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Department of Foreign Languages
Course Syllabus
SPAN 1010 FIRST YEAR SPANISH—PART 1
SPRING 2012
Elizabeth Hall 104
Section: MWF 9:30-10:20 AM
Section: MWF 11:30-12:20 PM
Instructor: Dr. Isabel AsensioOffice: Elizabeth Hall 230
Office phone: 626-6777
Office hours: Mondays & Wednesdays 1:30-2:30pm
Tuesdays & Thursdays 9:30am-11:00am or by appointment
E-mail:
Instructor’s website: http://faculty.weber.edu/isabelasensio
Prerequisites
Note: This is an introductory course assuming no significant previous experience with the language.
● Students reared in a Spanish speaking home or community, or those with extensive residence in such a community (such as returned LDS missionaries) and native speakers of Spanish may not take this class. Please contact the Department of Foreign Languages for options, including ways to receive credit for this class.
COURSE OVERVIEW and OBJECTIVES
The principal aims of this beginning-level Spanish language course are to develop communicative skills and to acquire inter-disciplinary knowledge by following the National Standards in foreign language learning: communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities.
You will notice that each chapter is organized around a cultural and practical theme, with vocabulary, grammar, and culture working together as an interactive unit. In this course, Spanish will be the only communication tool, and authentic materials will be used as much as possible.
Finally, the course requires continuous and independent work out of the classroom to consolidate the knowledge and linguistic skills developed during class time. There is a lot of material to cover, meaning that the pace of the course may be fast at times. If we all work together on a daily basis, you will have a successful outcome at the end of the semester.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK AND MATERIAL
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• Puntos de partida (8th edition) by Knorre, M. et al. Boston: McGraw-Hill. 2009.
• On-line Workbook to accompany Puntos de partida (8th edition).
• An English-Spanish dictionary (recommended).
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Note: These materials are available as a bundle at the WSU Bookstore. If you buy them separately, online or elsewhere, make sure you get the correct edition.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
IN-CLASS PERFORMANCE AND PARTICIPATION
Daily attendance is required. Consistent and enthusiastic participation in class is expected. Students who miss class or are habitually late will lose points for attendance, their homework will be late or not accepted, and they may miss quizzes, exams or other assignments that cannot be made up. You will receive two in-class performance grades throughout the semester (the first one, during midterm week; the second one, during the last week).
HOMEWORK
Besides your textbook, your online workbook is a very important source of materials for this class. Your interaction with the online activities will have a strong influence on your overall performance. For this reason, homework is obligatory and autonomous. All online assigned activities must be completed by the due date specified on the daily syllabus. Homework may also include other assignments to be announced by the instructor during the semester.
COMPOSITIONS
You will write two compositions over the length of the semester and they will be written on topics related to course materials. Compositions will be one page long (approximately 250 words per page), will be typed and double-spaced (preferably in Times New Roman font, size 12). Your name, course, and date should be typed and single-spaced.
NOTE:
You cannot let ANYONE else write or correct your composition.
If you have questions, ask them to me.
By writing compositions you will accomplish, at the very minimum, two things: (1) you will practice the language functions you learn in class (share information about yourself and others, express your opinion, talk about your routine, and so on), and (2) you will practice and integrate the grammar and vocabulary covered during the previous weeks. Compositions will be scored based on several features of your work, including grammatical accuracy but by no means limited to it. Neither late compositions nor attached documents in emails will be accepted.
EXAMS AND QUIZZES
ORAL EXAMS
Each student will have two oral interviews with the instructor, one at midterm and the other at the end of the semester. These interviews will resemble conversations and will attempt to assess general proficiency—they will not include a laundry list of prepared questions and answers on a prepared or predetermined topic. The first oral interview will be in couples (the instructor will assign partners). The second oral interview will be one on one with the instructor. Preparation for this type of oral assessment can be accomplished through active participation in the various oral/listening activities scheduled throughout the semester, and by attending and participating in class.
QUIZZES
There will be 10 short pop quizzes during the semester. Out of these 10 quizzes, 9 will count towards your final grade; that is, you can drop the lowest score or miss one quiz. Absolutely no make-up quizzes will be allowed. There will be no quizzes on the following weeks: first and last week of classes.
CHAPTER EXAMS
There will be four chapter exams, one at the end of each chapter with the exception of the last one (Chapter 4). These exams will be based on the chapters’ contents. In addition, these exams may incorporate reading and listening comprehension activities. Chapter exams will be held in the classroom, unless specified by the instructor. Chapter exams and the final exam will include the following components:
a) Listening comprehension
b) Reading comprehension
c) Writing skills
d) Linguistic contents (functional uses of the language, grammar, and vocabulary)
e) Cultural understanding
FINAL EXAM
The final exam will be administered at the scheduled time during finals week in this classroom. The final exam will consist of all the materials studied over the entire semester with an emphasis on chapter 4.
