Dr. Cecilia Heydl-Cortínez

Spring 2003

Spanish 20

Syllabus

Office: 203 ISTC

Hours: T & Th 10-11, W 9-10

Or by appointment

Voicemail: 771-4151

e-mail: chc5@psu.edu

http://www.yk.psu.edu/~chc5/

Required course material:

Temas packet including textbook, workbook, audio CD, and multimedia CD-Rom. Heinle & Heinle Publishers, 2000. Textbook website: http://temas.heinle.com

Any good English/Spanish dictionary, such as Cuyas, Collins, Larousse, New College, Bantam.

A set of headphones with a long cord to be used in the Computer Lab.

Introduction:

This course is intended for students who have taken Spanish 10 or who have studied four or more years of Spanish at High School level. It aims to promote the communicative development of your speaking, listening, reading, and writing abilities in the Spanish language. This is an Intensive Program with class meeting six hours each week and is worth six credits per semester. Spanish 20 provides motivated students with a unique opportunity to study the language and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world in an intensive environment with other committed students.

Methodology:

Since communication is the course objective, this course combines content-based language instruction with an interactive task-based approach. Students will be expected to actively participate in a variety of interactive small and large group activities. This course is not based on lectures, but rather on active learner participation in multiple task types that require students to use Spanish in various situations that reflect normal use of different varieties of Spanish. The class will be conducted in Spanish almost in its entirety.

Course goals:

Spanish 20 students are expected to improve their communication skills. Since communication is carried out in many ways and in many different contexts, students will be required to develop specific communication skills that reflect an ability to appropriately use Spanish under a variety of conditions (e.g. setting, task, medium, genre, etc). The following chart shows the specific skills that you will need to develop in order to complete the course. You should use this chart to help direct you in your studies.

Linguistic Skills	· Mastery of basic vocabulary and idiomatic expressions representative of course themes (e.g.,professions, marriage, health, social changes, etc.) · Productive use of grammar
Sociocultural Skills	· Appropriate use of Spanish based on situation and context (e.g. past events, influencing the behavior of others, giving advice, expressing emotions, future events, etc.) · Understanding of conversational routines native to Hispanic cultures
Discourse Skills	· Ability to use different discourse tasks (e.g., comparison, description, narration, etc.) · Ability to understand and actively participate in various forms of authentic communication (e.g., telephone, face-to-face debate, reports, interviews, dialogues, surveys, spontaneous conversations, games, etc.)
Strategic Skills	· Use of techniques that help make up for deficiencies or lapses in other communicative skills (e.g., contextual clues, body language, facial expressions, etc.) · Development of a wide range of language learning strategies

Assessment:

The assessment categories below will be measured according to three major criteria of language performance: accuracy, fluency, and complexity. Testing procedures will be representative of the type of language instruction offered through classroom practice. You will be evaluated based on your achievement of the course goals (above) and the following criteria:

Participation	15%
Homework	15%
Course Projects	15%
Writing tasks	25%
Chapter exams	30%

Criteria Description:

Attendance Policy

You must be exposed to Spanish and use Spanish in order to learn Spanish, i.e., you must be in class. Attendance is required. However, it is understood that periodically things happen that prevent your attendance. Thus, you will be allowed 6 unexcused absences (one entire week of instruction) throughout the semester. These days are to cover things such as illness, job interviews, funerals, etc. Use them wisely. A 1% point will be deducted from your final grade beginning with your seventh absence if you are not able to document the absence with a doctor’s note. Late arrivals and early departures may also count as absences, so plan on coming to class on time.

Participation (15 %)

Participation involves a number of variables, including but not limited to:

• Your use of Spanish in the classroom
• Your willingness to participate in all class activities
• Your cooperation during group and pair work
• Your respect and attitude toward class and your peers

Homework (15%)

You will be assigned homework from the textbook, workbook, or other sources. You are to write out these assignments on a separate sheet of paper and turn them in when indicated. Each assignment will receive up to 5 points based on completeness and quality of work. No late homework will be accepted, unless approved by the instructor.

Course Projects (15%)

There will be two (2) course projects throughout the course. These projects will be group-based and will consist of the completion of an assigned task and a classroom presentation of the results of each group’s work. The topics of the projects will be based on the material discussed in class. Students will demonstrate appropriate use of Spanish grammar and vocabulary and each student in the group will be evaluated separately. Effort and creativity will also be considered part of the criteria for evaluation.

