Syllabus

Prof. Rebecca Anderson

Spanish 1, Winter 2006

Section 1555, M-F, 10:15am-1:05pm

Drescher Hall 222

Course Description: This course, using the Natural Approach, introduces the students to basic vocabulary and fundamental sentence structure in the present and preterit tenses. Basic aural and reading comprehension is developed and students hold simple conversations and write short compositions. Three hours per week in the language laboratory (Drescher Hall 219) are required, totaling 12 hours for the semester.

Prerequisites: None. No previous knowledge of Spanish is required. Although this class is designed for students who have never studied Spanish before, the pace is college level and intense. In addition to class, students should have available a minimum of 15 hours weekly for preparation and lab.

Course Objectives: To prepare students for further language study and to foster an interest in travel, work, and studies related to the Hispanic culture. Immediate goals: 1) To expose students to generous amounts of conversation and vocabulary for their passive acquisition in order to facilitate the understanding of spoken Spanish at a normal rate, without the need to translate. 2) To provide opportunities to use and practice Spanish so that much of the students’ passive knowledge can become active. 3) To present basic principles of pronunciation and grammar so as to encourage continual improvement in the ability to communicate effectively in Spanish. 4) To give students abundant practice in reading and writing Spanish. 5) To acquaint students with various aspects of the Hispanic cultures and to encourage them to investigate and share with the class those of particular interest to them.

Texts:

• Dos Mundos, (6th Ed.), Terrell, Andrade, Egasse and Muñoz, McGraw-Hill
• Dos Mundos: Cuaderno de trabajo, (6th Ed.), Terrell, et al, McGraw-Hill

Textbook Website: http://www.mhhe.com/dosmundos

My website: http://homepage.smc.edu/anderson_rebecca (anderson_rebecca)

Method of Presentation: The course is conducted primarily in Spanish except in the case of linguistic difficulty when appropriate explanations in English may be supplied. Vocabulary and grammatical structures are presented, and students are given oral and written practice in class. Class activities may include class conversations and collaborative activities, study and analysis of vocabulary and idiomatic expressions, discussion of information given in textbooks, oral and written answers to questions based on course content, oral presentation and short written essays. Outside of class, students read texts for comprehension and write exercises.

Course content: Paso A through Capítulo 7

Attendance:

• Be punctual! Students are expected to come to every class for the entire class session.
• Students are allowed 2 absences. If absences and/or tardies are excessive, a student will be dropped from the class. Three tardies are equal to one absence.
• Roll is taken at the beginning of each session. Students arriving after roll has been taken are marked tardy. Students are marked absent if they arrive after the first twenty minutes or if they leave class early.
• Absences and tardies will affect the participation grade. I will take 5% off the total percent of the participation grade for each absence beyond two.

First week of class is very important: A student must either attend the first two class meetings or notify the instructor that the absence is temporary; otherwise, the student will be dropped.

Dropping the class: Students who decide to drop the class must officially withdraw and let the instructor know also.

Emergency procedures: If, at any time during class, it becomes necessary to evacuate the building, the procedure is:

• Exit the building in an orderly fashion.
• Help any classmates who may be in need of assistance
• Re-group outside, in front of the building to check in with the professor. It is imperative that all students check in with the professor in order to be certain that everyone is accounted for.

Student behavior:

• Students are expected behave appropriately in class.
• Students are expected to follow the Code of Student Conduct posted with the syllabus and the Academic Code of Conduct on my Spanish 1 web page.
• No food or beverages (except water) are allowed in class.
• Cell phones and pagers are not to be on. If a student leaves class to answer a call or a page, the student should not return to class. This is an education setting, not one of business.
• Respect and consideration for classmates and their learning environment is of the utmost importance.

Grade Distribution:

• 10% Homework
• 10% Lab
• 10% Compositions
• 20% Quizzes
• 20% Participation
• 30% Exams

Grading Scale for the class:

100-90 = A 89.5-80 = B

79.5-70 = C 60-69.5 = D

Any grade lower than 59.5 is a fail.

Any student who does not complete the course and did not withdraw from the course will fail the course.

Cheating and plagiarism of any sort are not tolerated. Students who do not follow the SMC Code of Academic Conduct are subject to disciplinary action.

Homework: Homework includes the daily assignments given in class and the exercises assigned in the workbook and laboratory manual.

• Students are held accountable for all announcements, assignments, handouts, vocabulary, and material covered in class whether they are present or not.
• Late homework is NOT accepted.
• When students are absent, they are responsible for getting the assignment from a classmate and preparing it for the next class meeting. If not, they will not receive credit for the work.
• It is recommended that all get the telephone number of two other students in the class for assignments in order to come to class prepared. Absence or misinformation from unreliable classmates will not be acceptable excuses for lack of preparation or missed assignments.

Quizzes and Exams:

• There will be regularly announced quizzes during the course. They may be given at any time during class.
• There will be a midterm and final exam. The date of the midterm will be announced in class. The final exam will be the last day of class.
• There will be NO MAKE-UP quizzes or exams. No one will be given extra time due to tardiness. Anyone missing a quiz or an exam will receive a score of zero.
• At the end of the semester I will drop the lowest quiz grade. The midterm and final exam grades cannot be dropped.

Participation:

• Participation in the target language is of great importance in a language class.
• Being in class and participation in group-type activities will earn a grade of C in participation.
• Students desiring a higher grade must volunteer answers in class. Use of the target language is preferred over the use of English.

Writing Assignments:

Compositions: There are two types, those that are graded informally and those that receive a letter grade.

• Informal compositions are usually paragraphs assigned as part of the homework, but are graded and assigned points. The scale is: ++ = 10pts, + = 9 pts, √+ = 8pts, √ = 7pts, — (minus) = 6 pts.
• Formal compositions are assigned in advance and receive a letter grade. The maximum number of points on a formal composition is 20 points.

Tutoring is available in the Learning Resource Center in Drescher 219. Students having difficulties with the material should seek help as quickly as possible. Students may also come to my office hours for help.

To contact me:

• Write a note and drop it in the campus mail. (This is the “snail mail” and therefore, not recommended)
• Call and leave a message at 310-434-3916.
• E-mail me at anderson_rebecca@smc.edu (anderson_rebecca)
• Send information to me via a classmate.
• The department secretary DOES NOT take personal messages for professors.
• Please understand that I DO NOT have email access at home and cannot be contacted via email when I am off campus. Therefore, it is extremely important that you have a reliable classmate’s contact information if you are absent for any reason.

My office is Dresher 314 O.

Office Hours for Winter, 2005:

• By appointment only 

Course Outline

This is tentative. All assignments will be given during class.

Week One: January 2-6

Monday, January 2--Holiday

Pasos A, B, C

Capítulo 1

Week Two: January 9-13

Capítulo 2 y 3

Week Three: January 16-20

Monday, January 16, Martin Luther King Jr. holiday

Capítulo 4

Week Four: January 23-27

Capítulo 5

Week Five: January 30-February 3

Capítulo 6

Week Six: February 6-10

Capítulo 7

Final Exam: Thursday, February 9