BA Hons Spanish & Hospitality and Tourism Management

Program Overview

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Why this course?

With more than 500 million native speakers, Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language in the world. Speaking Spanish will help you conduct business more confidently in countries that are becoming increasingly important in world markets.

Studying with us will give you the chance to become a fluent linguist and, with our year abroad programme, an opportunity to experience living, working and/or studying in another country.

Hospitality & Tourism is the largest, and fastest growing, sector of the domestic and global economies, generating over £5 billion for the Scottish economy.

We will ensure that you develop the necessary skills to manage operations and businesses in areas including hospitality, tourism, cultural heritage, festivals and events.

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What you’ll study

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Spanish

In every year, teaching focuses heavily on language work, but you'll also discover the culture of Spain and Spanish-speaking countries.

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Year 1

Two streams are offered in first-year: one for students with Higher Spanish or equivalent qualification in their chosen language and another for those without. Students in both classes study contemporary Spanish language and aspects of the country’s culture and society.

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Year 2 & 3

You'll continue to develop your reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. In the cultural class each year, you'll learn more about the history, politics, literature, and cinema of Spain and Spanish-speaking countries.

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Year abroad

Honours students spend a year abroad after Year 3, usually working as an English teaching assistant, gaining experience on a work placement or studying at a foreign institution.

This is a central highlight of the course and a major formative experience for students not just in terms of language, but on many different levels, personal as well as professional.

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Year 4

In your final year, you'll concentrate on translation, written and oral language and interpreting. You'll also have the chance to write a dissertation in Spanish. If however, you choose to write your dissertation for your other Honours subjects, you'll take two of our cultural classes. These classes reflect the research expertise of our staff and currently focus on topics such as social and political issues in Spanish and Latin American cinema, Spanish 20

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century philosophy and history or an Introduction to Translation theory.

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Major projects

At Honours level, you'll work on a specific project for your dissertation. You'll be supervised by a member of our teaching staff.

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Student competitions

The Stevenson Exchange Scholarship is a competitive award which offers students funding towards a project they wish to undertake while on their year abroad. Staff select and interview several candidates for this each year.

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Hospitality & Tourism Management

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Year 1

You’ll be introduced to the basic concepts, issues and features of hospitality, tourism, cultural heritage, festivals and events.

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Year 2

Classes include Service Encounter Management and Destination Positioning & Management.

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Year 3

You’ll have the chance to put theory into practice planning and executing a corporate, entertainment or charitable event.

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Year 4

The core class is Tourism Analysis & Case Studies as well as a choice of other classes. You’ll also undertake a dissertation on the hospitality and tourism topic of your choice.

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Work placement

In Year 3, you'll have the choice of a work placement class.

It'll usually last six weeks and in the past, our students have completed work placements, both here in the UK and internationally, with organisations like Hilton, Radisson, Glasgow City Council and Visit Scotland.

You're also encouraged to secure work placements over the summer.

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Guest lecturers

Every year we strive to attract great guest speakers for you to hear from.

In the past, we've had the pleasure of hosting academic giant Professor Richard Butler along with the CEO of Citizen M hotels.

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Assessment

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Spanish

Our assessment methods include:

written examinations, including translations

writing for a specific purpose

essays

Continuous assessment ranges from online grammar tests to group projects, while oral/aural tests are performed throughout the course. Students write a dissertation in their final year.

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Hospitality & Tourism

The majority of our classes are assessed by a final, unseen exam, supplemented by one or more forms of individual and/or group coursework. In some cases, students can obtain an exemption from the exam on achieving a specified mark for their coursework (often in conjunction with satisfying attendance requirements.)

Class assessment methods include business reports, case studies, essays, presentations and learning journals.

Students normally have one opportunity to be re-assessed for a failed class.

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Learning & teaching

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Spanish

We focus on the four important language skills:

reading

writing

speaking

listening

We make great use of technology in the classroom – interactive lectures and digital language laboratories – and outside, through the use of web-based learning and streamed Italian television.

In later years, you'll perform presentations, write reports and interpret into English, which prepares you for potential future careers.

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Hospitality & Tourism

Teaching is given over two semesters in blocks of 12 weeks each. Methods include lectures, tutorials and seminars. As a student, you will take part in team-based projects and make use of online teaching materials. Our industrial partners regularly assist in teaching and the assessment of student presentations.

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Single & joint Honours information

English, English and Creative Writing, History, Politics and International Relations and Psychology may be studied to Single or Joint Honours level.

Education, French, Spanish, Law, Journalism, Media and Communication and Social Policy are available only as Joint Honours Programmes. Economics, Human Resource Management, Marketing, Mathematics and Tourism can also be studied alongside a Humanities and Social Sciences subject.

