics	Compulsory	1st semester	3
Lexical Configuration in the Teaching of Spanish as a Foreign Language/Second Language	Compulsory	1st semester	3
Processes of Lexical Creation in Spanish	Compulsory	1st semester	3
Professional Discourse in Spanish as a Foreign Language/Second Language	Optional	2nd semester	3
Research Methodology in Spanish as a Foreign Language/Second Language	Compulsory	2nd semester	3
Social Networks and Digital Media in the Spanish as a Foreign Language/Second Language Classroom	Optional	1st semester	3
Spanish Grammar in the Teaching of Spanish as a Foreign Language/Second Language I	Compulsory	1st semester	3
Spanish Grammar in the Teaching of Spanish as a Foreign Language/Second Language II	Compulsory	1st semester	3
Spoken and Written Communication Skills for Teachers of Spanish as a Foreign Language/Second Language	Optional	2nd semester	3
Teaching of Spanish as a Foreign Language/Second Language Around the World	Optional	1st semester	3
Teaching of Spanish Pronunciation and Entonation	Compulsory	1st semester	3
The Diversity of Spanish in the Spanish as a Foreign Language/Second Language Classroom	Compulsory	1st semester	3
The Grammar of Orality	Compulsory	1st semester	3
Theoretical and Methodological Principles of Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language to Immigrants, Refugees, Children and Adolescents	Optional	2nd semester	3

Previous years

• Course plans 2022 - 2023
• Course plans 2021 - 2022

Teaching staff

List of spring and autumn teaching staff on a current course

Placements

Placements in a company or another type of organization are an integral part of university studies, providing first-hand experience of working methodologies in students' chosen professional fields. They offer invaluable practical experience for the transition into work after graduation.

Placements are supervised by tutors and subject to assessment. They are therefore included in the academic record.  There is also an option to complete non-curricular placements of up to 750 hours, which can be extended to 900 hours. For both curricular and non-curricular placements, an educational cooperation agreement is signed between the UB and the company, institution or other organization at which the placement will be carried out.

Institutional information

• Regulations on external placements


• FeinaUB

Career opportunities

What can you work on ?

The aim of the master's degree is to prepare highly qualified specialists in the area of SFL/L2 in professional contexts for the job market. For this purpose, the master's degree includes external placements in the course plan. Placements bring students closer to working in the profession in a company or institution that is directly related with the field of Spanish as a foreign language.
The main career opportunities are:
- Teacher of Spanish as a foreign language
- Designer and editor of educational materials for the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language.
- Language consultant.
- Manager of language consulting centres.
- Specialist in the application of ICT to the teaching of Spanish.
The master's degree has also been defined as a path to enter the specialisation Varieties of Spanish in Professional Areas and SFL, from the doctoral programme Linguistic, Literary and Cultural Studies of the Faculty of Philology and Communication.

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