COURSE POLICIES
LATE WORK AND MAKE UP WORK
The general rule is the following: NO LATE WORK IS ACCEPTED AND NO MAKE-UP WORK WILL BE ALLOWED. Any valid reason for missing class or an exam due to truly extenuating circumstances should be presented to me for consideration in advance of the activity in question, whenever reasonably possible. You may call me, or e-mail me in such an extenuating situation. If you desire a response from me, e-mail is most highly recommended. If you anticipate a problem, please talk to me about it as soon as possible. In addition, it is your responsibility to find out what was covered in class the day you were absent, to get any updates on assignments, and to come to the next class prepared for that day’s work.
ATTENDANCE
Attendance is obligatory because exposure to the target language (listening and speaking) is crucial. It is your responsibility to attend class and keep track of your unexcused absences. If you don’t come to class, you won’t be able to participate which will lower your in-class performance grade. If you accumulate five unexcused absences, your “attendance and participation” grade will be 0, which will negatively affect your final grade. If you accumulate an excessive number of unexcused absences, eight or more, you will automatically fail the course. It is also essential to be on time; three tardiness will result in one unexcused absence. Ten minutes after class begins, I won’t let anyone come into the classroom.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
You are expected to adhere strictly to the WSU Student Code. Academic dishonesty includes, but it is not limited to, cheating and plagiarism. It will not be tolerated in this class. If you have any questions regarding this, you may visit the link: http://documents.weber.edu/ppm/6-22.htm. The penalty for academic dishonesty in this course is failure on the assignment or the course, depending on its severity. Any case of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Students.
MOBILE PHONES
Please, set your phone to vibration mode. If you have to answer a phone call, do it outside the classroom. Text messaging is absolutely prohibited in this course.
E-MAIL AND COURSE WEBSITE
I will communicate with you via e-mail and this course website: http://faculty.weber.edu/isabelasensio/Spring_2012_Folder/1010/1010_Index.htm It is required that all students check and read their emails several times a week, at least the day before each class (Sunday, Tuesdays, and Thursdays). Ignorance of this policy won’t be accepted as an excuse. Also, the best way to contact me is by email. I check and read my email several times a day, and I try to answer as soon as possible. However, if you email me after 5pm, do not expect an immediate answer.
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
DISABILITY ACCOMMODATION
PPM 3-34 notes: “When students seek accommodation in a regularly scheduled course, they have the responsibility to make such requests at the Center for Students with Disabilities before the beginning of the quarter [semester] in which the accommodation is being requested. When a student fails to make such arrangements, interim accommodations can be made by the instructor, pending the determination of the request for a permanent accommodation.” The contact number for Services for Students with Disabilities is 626-6413.
CORE BELIEFS
According to PPM 6-22 IV, students are to “[d]etermine, before the last day to drop courses without penalty, when course requirements conflict with a student’s core beliefs. If there is such a conflict, the student should consider dropping the class. A student who finds this solution impracticable may request a resolution from the instructor. This policy does not oblige the instructor to grant the request, except in those cases when a denial would be arbitrary and capricious or illegal. This request must be made to the instructor in writing and the student must deliver a copy of the request to the office of the department head. The student’s request must articulate the burden the requirement would place on the student’s beliefs.”
EMERGENCY CLOSURE
If for any reason the university is forced to close for an extended period of time, I will conduct our class via Weber e-mail and Canvas (WSU Online). I will expect you to look for announcements on Canvas on a daily basis to keep up with coursework. Assignments will be posted with clear instructions and due dates. Discussions will be made through Canvas to allow you to interact with other students and me about course material. It is imperative that I am able to contact you and that I have accurate contact info on you. You are responsible for checking your Weber e-mail or for having Weber messages forwarded to accounts you do check daily.
STUDENT ATHLETES
Letters with away-games dates should be handed in to me within the first week of classes. These letters must be signed by your coach or academic advisor.
GRADING
Your grade in SPAN 1010 will be determined as follows:
Attendance & Participation------10%
Chapter exams (10% each x 4)------40%
Compositions (5% each x 2)------10%
Final exam------15%
Online homework------5%
Oral exams (7.5% each x 2)------15%
Quizzes------5%
A 94-100 / B+ 87-89.9 / C+ 77-79.9 / D+ 67-69.9B 84-86.9 / C 74-76.9 / D 64-66.9 / E 59.9-0
A- 90-93.9 / B- 80-83.9 / C- 70-73.9 / D- 60-63.9