The available subject combinations may change each year. Once accepted on the programme you'll be allocated an advisor of studies who will be able to let you know which subjects can be combined, in first year, and beyond.

Program Outline

Course content

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year abroad

Year 4

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Spanish

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Spanish 1A

This course will further your knowledge of the Spanish language and develop the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking in the Spanish language through intensive practical and communicative language work. This course aims to bring you up to level A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. You'll extend your knowledge of the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world and focus on the development of contemporary Latin America and on how issues relating to it are reflected in its cultural production (for example, films, journalism, songs).

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Spanish 1B

Following on from Spanish 1A, this course will broaden your knowledge of the Spanish language, and enhance basic skills already acquired in reading, writing, listening and speaking. This course aims to bring you up to level A2+ of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. It'll also introduce you to new aspects of the culture of Spain through the materials used. Practical language activities, such as pair and small group work and intensive exposure to Spanish through audio, video and written texts, will enable you to progress from the levels achieved in Spanish 1A. Successful completion of this class will enable students to take Spanish 2A in semester 1 of second year.

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Introduction to Spanish 1A

This course aims to give an introduction to the Spanish language, assuming limited or no previous knowledge of Spanish. It introduces everyday Spanish language, as well as certain aspects of the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. The class is intended to help students to develop the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking in basic Spanish.

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Introduction to Spanish 1B

This course builds on and develops the knowledge acquired in Introduction to Spanish 1A. The class will broaden your knowledge of Spanish language and enhance skills already acquired of reading, writing, listening and speaking in basic Spanish. This class also introduces students to new aspects of the culture of the Spanish-speaking world.

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Hospitality & Tourism

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Introduction to Hospitality & Tourism Management

This class introduces you to key issues and concepts in relation to hospitality and tourism management. Gradually you're immersed into the sector and key issues while you apply theories from different fields to the understanding of Hospitality and Tourism.

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Spanish

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Spanish 2A

This course will introduce you to more complex and formal areas of language, and enable you to develop further the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking in the Spanish language. It'll also introduce you to certain aspects of the different cultures of Spain and Latin America through the materials used. Practical language activities such as pair and small group work and intensive exposure to the Spanish language through audio, video and written texts will build on what you already know, and give you a feel for the Spanish language as it is used in professional contexts. This course aims to bring you up to level A2+/B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

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Spanish 2B

This course builds on and develops the knowledge acquired in Spanish 2A and will introduce you to yet more complex and formal areas of language, improving and developing further the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking in the Spanish language. It'll also introduce you to certain aspects of the culture of Spain and Latin America through the materials used. Practical language activities such as pair and small group work and intensive exposure to the Spanish language through audio, video and written texts will build on what you already know, and give you a feel for the Spanish language as it is used in professional contexts. Successful completion of this class will enable students to take Spanish at third-year level. This course aims to bring you up to level B1+ of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

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Spanish & Latin American Studies II

This course will explore the interlinked themes of independence and isolation in Spain and Latin America. The class is intended to give students a broad overview of Spanish and Latin American social, political and cultural history through the examination of specific texts and films, as well as to develop their critical and research skills.

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Hospitality & Tourism

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Service Encounter Management

In the hospitality and tourism sector, much of the customer engagement and value delivery takes place within the service encounter. In this class you'll learn how the management of this dynamic environment requires an integrated approach where customers, employees and the service setting itself require to be managed.

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Destination Marketing Management

Nations, regions and cities: destinations are products for Hospitality and Tourism, inward investment and higher education. You'll explore challenges in managing and marketing destinations across organisational and product boundaries using a range of industry contexts.

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Spanish

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Spanish 3A

This course builds on and develops the knowledge acquired in Spanish 2B and will consolidate the students’ knowledge and use of the Spanish language within an appropriate cultural context in order to enable the student to live, study and work in a Spanish-speaking country. This course aims to bring you up to level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

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Spanish 3B

This course aims to build on and develop the knowledge acquired in Spanish 3A and will focus on two relevant topics which includes the preparation for the year abroad. This course aims to bring you up to level B2+ of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. In addition to the final exam, a comprehensive project will comprise the other 50% of your final mark for this course. This project will enable you to put into practice and further develop the linguistic skills and cultural knowledge you have developed since you started studying Spanish at Strathclyde.

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Spanish & Latin American Studies III

This course builds on and develops the knowledge acquired in Independence and isolation in Spain and Latin America - Hispanic Studies 2 (R4200), and adds a dimension of critical and theoretical awareness, as well as developing critical skills through a study of individual texts and films from Spain and different countries of Latin America, to build an understanding of the history and cultures in which they were produced.

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Hospitality & Tourism

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Industry Placement

You have the opportunity to gain experience working with industry professionals, to develop practical skills and reflective practice and to build networks for possible future employment. You'll reflect upon and evaluate not only your own performance, but also the organisation, its output or key activities, and broader social, cultural and economic role.

