Spanish 400: Advanced Stylistics and Oral Expression
Spring 2004
Professor
Dr. Keith H. Brower
347A Holloway Hall
Phone: 410-543-6442
E-mail:
Office hours: M/W 2:00-3:00; T/Th 11:00-12:00; F 9:00-10:00
Course objectives
1)To provide the student with a detailed review of Spanish grammar, covering items from the most basic (quickly) to the most intricate and traditionally (as well as frustratingly) problematic (with emphasis on these items), all with the intention of: 1) reinforcing what the student has already learned in previous courses and experience; 2) “getting the kinks out” in areas where the student is not as sure as he/she should be; and 3) starting perhaps “from scratch” (if necessary and depending on the individual student) in areas where the student has never had a command of the constructions in question. The student will also have ample opportunity to write in Spanish and to improve his/her skills in creating correct and proper Spanish text.
2)To provide the student with the opportunity to master Spanish verb forms in all tenses
and moods, as well as acquire practical new vocabulary (including idiomatic expressions) in Spanish.
3)To provide the student with opportunities to put his/her spoken Spanish to use, as well as
advance it, via explanation (of grammar, provided by the student) and in both structured and more free-wheeling in-class conversation.
Texts
Required:A Graded Spanish Review Grammar. 3rd edition. Tarr, Centeno and Lloyd. 1991.
A good, portable Spanish-English/English-Spanish dictionary for in-class use. (The professor can recommend some, but no one particular dictionary is required.)
Recommended:Any texts, from guides (such as 501 Spanish Verbs) to any of the many grammar books on the trade market and available at the Book Rack, Dalton’s, Barnes and Noble, the Atlantic Book Warehouse, etc. There are numerous (an understatement) such books and any or all could be helpful. The theory here is “whatever works” for each student. None of these books is required, but a good verb guide (again, 501... is a fine choice) and, if desired, a supplementary grammar text are recommended–though it’s really up to the student.
Students at this level should also have a good desktop dictionary, for the writing of compositions, etc., and for the student’s future (as in both during and beyond college) development in Spanish.
Students at this level should also look into books on vocabulary (such as DK’s 5-Language Visual Dictionary or The MacMillan Visual Dictionary) and idiomatic expressions in Spanish (such as Streetwise Spanish Dictionary/Thesaurus). The professor can help you with choices.
Finally, a trusted, perhaps even dog-eared, grammar text from a former course with which the student is comfortable is a good idea to have handy.
The course will use Tarr, Centeno and Lloyd as its core or home base, but the course will also include outside items (provided via handouts, reserve items in the Library, and/or the Internet) for reading, discussion, vocabulary, etc., as the course progresses.
Grading
Work in class (participation, evidence of preparedness, pop quizzes,
in-class compositions, etc.)20%
Verb/vocabulary quizzes (12)15%
Compositions (4) 30%
Exámenes (3) 35%
Late policy for compositions
Unless otherwise specified, out-of-class compositions are due at the beginning of class on the days/dates indicated on the syllabus. Compositions turned in after that time will carry an automatic deduction of one full letter grade (on the final grade for that composition) for each date late (the first day begins after the beginning of class on the due day/date–so compositions turned in later the same day, for example, or even at the end of class, will be considered a day late–with subsequent days beginning at 4:30 p.m. for Section 001 and 11:00 a.m. for Section 002 each day thereafter). Suggestion: plan well. If you have, for example, last-minute questions concerning vocabulary or grammar, do not automatically assume that you will be able to get in touch with me or that if you do I will be able to meet with you to address these questions. I will not take questions regarding compositions at the beginning (or just prior to the beginning) of class. The best thing to do is to avoid “last-minute” questions. You will have plenty of time to get the composition done. Do yourself a big favor and plan your schedule well and do not wait until near the end of that time to start work on the composition (sounds simple enough, but few do it). Plan your schedule so that you can ask questions, say, two days ahead of the time when the composition is actually due. And remember, this late policy does not require you to do any more work; it just requires you to do the basic work and to do it on time–that’s all, no big deal. Also: The above policy, to the letter, applies to all other turned-in items, as well, including the composition “re-writes.”
Quiz, Exam make-ups
There will be no make-ups for quizzes. There are 12 scheduled. The lowest two quiz grades will be dropped, including any missed quizzes. Missed quizzes beyond two are not droppable.
