Spanish Placement Instructions | LSU Foreign Languages and Literatures

Entry Level Spanish

Spanish 1101 (4 credits) - TWThF

This course is designed for a “true beginner” (i.e., someone who has never taken Spanish). Students place into this course only if they have no previous experience learning Spanish in high school (or elsewhere). If the high school transcript or transcript from another university shows no previous coursework in Spanish, then enrollment is allowed in this course. SPAN 1101 seeks to develop students’ speaking, reading, writing, and reading skills along with an appreciation for culture via a communicative approach. The course is taught entirely in Spanish.

Spanish 1102 (4 credits) - TWThF

This course is a continuation of SPAN 1101. Students cannot place directly into this course; they only enter this course after successfully completing SPAN 1101. SPAN 1102 seeks to develop students’ speaking, reading, writing, and reading skills along with an appreciation for culture via a communicative approach. The course is taught entirely in Spanish. Once SPAN 1102 is completed, the next scheduled class is SPAN 2101 (NOT 1152).

Spanish 1152 (4 credits) - TWThF

Spanish 1152 is designed for a “high beginner” Spanish language learner. This course was developed for those students who have at least 2 years of previous experience learning Spanish but who need a review of the basics of the language. SPAN 1152 covers the content of SPAN 1101 and SPAN 1102 (using the exact same text) in one semester. SPAN 1152 seeks to develop students’ speaking, reading, writing, and reading skills along with an appreciation for culture via a communicative approach. The course is taught entirely in Spanish. Once 1152 has been completed, the next scheduled class is SPAN 2101.

NOTE: SPAN 1152 is the lowest course in which students can place (i.e., after taking the Spanish placement exam). If a student successfully passes 1152 (i.e., getting a “C”, “B” or “A”), the student will receive credit for SPAN 1101. The student receives 4 credits for successful completion of SPAN 1152 and 4 credits for SPAN 1101. It’s possible to earn 8 credits if the student successfully completes SPAN 1152 by earnng a "C" or better in the class.

SPAN 2101(3 credits) - MWF

SPAN 2101 is an Intermediate Spanish I course. In addition to recycling/reviewing information covered in lower-level courses, it also presents learners with new grammatical concepts (e.g., the present subjunctive mood) along with compound tenses. SPAN 2101 seeks to develop students’ speaking, reading, writing, and reading skills at a more sophisticated level along with an appreciation for culture via a communicative approach. The course is taught entirely in Spanish. Once 2101 is completed the student enrolls in 2102.

SPAN 2102 (3 credits) - MWF

SPAN 2102 is an Intermediate Spanish course. In addition to recycling/reviewing information covered in lower-level courses, it also presents learners with new grammatical concepts (e.g., the imperfect or past subjunctive mood) along with compound tenses. SPAN 2102 seeks to continue developing students’ speaking, reading, writing, and reading skills at a more sophisticated level along with an appreciation for culture via a communicative approach. The course is taught entirely in Spanish. Once 2102 is completed, students either complete the language sequence/requirement or continue with upper-level Spanish courses (e.g., 2155, 2156 and beyond).