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Events Management

In this class you'll work in a team to design, organise, run and evaluate your own event for charity. Through this practical exercise, you'll be exposed to the realities and challenges of events management and teamwork. This class adds to the experiential content of the Hospitality & Tourism Management programme whilst retaining rigorous theoretical underpinnings and strong coverage of events management at an advanced level.

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Internationalisation of Tourism Products and Services

The distinctiveness of this class is based on its specific focus on exploring the international dimension of the hospitality and tourism industry. It brings together insights from International Business and Hospitality & Tourism Management literatures to explore how the industry has become increasingly global in its operations, and analyse the new type of players that have entered the industry. The class will enhance the current curriculum and educational structure and show developments in terms of internationalisation and the various ways technology is used in necessitating certain changes in the industry.

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Year abroad

This is the year abroad, spent either studying in a foreign university or working as a language assistant or on a work placement. This year is compulsory to gain entry into Honours.

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Spanish

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Compulsory classes

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Spanish Honours Language 4

There are three strands in the Spanish 4 Language programme, which are closely integrated with each other: Language A (writing in Spanish), Language B (analysis and translation into English of Spanish texts), and Language C (oral presentation and interpreting). The programme will enable students to function in the target language at a sufficiently high level of ability, both spoken and written, to be accepted as a fully competent member of the target language community, and effectively to discharge a professional role within and/or in relation to that community.

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Hispanic Studies 4

This is a level four Honours class designed to build on the knowledge of Hispanic cultural studies acquired in Spanish and Latin American Studies 1A, II and III. The purpose of this class is to explore contemporary issues in Hispanic cultures. Class content will reflect the research specialisms of staff in Spanish and the actual texts and films studies may vary from year to year to reflect student demand and staff availability, as determined by the research focus of the subject. Each year, the class will focus on specific aspects of Hispanic history, politics, society and/or cultures. For example, possible class titles are: Gender and Sexuality in the Hispanic world; The Politics of the Fantastic in Hispanic Fiction and Film; Dictatorship and Resistance in Hispanic Cinema.

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Elective classes

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The Latin American Short Story

This course builds on and develops the knowledge on Latin American literature and culture acquired in Spanish and Latin American Studies II and III; and adds a dimension of theoretical analysis, as well as developing critical skills through a study of texts from the different countries of Latin America.

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Shaping Spain: Ideas, Beliefs & Identity

Rooted in the Spanish History of Ideas, this course explores the condition and motivations for the development of some of the existing main currents of thought in Spain since 1989. It encourages a critical understanding of Spanish history and contextualises the work of several Spanish seminal thinkers (Unamuno, Ortega, Azaña and Zambrano) and it explores their thought in relation to the key themes of the course: ideas, beliefs, and identity.

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Hospitality & Tourism

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Hospitality & Tourism Analysis: Case Studies & Case Histories

This class uses case studies from Hospitality & Tourism and challenges aspects of learning in previous classes. It'll further your understanding and appreciation of the nature of hospitality and tourism too. It encourages reflection on some realities of hospitality and tourism which do not fit neatly into theoretical boxes.

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Being an Ethical Manager

The nature and application of business ethics in contemporary management are explored in this class. It raises key ethical issues from both cultural and stakeholder perspectives and balances them with philosophical and pragmatic considerations. It'll provide you with a clear understanding of the dichotomy between philosophical idealism and the pragmatic considerations of ethical leadership for practical management.

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Management, Enterprise & the Rise of the Global Economy

Inspired by the Harvard approach to management education this class explores three principles of management:

business strategies are understood through reflection on the complex realities faced by enterprises in competitive arenas

firms can only be understood within the context of market dynamics

the contemporary situation can never be divorced from the past

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Strategy & Leadership

This class will develop your knowledge of strategy and provide insights as to how current and aspiring business leaders can manage strategically. You'll have an enhanced understanding of how individuals within an organisation can effectively lead and manage strategy in a complex and challenging world.

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Family Business: Theory & Practice

The hospitality and tourism industry has a large number of family businesses. Given the prevalence of family businesses – estimates suggest that almost 80% of new ventures are born as family firms and about 60% of the UK’s 4.2 million enterprises are family firms – graduates employed within the SME sector are likely to be employed by family-owned firms. The class examines the distinctive advantages and unique challenges that face family firms.

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Careers

Modern language graduates are in high demand across a range of areas. Some language graduates become teachers or translators, while others work in multilingual or international environments. Many of our students now work in journalism and broadcasting.

The combination of practical and business skills developed by Hospitality & Tourism graduates offers an attractive proposition for employers. Recent graduates have been recruited into the hotel industry and the service sector with job titles such as graduate trainee, manager, restaurant supervisor and trainee accountant.