Writing tasks (25%)

For each chapter in the textbook, you will be assigned one of the writing tasks contained in each chapter. These tasks will guide you through the writing process, stimulating you to think creatively, organize cohesively and carefully edit your work. On the dates indicated on the syllabus, you will hand in the following: 1) evidence of pre-writing activities (brainstorming, planning, organizing, etc.) 2) a type-written double-spaced paragraph of 150-250 words, and 3) evidence of editing as required in each task (e.g., check marks for noun adjective agreement, etc.) These writing tasks will be graded according to the completeness of each step of the writing process, the content of the written product and the accuracy in editing. You will also hand in three journal entries (about 200 words each) on any topic of your interest. The purpose of the journal (diario) is to allow you the opportunity to practice your free writing skills in Spanish. There is no set theme or topic for these entries – you may write about any topic that interests you: something you learned about in class, your personal thoughts on or reactions to cultural topics addressed throughout the semester, things that are going on in your life, short stories or fictional events, etc.

Written exams (30%)

There will be six (6) written Chapter exams assessing your comprehension of the material discussed in class and covered in the workbook (Chapters 7-12). The last exam of the semester (Exam# 12) will take place during Finals Week. No make-up exams will be given without a documented excuse. Also, I need to know of your absence, either by a message on my voice mail or by e-mail, before an exam.

The Final Exam will be comprehensive and cumulative in nature, with an emphasis on the last Unit. It will consit of two parts (listening and written sections).

Workbook:

You are expected to complete all the activities in the Workbook and Lab Manual, even those that are not assigned by the instructor. These activities correspond directly to the textbook and completing them will help you prepare for the chapter exams. The assigned exercises and dates they are to be handed in appear on the syllabus. I will be checking your Workbook from time to time. It is in your interest to complete these exercises on your own or in study groups and check with the answer keys for a better understanding of the various grammatical structures. The chapter exams will include similar exercises and you would be doing yourself a disservice by simply copying off from the answer sheets. The same applies for the oral exercises in the Manual de Laboratorio section, beginning on page 215. The corresponding audio tapes/CDs can be borrowed from the library.

Grading scale:

93% and above	A	80-82.9%	B-
90-92.9%	A-	75-79.9%	C+
87-89.9%	B+	70-74.9%	C
83-86.9%	B	60-69.9%	D

Some guidelines for success in a Spanish language course:

A general guideline for the amount of time you should plan to dedicate to this and any other university course is 2-3 hours of homework per hour spent in class. With a six-credit course such as Spanish 20, you should dedicate 12-18 hours per week outside the classroom if you want to be successful in acquiring the needed skills. There are various tools available for you to improve on your language skills. Temas has a multimedia CD-Rom with a variety of exercises, videos, listening and reading activities for each chapter which you can work on at home and during our class time in the Computer Lab. In the Lab we will be using Atajo, a Spanish Writing Assistant software, which will help students in their writing activities. At the textbook website mentioned above, click on “Autopruebas” for self correcting exercises which will aid students as they review the material learned in every chapter. There’s also an Autoexamen after each chapter in your workbook, with an answer key at the end. Students should get into the habit of listening daily to the dialogues and other oral exercises in the audio CD as well as the audio tapes available in the library. Most students will need to listen to and practice these dialogues/exercises several times so as to get used to hearing a different language and understanding its content. Memorization and recognition is an important aspect of language learning (vocabulary items, phrases, verb conjugations), therefore time must be spent studying these items using flash cards, associations or other methods. I highly encourage students to form study groups which meet on a weekly basis for review, especially before a chapter exam. I am also available during office hours to go over any questions students may have; the Learning Center at PSYork offers free Spanish tutoring when needed. If students make good use of all these available resources from the beginning of the semester and spend enough time on the subject, they will, undoubtedly, be successful in learning the Spanish language.

Academic integrity:

In accordance with Penn State University Senate Policy 49-20, plagiarism, cheating, submitting work of another person, and other forms of academic dishonesty may lead to lowered course grades, failure of the course or more severe measures, depending on judgements of the gravity of the individual case. This also applies to using an online Spanish language translator when submitting your writing assignments. See http://www.psu.edu/dept/oue/aappm/G-9.html

University Policy on Disabilities: Any student with a documented disability who requires individualized accommodations is encouraged to make an appointment to see me or to meet with staff in the Learning Center.

