Master’s Degree in Spanish as a Foreign Language: Didactics and Research

• Graduates will be able to contrast the ideas and explanations that are currently used about the processes of language learning in different contexts.
• Graduates will be able to summarize the contributions of the different methodological approaches for the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language, as well as current methodological trends.
• Graduates will be able to explain the different levels of didactic programming: curriculum, program, didactic unit and lesson plan.
• Graduates will be able to handle the reference documents of the regulatory institutions of the foreign language teaching systems, as well as the tools for analyzing the environment and analyzing the needs of the learners in order to design the courses.
• Graduates will be able to design activities and will validate resources that favor the acquisition of vocabulary and grammar.
• Graduates will be able to relate the main procedures and strategies to introduce the intercultural contents in the didactics of SFL.
• Graduates will be able to compile advanced methodological studies of the teaching of SFL according to an approach of integrated learning of language and academic content (CLIL).
• Graduates will be able to analyze the factors that intervene in the learning process and use of SFL, the methodological approaches and the most appropriate didactic and evaluation resources for teaching SFL to different profiles of students (children and adolescents, Chinese speakers, learners of neighboring languages).
• Graduates will be able to detect and solve the learning problems of the non-native learner related to the phonetic and orthographic forms of words, sentences and texts in Spanish.
• Graduates will be able to compile and establish at an advanced level the fundamentals of the didactics of pronunciation, intonation and spelling in SFL.
• Graduates will be able to apply the main procedures, techniques and tests of statistical analysis for the processing and interpretation of data.
• Graduates may apply different techniques for the construction of scientific texts that are typical of professional and academic communication (research article, doctoral thesis, review, conference communication, etc.).

• Graduates will be able to critically analyze experiences in the foreign language classroom considering the new learning models.
• Graduates will be able to effectively and coherently program a lesson plan in the field of teaching Spanish as a foreign language.
• Graduates will be able to design comprehension, expression, interaction and oral and written mediation activities, aimed at SFL learners of different levels of SFL proficiency.
• Graduates will be able to integrate into the communicative activities the exercise of metacognitive, cognitive and socio-affective strategies that facilitate the resolution of the task for the learner, in order to favor their autonomous learning of the language.
• Graduates will be able to adequately plan the practice of the different communication skills, in relation to both the linguistic content and the learning processes.
• Graduates will be able to reflect to later analyze the suitability of the process of correction, evaluation and self-assessment in relation to the learning objectives.
• Graduates will be able to critically evaluate the effectiveness and suitability of the different existing systems and techniques of evaluation within the SFL classroom.
• Graduates will be able to analyze the lexical and grammatical contents of main interest or difficulty for learning SFL and reflect on them.
• Graduates will be able to demonstrate a broad level of understanding of relevant linguistic, communicative and cultural aspects in learning and teaching the vocabulary and grammar of Spanish as L2.
• Graduates will be able to analyze the possible linguistic-cultural misunderstandings that may occur in intercultural communication.
• Graduates will be able to elaborate proposals for an effective communication in intercultural contexts.
• Graduates will be able to critically examine the contributions of digital resources for language learning and manage the basic digital tools for the creation of SFL teaching activities.
• Graduates will be able to analyze the basic components involved in programming a specialty course and develop didactic proposals to work on them in their specific context (Business Spanish, Spanish for the academic field, Spanish as an immigration language, etc.).
• Graduates will be able to develop at an advanced level didactic proposals based on the CLIL methodology.
• Graduates will be able to design SFL didactic proposals at an advanced level for learners of different profiles and contexts.
• Graduates will be able to organize in a specialized way different didactic resources to design didactic activities that will help the learner practice pronunciation, intonation and spelling.
• Graduates may apply to new or little-known environments, within broader or multidisciplinary contexts, the concepts, principles, theories, models and methodologies related to the different fields of linguistics applied to the teaching of foreign languages, relevant to the field of the Spanish language.
• Graduates will be able to adequately and originally create reasoned arguments and formulate reasonable hypotheses in the field of language teaching, psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics.
• Graduates may apply ideas developed in academic articles, or in reports of research, design and innovation projects, in order to demonstrate a high ability for reflection and criticism.
• Graduates will be able to prepare a written report of the integration process in the work team and the contributions made during the internship period, demonstrating the ability to reflect on the tasks performed.
• Graduates will be able to simulate didactic and educational intervention proposals that are adapted to different contexts or empirical studies related to a specific aspect of the area of applied linguistics.
• Graduates will be able to elaborate a didactic project or an empirical study related to the teaching-learning of SFL in the form of a written report and orally defend it before a university tribunal.

