SAINT MICHAEL’S COLLEGE
INTENSIVE SPANISH 102B & D
Prof. Amanda Amend
Primavera de 2006
Salón de clase: JM364
Oficina: Durick Library 329 (Behind the computer lab on the top floor of the library.) Teléfono: 654-2280
Horas de oficina tentativas (se pueden cambiar):
§ Official hours: 1:30 – 3:30, Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
§ Unofficial hours: I am usually here most of the day on Wednesdays. Please make an appointment.
Required Texts :
§ Acquaroni Muñoz. Santillana, Universidad de Salamanca. 1991. La Sombra de un fotógrafo. This is a short novel that we’ll be reading this semester. It’s not currently in the bookstore but will be available shortly. Cost is around $10.
§ Blanco, Dellinger, Donley, Garcia. VISTAS, Vista Higher Learning, 2005. Text and CD’s. (This is the same as last semester, so you shouldn’t have to buy this. If you don’t have your CD’s, however, please talk to the bookstore manager about getting them.)
§ New World Spanish/English English/Spanish Dictionary, revised edition.
Useful websites: www.vistasonline.com www.studyspanish.com www.conjuguemos.com
Course Description:
This course continues your intensive introduction to Spanish language and culture. Topics include discussing daily activities and past experiences, expressing likes and dislikes, making requests, giving directions, giving advice, obtaining information, and discussing family, friends, home, school, work, hobbies, foods, customs, dates, weather, schedules, and cultural events.
In order to give you the experience of being in another linguistic environment, Spanish is spoken in class. You may ask questions in English before or after the class meetings or in my office, but in class you will communicate in Spanish. Speaking English in class will affect your grade and can lead to your removal from the course, since it ruins the immersion experience for you and those around you. Please be respectful of this process.
Our contract:
My responsibilities:
1. To sequence and pace your learning (to guide your learning).
2. To clarify grammar and vocabulary points that you do not understand.
3. To provide varied opportunities for you to practice Spanish in class.
4. To help you develop effective study strategies and to support your learning process. (Come see me if you’re not getting enough of this in class.)
5. To be a resource to you in relating Spanish to your future career goals. (Please come see me to talk about the many possibilities that there are.)
Your responsibilities:
1. To attend class daily with text, handouts, materials from eCollege, and writing materials.
2. To speak exclusively in Spanish, and to use the class time to speak in Spanish as much as possible. (See Class participation rubric, below.)
3. To know how to use all the materials that accompany Vistas.
4. To study assigned sections BEFORE coming to class. Come to class with questions about things you don’t understand, rather than with a blank slate in your mind. Practice book activities orally before coming to class.
5. To check eCollege regularly for announcements and to print and keep daily homework and support materials from eCollege.
Support:
One-on-one tutoring is available to you at no charge. Just pick up a form from Joe Krupinski, Tutoring Coordinator, in Ross 220, X2722. If you feel insecure about taking Spanish this semester, for whatever reason, it is best to begin the semester with a tutor, rather than to wait and see if you are having problems. If you have a documented learning disability, please meet with me right away to discuss learning strategies, accommodations, etc.
Classroom etiquette:
Each professor has personal preferences regarding classroom etiquette. It’s probably easier for all of us if mine are expressed up front:
eCollege:
We will be using eCollege (an on-line course management system) this semester. This puts all class related handouts in one place, so that you can find and print them off at your convenience. I will be posting announcements, “tarea” sheets and support materials for each chapter on e-College, rather than writing homework on the board or bringing lots of handouts to class. Please print them and keep a well-organized binder for these materials. (Binders work better than spiral notebooks to organize handouts, and there is a good three-hole punch at the front desk of the library.)
To access eCollege:
§ go to www.smcvtonline.org.
§ your login ID is your mikenet name, the same as you use to login to the mikenet system. (For example, my username is aamend.)
§ your password is your SMC ID#. You may change this password using the My Profile button located at the top right of the screen after you log into eCollege. If you forget your password there is a “Forgot your Password” option at the login screen, or you may contact the eCollege Help Desk, available 24/7, at 303-873-0005 or online at helpdesk@smcvtonline.org.
§ There is a student orientation tutorial that you may access, available on the screen after you log in. We will not be using all of the features in the tutorial, but it will help orient you to how eCollege works. If you choose not to do the tutorial, at least click on the various tabs so you know where things are.