Project Evaluation Criteria and Point Values

ACCURACY

HIGH: Showed mastery of the grammar presented in the chapter(s). Very few

errors overall (i.e., subject-verb agreement, noun-adjective agreement, etc.).

MEDIUM: Showed limited mastery of the grammar presented in the chapter(s).

Some agreement errors were evident, but these generally did not interfere with

communication of the message.

LOW: Demonstrated little mastery of the grammar presented in the chapter(s).

Numerous agreement errors, including errors which interfered with communication of

the message.

UNSATISFACTORY: No mastery of the grammar presented in the chapter(s).

Errors constantly interfered with communication of the message.

COMPLEXITY

HIGH: Connected and completely clear ideas, well developed, to the point, and

communicated in a logical sequence. Speaker used vocabulary covered in class with

very few or no errors, and was able to create with it. Speaker maintained Spanish

throughout the presentation.

MEDIUM: Ideas mostly clear and somehow connected, developed and to the point,

and for the most part speaker showed mastery of vocabulary covered in class,

though at times the presentation lacked logical sequence and/or speaker struggled

for needed vocabulary.

LOW: Little development or ordering of ideas is apparent; speaker had difficulty with

and made errors with vocabulary covered in class.

UNSATISFACTORY: Ideas confusing, not well stated, and/or poorly communicated.

Speaker made frequent errors with vocabulary covered in class and/or vocabulary

was inadequate to the task. Speaker lapsed into English.

CONTENT OF PRESENTATION

Outstanding in content: culturally relevant photographs; clear and comprehensive

information; relevant information presented. Colorful and sophisticated.

Content is good and easy to understand. Some culturally relevant photographs;

information presented somewhat clear and comprehensive, but not always relevant.

Somewhat colorful and sophisticated.

Content is good, but lacks clarity. Few culturally relevant photographs; most

information presented is not clear, comprehensive, or relevant.

Presentation presented/completed with minimum effort and insufficient/inadequate

content.

ORGANIZATION/CREATIVITY

Presentation was very well organized and outstanding in creativity.

Parts of the organization were unclear; lack of creativity.

Presentation of the material was very sloppy and not creative.

Grading Criteria for Written Tasks

Pre-Writing:

Thoroughly completed all required pre-writing tasks. Demonstrated

good thought investment. Original and creative.

Completed all required pre-writing tasks. Demonstrated some

thought investment. Somewhat creative.

Minimally completed pre-writing tasks. No thought investment.

No evidence of pre-writing.

Written product:

Complexity

Very complete information. Broad, effective use of vocabulary

covered in the chapter.

Adequate information. Some development of ideas. Few

vocabulary errors.

Limited information. Ideas present, but underdeveloped.

Occasional vocabulary errors.

Minimal information. Frequent vocabulary errors. Presence of

English.

Fluency

Ideas connected. Logically ordered from beginning to end. Fluent.

Order apparent, but somewhat choppy, loosely organized.

Limited order to the content. Disjointed and/or choppy.

Basically a series of separate sentences. No transitions. No

apparent order.

Accuracy

Well-edited for the grammar covered in the course lessons to date.

Very few errors overall.

Occasional errors relating to the grammar covered in the course

lesson.

Frequent errors that would probably impede comprehensibility for

a native speaker not accustomed to communicating with language

learners.

Abundance of errors. Mostly incomprehensible.

Post-writing:

Carefully and thoroughly completed all editing steps.

Completed all editing steps.

Editing apparent, but incomplete.

No evidence of the required editing steps.

Grading Criteria for Class Participation

A (25 pts):

The student:

· always greeted people and took leave using Spanish

· always used Spanish in class ( i.e., with instructor and in small groups)

· always listened attentively when others spoke and showed respect for her/his peers

· always came prepared to class

· always actively participated in all classroom activities

· always made a positive impact on the class with her/his presence and positive attitude

· helped peers with in-class activities

A- (23 pts):

The student:

· sometimes greeted people and took leave using Spanish

· mostly used Spanish in class, but sometimes used English in group work

· usually listened and showed respect for her/his peers

· occasionally came unprepared to class, but usually came prepared

· participated in all classroom activities

B (21 pts):

The student:

· did not greet people and take leave in Spanish

· frequently used English, especially during group and pair work

· at times got distracted and was occasionally disrespectful to her/his peers

· showed some preparation for class, but needed more preparation

· participated in classroom activities but was more passively than actively attentive

