course syllabus spring 2014 spanish 1a: elementary...

1

COURSE SYLLABUS

Spring 2014 Spanish 1A: Elementary Spanish (Sect. 1) (4 units) (Course Call #30809)

Mariposa 1002, MTWR, 11:00-11:50

Dr. Edward Baranowski

Office: 2039 Mariposa Hall Phone: 916-278-6336

Office Hours: Mondays and Thursdays, 1:15-2:45, or by appointment for other times.

E-mail: [email protected]

Faculty webpage: http://www.csus.edu/indiv/b/baranowski/

Department of Foreign Languages webpage: http://www.csus.edu/fl/

Course textbook and materials

1. ¡Con brio!, (3rd

. ed.). Laila M. Dawson, María Concepción Lucas Murillo, Donna Shelton, and Janet H.

Sedlar. Wiley, 2013. (Log into Blackboard CT for course eBook and all homework assignments. For

general orientation or problems, please go to http://www.wileyplus.com/firstday, the 1st Day of Class site

for students, or contact Technical Support directly at http://www.wileyplus.com/support.)

2. (Recommended) A good Spanish-English dictionary.

Catalog description

Beginning Spanish language with primary emphasis on the development of audio-lingual skills. Attention

will also be given to the interrelatedness of language and civilization and culture. Additional attention will

be given to the development of reading and writing. Students will be expected to spend several hours per

week in the language laboratory. Not recommended for students with any previous study of Spanish. 4

units.

Course Objectives

At the end of this semester you can reasonably expect to be able to understand and communicate in

the following areas:

You and the other students: Greetings, introductions and saying goodbye; nationality and

stating where you and others are from; descriptions of people; cognates; numbers 0-59; ex-

changing phone numbers, e-mail addresses and birthdays; telling time, days of the week and

dates.

Campus life: classes and schedules; telling time of events; location of places on campus;

the classroom; colors; expressing to whom things belong; states of being and emotions; Spanish

and Hispanic culture; professions; talking about going places; asking and answering questions.

Family, friends and habitual activities: family and friends; possessions; age; habitual

activities in the present; telling a friend what to do; descriptions of people (continue), places

and things; marital status; family traditions, values, and trends in the Hispanic world.

Activities in your free time and future activities: likes and dislikes, pastimes, and other

activities in the present; opinions, doubts and obligations; telling a friend what to do (continue);

weather and seasons; talking about who and what you know; future activities, and leisure

activities in the Hispanic world.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.csus.edu/indiv/b/baranowski/

http://www.csus.edu/fl/

http://www.wileyplus.com/firstday

http://www.wileyplus.com/support

2

1. Demonstrate that you are able to understand and interpret written language on a variety of

topics.

2. Demonstrate that you are able to understand the culture where Spanish is spoken through

comparisons of the culture studied and your own. You will be able to perform internet searches

in the language and explore the perspectives, products, and practices of the culture.

3. Demonstrate that you are able to understand the nature of Spanish through comparisons of

the language studied and your own.

4. Demonstrate that you are able to understand and respond to simple statements and questions

and participate in informal conversation within the cultural context. Method of Instruction

The course is conducted entirely in Spanish using the following elements and techniques:

Lecture/presentation

Discussion and student-teacher interaction

Daily in-class pair and group activities

Assigned exercises and readings from Con brío (available through Blackboard CT)

The study of Spanish-speaking countries’ culture

The use of slides, pictures, cards, music, and videos Grade Breakdown

3 chapter exams 30%

1 final exam 20%

Attendance and Class Participation 20%

Homework 20%

1 oral exam 10% Scores are rounded up or down, i.e., 82.5 will be considered an 83, but 82.25 will be an 82.

Grades are kept in numerical form until the end of the course, at which time they are averaged to

determine the final letter grade (93-100 = A, 90-92 = A-, 87-89 = B+, 83-86 = B, 80-82 = B-, 77-79

= C+, 73-76 = C, 70-72 = C-, 67-69 = D+, 64-66 = D, 60-63 = D-, and below 60= F. Testing

There will be three written chapter exams for this course, an oral exam the last week of class, and

also a final exam. Each written exam will consist of listening comprehension, grammar, reading

comprehension, culture, vocabulary and writing. Exams will be mainly based on the material

covered in class from ¡Con brio! and any additional information (handouts, extra activities, etc.)

provided by the instructor in class. Each exam will include vocabulary and grammar from previous

chapters that you must be able to understand and apply.

Please note the day of the exams on the course calendar. The day and time of the final exam for this class

is Monday, May 19th

, from 10:15AM-12:15PM. All exams must be taken when scheduled and not at

other times.

3

Homework

In addition to homework assigned in Blackboard CT, there might be other assignments such as short

compositions which you will turn in to me during class. Guidelines for turning in such assignments

are as follows:

a. Read and understand what you are supposed to do and use a dictionary.

b. Write out all homework on a new, clean sheet of paper. Do NOT combine it with class

notes or other assignments. Identify your homework on the top right-hand corner:

Nombre: John Doe

Fecha: 2 de octubre de 2012

c. I WILL NOT ACCEPT LATE HOMEWORK. And all assignments must be turned

in during class, not later in the day.

Attendance and Class Participation

In order to get full points, you must:

Avoid excessive absences and tardiness. If you are not in class, you cannot participate.

Come to class fully prepared and volunteer to participate in all activities.

Turn off your cell phone, your laptop, and any other electronic devices.

Avoid getting up excessively, arriving late, leaving early, and talking to others in the class when

you should be listening to the instructor.