• Graduates may distinguish the factors that affect the process of acquisition and learning of a foreign language.
• Graduates will be able to use logical reasoning and coherent reflection and analysis procedures to apply them to any lexical and grammatical content within the scope of Spanish as a foreign language.
• Graduates will be able to explain the principles that regulate the use of language in communicative exchanges, especially those that occur between people of different cultures in an educational context.
• Graduates will be able to formulate and coherently link objectives of their projects and their teaching and didactic products in the field of Spanish as a foreign language.
• Graduates will be able to incorporate strategies and didactic resources in a specialized way to the design and implementation in the classroom of activities typical of the CLIL approach.
• Graduates will be able to reflect on different profiles of students in specific contexts of the field of teaching Spanish as a foreign language.
• Graduates will be able to develop learning skills that allow self-directed or autonomous training and research in the area of Spanish as a foreign language.
• Graduates will be able to develop a positive attitude towards fundamental rights, specifying these principles in cooperative learning and respect for scientific and research ethics.
• Graduates may incorporate specialized knowledge, through personal research or by consulting research results in publications or specialized forums in the field of Spanish as a foreign language.
• Graduates will be able to effectively apply the concepts, tools, resources and methods learned in the Master's subjects to professional performance in the context of teaching and learning Spanish as a foreign language, at the service of a teaching project and integrating into a work team under the supervision of a tutor.
• Graduates will be able to develop and interpret data to issue judgments from specialized bibliography in the field of Spanish as a foreign language.
• Graduates will be able to strengthen the effective and creative use of skills that are typical of intellectual work in the specific area of the mother tongue and communication.

Admission profile:
- Graduates of a Bachelor's degree or equivalent, in the areas of Philology, Linguistics, Translation, Education, Humanities and Communication Sciences.
- The program may be accessed from other university degrees as long as the candidate has experience in teaching-learning other foreign languages, complementary training in foreign language didactics and has the interests of a future SFL teacher.

In the event that the candidate's mother tongue is not Spanish, they must prove a B2 level of Spanish, through any accredited certificate. Candidates who do not have any official certificate of proficiency in SFL must take the SFL language proficiency test from Nebrija University and reach a B2 level.

The procedure in great detail and the list of documentation to be submitted are publicly accessible in a document [+info] that is completed with the calendar of the enrollment process.

In addition to the legal requirements, the university requires passing its own admission tests that will have the following weighting:

• Academic record [30%]: The grades obtained by the candidate in their previous studies will be assessed.
• Structured personal interview [30%]: The suitability of the candidate will be assessed by virtue of their experience, knowledge, technical and professional skills required to successfully take the intended studies. Their motivation and attitudes will also be assessed, as well as other personal aspects that contribute to their adequate adjustment to the chosen studies. The interview will be conducted in Spanish.
• Presentation document of the candidate [10%]: In a personally-prepared document, the candidate will explain their motivation and interest in the requested studies, as well as any other personal circumstance that they consider relevant for the selection process.
• Program-specific test [30%] Questions with closed and open answers about the mechanisms that regulate the use of the Spanish language, the difficulties of Spanish as a non-native language and the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language.

In the event that the candidate's mother tongue is not Spanish, they must prove a B2 level of Spanish, through any accredited certificate. Candidates who do not have any official certificate of proficiency in SFL must take the SFL language proficiency test from Nebrija University and reach a B2 level.

Once the admission tests have been completed, the Admissions Committee analyzes the results and the documentation submitted by the candidate, and approves or rejects the application.

The Admissions Committee will be made up of the Vice Rector for Academic Organization and Faculty, the Director of University Development, the Dean of the School, the Registrar of the University. Any of them may delegate to any person in their department.

The candidate receives written information about their admission, about the process of formalizing their enrollment in the Program and about the final, duly legalized, documentation that they must submit.