C (19 pts):

The student:

· used more English than Spanish during class

· paid little attention during class (e.g., sometimes slept, read the newspaper, did other homework, etc.) and was disrespectful to her/his

peers

· showed little preparation for class

· participated minimally in classroom activities

D (17 pts):

The student:

· used only English during class

· paid no attention during class and was disrespectful to her/his peers

· showed no preparation for class

· failed to contribute to the class with her/his presence and/or detracted from the class with her/his negative attitude

F (0 pts):

The student:

· The student did not attend enough classes or did not demonstrate sufficient participation for evaluation. (3 or more unexcused absences per chapter will be considered ‘not enough’ classes.)

Tentative Schedule

Week	Date	Day	In Class	Homework to be handed in
1	1/13	M	Introducción. Repaso. Lab.
	1/14	T	Capítulo 7
	1/15	W	Capítulo 7
	1/16	Th	Capítulo 7
2	1/20	M	Capítulo 7. LAB	Wkbk: Ej. D, E, F (p.122-123)
	1/21	T	Capítulo 7
	1/22	W	Capítulo 7
	1/23	Th	Capítulo 7 * QUIZ *
3	1/27	M	Capítulo 7. Laboratorio.	Ej. H, N, R
	1/28	T	EXAMEN Cap. 7
	1/29	W	Capítulo 8
	1/30	Th	Capítulo 8
4	2/3	M	Capítulo 8 LAB	Writing Task # 1 A escribir P. 366
	2/4	T	Capítulo 8
	2/5	W	Capítulo 8	Ej. D, F
	2/6	Th	Capítulo 8
5	2/10	M	Capítulo 8. Laboratorio	Ej. L, M, P
	2/11	T	Capítulo 8
	2/12	W	Capítulo 8	Ej. T, AA, BB
	2/13	Th	EXAMEN Cap. 8
6	2/17	M	Capítulo 9. LAB	Writing Task #2 pag.420-423
	2/18	T	Capítulo 9
	2/19	W	Capítulo 9	Diario # 1
	2/20	Th	Capítulo 9	Ej. C, E, G, I
7	2/24	M	Capítulo 9. LAB	Hand in typed Proyecto 1
	2/25	T	Capítulo 9
	2/26	W	Proyecto # 1	Presentación de un cuento de hadas.
	2/27	Th	Capítulo 9	Ej. M, Q, R
8	3/3	M	Capítulo 9. Laboratorio.
	3/4	T	Capítulo 9	Ej. T, V, X
	3/5	W	Capítulo 9
	3/6	Th	EXAMEN Cap. 9
9			Vacaciones de primavera
10	3/17	M	Capítulo 10. Laboratorio	Workbook and Lab Manual due
	3/18	T	Capítulo 10	Writing task #3. pag.491-492
	3/19	W	Capítulo 10
	3/20	Th	Capítulo 10	Ej. C, D, F, I
11	3/24	M	Capítulo 10. Laboratorio	Diario # 2
	3/25	T	Capítulo 10
	3/26	W	Capítulo 10	Ej. N, R, S
	3/27	Th	Capítulo 10
12	3/31	M	Capítulo 10. Laboratorio	Ej. T, W, X
	4/1	T	EXAMEN Cap.10
	4/2	W	Capítulo 11
	4/3	Th	Capítulo 11	Writing task #4. p. 538
13	4/7	M	Capítulo 11. LAB
	4/8	T	Capítulo 11	Ej. B, F, I, L
	4/9	W	Capítulo 11
	4/10	Th	Capítulo 11
14	4/14	M	Capítulo 11 LAB	Ej. M, Q, T
	4/15	T	Capítulo 11
	4/16	W	EXAMEN Cap. 11 Capítulo 12
	4/17	Th	** Viaje a Washington **
15	4/21	M	Capítulo 12. Laboratorio	Writing task # 5. p. 581-582
	4/22	T	Capítulo 12
	4/23	W	Capítulo 12	Diario # 3
	4/24	Th	Capítulo 12	Ej. D, F
16	4/28	M	Capítulo 12. Laboratorio	Ej. L, N, O
	4/29	T	Proyecto # 2	Presentación del Proyecto
	4/30	W	Proyecto # 2	Presentación del Proyecto
	5/1	Th	Repaso del Cap. 12
			** EXAMEN FINAL **	Workbook and Lab Manual due