Participation includes your preparation for class (doing the homework) and your willingness to

participate in all class activities, such as conversations with your instructor or with classmates during

pair/group work. The class period is devoted to speaking Spanish rather than speaking about the

language, therefore, your preparation for class is very important.

You are responsible for preparing the scheduled material BEFORE coming to class. This implies

careful preparation of all assigned homework and material from the text, including grammar

explanations and corresponding exercises.

Attendance Policy

Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class meeting. Due to the nature and intensity of

language courses, the emphasis on oral practice, participation, and the pace of the course, attendance

is mandatory. Regular attendance at all class meetings is expected and is very important for your

success, since everything that is said or done in class is considered “test material”. The course meets

four days per week and all students are expected to arrive on time and participate actively for the

entire class session. Chronic tardiness and absences will affect your attendance grade.

You are allowed to miss FOUR classes for the entire semester, and do not have to give any reason

for them. If you are absent more than four times during this semester, one point will be deducted

from your final grade starting with the 5th absence. For example, if you miss seven times, you will

lose three points off your attendance grade and final grade. If you know that you cannot be on time

for this class or are going to be missing more than four times, drop this class now and take it at

4

another time, if possible, when you don’t have any conflicts. If you are absent more than 12 times,

you will receive an automatic “F” in the class.

Group Work and Scholastic Honesty

Working with other students is an extremely effective means of studying and not everyone in the

group needs to be at the same proficiency level. Get together with other students to practice

conversation or to help each other understand the grammar explanations. Make sure, however, that

you do not simply copy another student’s work and turn it in as your own. Turning in work that you

did not write, for which you had considerable direct help from someone else, or that has been

translated by a translation service or computer program will be considered cheating. Anyone copying

from others, allowing others to copy their work, or using fraudulently-obtained information will

receive an F in this class and will be reported to the Student Affairs Office.

How not to plagiarize: Go to http://library.csus.edu/content2.asp?pageID=353

Classroom Courtesy

Please turn off all laptops, cell phones and any other electronic devices while in the classroom! When

your professor is talking, you and other students need to listen. When time is given for pair and/or group

work, you need to interact with your partner or group. This is not the time to talk to your professor about

matters unrelated to the assigned activity, work on other assignments or talk in a language other than

Spanish: these matters must be handled after class, during office hours, or by appointment. You will be

asked to leave if you engage in disruptive behavior.

Class Procedure and General Goals

The primary focus of this first semester of Spanish is to develop your ability to understand native spoken

and written Spanish and to increase your skill at expressing yourself in basic everyday situations.

Listening comprehension and speaking are the basis for the sound acquisition of a foreign language. As a

child learning your first language, you had lots of time to listen before you attempted to speak. Don’t be

impatient with yourself when you find that you can understand far more than you can produce. That is

only natural—your speaking and writing abilities will always lag slightly behind your ability to

understand.

You cannot expect to acquire native-like competence in a foreign language in one or two years. You can,

however, expect to be able to communicate with native speakers of Spanish even though you make

mistakes. The goal of this course is communicative competence, not oral grammatical perfection.

Grammatical perfection in writing, however--for example, in written homework, quizzes, and tests--is

possible and will make your understanding and practice of the language easier as time goes by.

Therefore, it is recommended that you spend time learning and memorizing the forms covered in class.

This class will use speaking, listening, reading and writing activities to enhance your grasp of vocabulary

and to provide you with opportunities to express yourself in Spanish.

Special Needs

The Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSWD) offers a wide range of support services

and accommodations to students based on appropriate documentation, the nature of the disability,

and academic need in order to ensure equal access and opportunity to pursue their educational goals.

In order to initiate services, students must submit medical or professional documentation to SSWD,

Lassen Hall 1008, (916) 278-6955. See details in the SSWD webpage at http://www.csus.edu/sswd/.

Before course accommodations can be made, a student needs to request accommodation from SSWD

http://library.csus.edu/content2.asp?pageID=353

http://www.csus.edu/sswd/

5

and provide a letter to the instructor from them. Please discuss your accommodations needs with me

during my office hours early in the semester.

6

Spanish 1A Tentative Course Calendar (Spring 2014)

Day Material Day Material

Week 1 Week 9

January 27 Introduction March 31 Chavez Holiday—No class

January 28 Chap. 1 April 1 Chap. 3



Week 2 Week 10

February 3 Chap. 1 April 7 Chap. 3




Week 3 Week 11



February 12 Chap. 1 April 16 Chap. 3 Exam


Week 4 Week 12

February 17 Chap 1 April 21 Chap. 4

February 18 Chap 1 April 22 Chap. 4

February 19 Chap. 1 Exam April 23 Chap. 4


Week 5 Week 13




February 27 Chap. 2 May 1

Week 6 Week 14

March 3 Chap. 2 May 5 Chap. 4




Week 7 Week 15

March 10 Chap. 2 May 12 Oral exams—No class

March 11 Chap. 2 May 13 Oral exams—No class


March 13 Chap. 2 Exam May 15 Review

Week 8

March 17 Chap. 3 Monday, 5/19 Final Exam

March 18 Chap. 3 10:15AM-12:15PM

March 19 Chap. 3

March 20 Chap. 3

7

Spanish 1A Student Data Sheet (Please fill out and bring to first class.)

Name: ________________________________________

E-mail: _______________________________________

Phone: _______________________________________

Major: _______________________________________

Year in school: ________________________________

Can you make office hours? _____________

What extra-curricular activities will you be involved in this semester?

Have you traveled to any Spanish-speaking countries? Which ones?

Do you have any special concerns?

course syllabus spring 2014 spanish 1a: elementary...

Documents