No make-ups will be given for exams unless the professor is informed of the student’s absence prior to the beginning of class on the day of the absence. The professor assumes that a student misses an exam only in the case of illness or some other legitimate emergency. Any missed exam must be made up immediately upon the student’s return to class.
Attendance policy, work ethic, plagiarism, etc.
This is an advanced and significant course for all serious students of Spanish. Obviously, in-class explanation, discussion, and practice of the grammar items covered should be considered essential to each student’s progress, and the participation of each student in said in-class explanation, discussion, and practice is of benefit to all students involved. Failure to attend and participate in the collective efforts of the class will result in direct reduction (the significance of which will correspond to the level of absences/unpreparedness) in the “Work in class” grade and almost certainly an indirect reduction (by way of result) in performance on exams and compositions.
Remember, regarding both attendance and overall effort, the language and its grammar are very unforgiving to those who do not show them the work ethic and respect they demand. The language will not come to you; you must come to it. It will just “sit there.” It doesn’t care one way or the other. You have to take the action in the language/language learner relationship.
And finally, language is a milliondetails. Your job as an active language learner is to master a higher and higher percentage of these details as you continue to study, learn, and, hopefully, master the language in question.
How good of a speaker do you want to be? What do you want to sound and write like in Spanish? It comes down to, do you want to say you took Spanish in college (lots of folks can say that), or do you want to say that you took Spanish seriously in college (far fewer folks can say that)? The difference between the two groups is simple—the second group can speak Spanish; the first group just thinks they can.
See the SSU Student Handbook regarding cheating, plagiarism, and illicit collaboration, and the penalties for these offenses. This professor prosecutes offenders.
Programa tentativo
enero26/27*Introducción
28/29Preliminary Lessons 1 & 2
febrero2/3Capítulos 1-6; Prueba 1
4/5Capítulos 1-6
9/10Capítulos 1-6; Prueba 2
11/12Capítulos 1-6; Entregar Composición 1
16/17Capítulos 1-6; Prueba 3
18/19Capítulos 1-6
23/24Capítulos 1-6; Prueba 4
25/26 Examen I
marzo1/2Capítulos 8-10; Prueba 5
3/4Capítulos 8-10; Entregar Composición 2
8/9Capítulos 8-10; Prueba 6
10/11Capítulos 8-10
15/16Capítulos 8-10; Prueba 7
17/18Capítulos 8-10
22/23Descanso de primavera
24/25Descanso de primavera
29/30Capítulos 8-10; Prueba 8
marzo/abril31/1Examen II
5/6Capítulos 12-17; Prueba 9
7/8Capítulos 12-17; Entregar Composición 3
12/13Capítulos 12-17; Prueba 10
14/15Capítulos 12-17
19/20Capítulos 12-17; Prueba 11
21/22Capítulos 12-17
26/27Capítulos 12-17; Prueba 12; Entregar Composición 4
28/29Capítulos 12-17
mayo3/4Examen III
5/6Repaso
10/11Repaso
*In each pair of dates, the first date corresponds to the Mon/Wed section of the course and the second date corresponds to the Tues/Thurs section.
Compositions
There are five scheduled out-of-class compositions for this course. Topics for the compositions will usually be left up to the student, though specific instructions, and at times even the topic itself, will be provided by the professor (e.g., a composition on any topic but written primarily in the future tense, or a composition which asks the student to discuss a movie viewed by the class).
Compositions may be written with the aid of dictionaries and grammar books. No human help, except via specific questions directed to the professor, is permitted. (More on this below.)
Compositions are to be 500 words in length. Compositions must be computer-generated (written accents must be computer-generated, as well).
Compositions will receive a preliminary or original grade consisting of a grade for language and grammar (worth 80% of the total grade) and a grade for complexity and expression (worth 20% of the total grade). Compositions are not “corrected” by the professor. Instead, using the symbols on the “Composition Error Symbols” sheet, the professor points out where the errors occur and of what type each error is. Points are then deducted from 100 according to the point value for each type of error, resulting in the grade for language and grammar.
