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OLLI Spanish Courses

Senior hispanic woman at a party

Finding the right course.

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) members, age 50 and over, planning to take an OLLI Spanish course should use the guidance below to self-assess their communication skills to find the best class for their level.

Elementary
You can communicate a few basic questions and ideas, but with alot of mistakes.
Suggested Courses: Spanish I for Everyday Life or Real Life Spanish Conversation I

Pre-Intermediate
Limited vocabulary, but with some help you can participate in basic conversations.
Suggested Courses: Spanish II for Everyday Life or Real Life Spanish Conversation I

spanish menu on a chalkboard

Intermediate
Now you can converse in many situations, with less serious errors.
Suggested Courses: Spanish III for Everyday Life or Real Life Spanish Conversation II

Upper-Intermediate
You're comfortable in most situations, still making some small mistakes.
Suggested Courses: Spanish IV for Everyday Life or Real Life Spanish Conversation II

Advanced
You're comfortable in most situations, strong vocabulary, few errors.
Suggested Courses: Literary Spanish or High-Level Spanish Conversation

Spanish for Everyday Life I-IV
These courses teach you the grammar and vocabulary foundation needed to read and write in Spanish.  Students will receive some lecture as well as be assigned short readings in Spanish. We offer these courses on an annual cycle:  Spanish I is offered in the summer; Spanish II is offered in the fall; Spanish III is offered in the winter; and Spanish IV or Literary Spanish is offered in the spring. 

Real Life Spanish Conversation I
This is a conversation course for those with a basic grasp of the Spanish language. Students in this level require some time to construct their sentences and the conversation moves at a slower pace. Students tend to ask the instructor for help with vocabulary words and grammar.

Students enrolling into this course should be familiar with:

  • Numbers and ages
  • Dates and times
  • Greetings
  • Asking & answering basic questions
  • Describing people & places

Real Life Spanish Conversation II
This is a conversation course for those with a stronger grasp of the Spanish language, but who are not yet fluent.  Students in this level construct their sentences without many pauses and the conversation moves at a moderate pace.  Students tend to ask the instructor for help with grammar more so than with vocabulary.

In addition to the topics listed for Real Life Spanish Conversation I, students should be comfortable with:

  • Present tense grammar
  • Common regular verbs (hablar, vivir, comer, etc.)
  • Common irregular verbs (ser, estar, tener, ir, querer, etc.)
  • Familiarity with some past and future grammar
  • Using appropriate articles (el, la, los, la, un, unos, unas)
  • Translating complete sentences (from English to Spanish & Spanish to English)