Spanish Department Prerequisites
Irvine Valley College
| Course |
Prerequisite |
|---|
| Spanish 1 and 1A |
no prerequisite |
| Spanish 1B |
Spanish 1A or 1 year of high school Spanish |
| Spanish 2 and 2A |
Spanish 1 or 1B or 2 years of high school Spanish |
| Spanish 2B |
Spanish 2A or three years of high school Spanish |
| Spanish 3 |
Spanish 2 or 2B or four years of high school Spanish |
| Spanish 4 |
Spanish 3 or five years of high school Spanish or AP score of 3 or above |
| Spanish 10 |
Spanish 2 or 3 years of high school Spanish |
We have deliberately set our prerequisites high due to the nature of our program. We use an approach we call “Natural Approach” and our instructors speak only Spanish from the beginning of Spanish 1. We put a heavy emphasis on comprehension of native spoken Spanish, acquisition of a large functional vocabulary, and the ability to read materials intended for native speakers, signs, menus, essays, short stories and other forms of written communication. We have found that many high school students are unprepared for a course of this rigor, hence our prerequisite policy.
If you feel that your preparation will allow you to succeed in a higher level course, please see Challenging a Course.