Once the student receives the composition with the preliminary grade and the errors indicated by the professor, he/she “re-writes” the composition by correcting the grammatical errors, using the error symbols as a guide as to what type of correction is necessary for each error. Important note: “Re-writing” the composition only means correcting the errors. It does not mean making any changes whatsoever to any part of the composition not marked with an error symbol. Once the content of the composition is established in the original version, the student is, as they say, stuck with it, save for vocabulary or re-wording changes specifically indicated by the error symbols. The student cannot, for example, delete a sentence that was grammatically problematic and which the student cannot figure out how to fix, or re-word a sentence that has a couple of tough errors in it so that those errors are circumvented. Also, the student cannot otherwise alter what he/she has said or shift the arrangement of how he/she has said it, unless this is suggested by the professor so that the text more closely conforms to the rules of good composition. In other words, the student has made his/her bed with the first version of the composition, and he/she must now lie in it–or more accurately here, he/she must deal with the original text and the grammar problems therein.
Once “re-written” according to the above rules, the composition then receives a new grade for language and grammar (the grade for complexity and expression remains the same since the content and presentation of the composition have not changed). The new grade for language and grammar is averaged with the preliminary or original grade for language and grammar and that average is combined with the original grade for complexity and expression to determine the final grade for the composition.
Important note: As mentioned above, the student may consult dictionaries and grammar books when writing his/her composition, as well as doing the “re-writes,” but he/she may not seek or receive human help (other than via specific questions directed to the professor), the reason being, this must be your work, based on your ability to manipulate the grammar and vocabulary in order to express yourself in Spanish. This is not someone else’s work, and particularly not that of a Spanish-speaking friend. This is your work, and besides the honesty factor (see statement regarding illict help elsewhere in course materials), the only way to grow in your Spanish, to get better, is to do it, struggle with it, as necessary, yourself. No one, in other words, can lift the weights or run the laps for you—you must do it yourself!
An example of the grading process appears below:
1) Preliminary or original grade:
Language and Grammar:70 x 8 (80%) = 560
Complexity and Expression:85 x 2 (20%) = 170
730 = 73 C
2) New Language and Grammar grade (after re-write): 95
3) Preliminary or original Language and Grammar grade and new Language and Grammar grade
are averaged together: 70 + 95 = 165
165 is divided by 2 (for average) = 82.5, rounded to 83
4) Average of the two Language and Grammar grades is combined with Complexity and
Expression grade from the preliminary or original version of the composition to produce
the final, recorded grade for the composition:
Language and Grammar83 x 8 (80%) = 664
Complexity and expression85 x 3 (20%) = 170
834 = 83 B
5) So, the preliminary or original grade was 73 C, but the final, recorded grade is 83 B. If the
person had not done the “re-write,” he/she would have gotten a 73 C. The “re-write”
allows him/her to improve the grade, but, even more importantly, it allows him/her to
correct the errors and improve his/her Spanish in the process—that’s the real pay-off,
more than the grade. Correcting the composition and thereby raising the grade is like
short-term investment—pretty nice in itself—but what one learns in the process is like
long-term investment, which earns a whole lot more interest! And the beauty of this
process is that the student gets both the short-term and the long-term benefits!
Finally, and very importantly, here are six important things to remember concerning compositions and the composition “re-writes.” #3 and #4 are for your information. Failure to follow #1, #2, #5 and/or #6 will result in point deductions and delays in getting your compositions/”re-writes” returned on the same schedule as the rest of the class. You may need to review #5 and #6 with the production of each “re-write.”
1) Compositions must be computer-generated and double- or triple-spaced.
2) The student must indicate where the 500th word occurs in the composition.
3. The student may write beyond the 500-word minimum. Errors that occur beyond the 500-word minimum will be indicated with an appropriate error symbol, but these errors will not count against the Language and Grammar grade (or against the composition’s overall grade in any way).
4) Error symbols which are circled indicate that the error, though present, will not count against the Language and Grammar grade (or against the composition’s overall grade). These are errors (infrequent) that the professor assumes the student could not have possibly been able to avoid (know about, etc.), usually dealing with a rather “strange” or intricate construction.
5) All corrections must be underlined or highlighted on “re-writes.”
6) The original version of the composition, with the error symbols, must be turned in with the first re-write, while the original version and the first re-write, also with the error symbols, must be turned in with the second “re-write.”