Each week we will read a story, or a part of a longer story, written by a famous Spanish author. Or we will watch a short video taken from the internet that has a theme that coincides with the story we just read. The story or video is written or recorded in Spanish by native speakers. (Although if you are just interested in the story or video, you will be able to understand them even if you do not speak Spanish, as I will ask and answer enough comprehension questions about the vocabulary, symbols and meanings of the work.) We will do some vocabulary practice for the story, but it will not be for every single word like I did for the beginning levels. It will be expected that you already understand most high frequency used vocabulary words. We will practice the vocabulary with any of the 12 verb tenses that are used in the story.  There will be extensive comprehension exercises for the meaning and symbolism of the stories.  (I want to make sure that you “understand it”!)  I will also invite you to write a short 50–100-word essay to send to me as an e-mail based on a theme from the story. I will read your essay and give you some feedback. (Probably translate your story back to you in English to show that you write well enough to be understood. I may correct one or two errors that you might have made to give you something to think about for your next essays.  I will not mark up your essay with all mistakes.  To me and most others that you deal with, communicating your message is much more important than grammar perfection!)