§ This is a VERY reliable system. If you can get on the internet, you can get to eCollege.
§ To print a document, click inside the text of the document and then print (from file menu)
Course Requirement Details:
· Daily class attendance is critical to developing your skills. Absences in excess of 4 will lower your final grade in the course at the rate of ½ % per excessive absence. Ex: if you have an 83 in the course and have 6 absences, the excessive absences will lower your final grade to an 82, ie from a B to a B-. (This includes absences due to sports commitments, illness or family emergencies, so watch your absences carefully.) Also note that excessive absences will be reported to the Dean.
· Keep up with your work. This course requires a third of your class and study time, and you must study daily! Expect to devote a minimum of an hour (outside of class) to Spanish homework every day; 1 ½ to 2 hours may be a more realistic estimate. Break up your study times to keep your brain fresh.
· Participation. Periodic proficiency grades will be given based on your contributions in class. (See Class Participation Rubric, below.) Homework assignments must be prepared before class, so that you are prepared to participate. Practice speaking out loud at home, even to yourself! When you have an oral exercise to prepare, you should practice it orally, rather than just writing it out, to develop proficiency.
· Quizzes and exams. All exams are announced, but “pop” quizzes may be given. If you are doing your homework thoroughly, you will do well on these quizzes.
· Written work. You must do take-home writing assignments on your own. Unless I specifically indicate otherwise, help from other students, native speakers, on-line translators and the like is a violation of academic integrity and will be pursued as such. Asking someone else to proofread your paper is included in this category. If I have reason to suspect that you have utilized unauthorized assistance, you will be asked to redo the assignment in my office, with a reduction in grade, and a report will be filed with the Associate Dean and the Provost for Academic Affairs.
· Living Labs (3 of them) are language or cultural experiences of your choice, outside of the classroom. For each lab, print and fill out the Labo en vivo form in DocSharing in eCollege. The labs will contribute to your participation grades. Due dates for the labs are Feb. 6, March 6 and April 7. Again, you choose what these activities will be. Ideas for Labos en vivo are also listed in DocSharing in eCollege.
Grading:
Remember that absences in excess of 4 are deducted from your final grade at the rate of ½ point per excessive absence. Please keep track of your absences.
In determining your course grade, the language sub-skills are weighted as follows:
Oral proficiency.......................................……...........................................................15 %
Oral proficiency checks, dialogs, skits, etc.
Participation ………………………………………………………………………………10%
Writing proficiency................................................……............................................. 25%
Compositions, responses to readings, written homework, etc.
Listening proficiency...............................................……........................................... 17%
In-class responses, listening sections on exams and quizzes
Reading proficiency.....................................................……...................................... 17%
Responses to reading homework, reading sections on quizzes and exams
Grammatical proficiency.................................................……....................................16%
Grammar sections on exams and quizzes
You will not receive an overall grade on chapter tests. Instead, you’ll receive a grade in each proficiency category (listening, writing, etc.) which is weighted as indicated above. To keep track of your grade, you can enter these scores in the chart at the end of the syllabus, or come see me.
At the end of the semester a series of proficiency tests will be given (one in each of the areas above), which together will comprise the semester's final exam. Each section of the final exam is weighted as approximately 1/3 of the grade in its category.
Class Participation Rubric (criteria for grading participation):
**Note that speaking English during small group work earns you an ‘F’ in participation.
A—Spoke Spanish exclusively. Contributed extra to each conversation, to extend the conversation and to incorporate as much of the vocabulary that we have studied as possible. When “finishes” a task, continues talking in the group, IN SPANISH. Asks questions to lead others to extend the conversation. Helps others in the group. Consistently volunteers to answer questions in class. Shows enthusiasm.
B—Spoke Spanish exclusively. Extended conversations—said more than was required to complete the activity. Occasionally volunteers to answer questions in class.
C—Did what was asked, in Spanish, but did not work to extend the conversations beyond what was required to adequately complete the task.
D— Did less than was asked. Seems apathetic towards learning Spanish and participating. Is not listening and actively engaged in class.
F—Seemed to do as little as possible to complete each task. Spoke English in group.
· Missed homework, exams or quizzes may only be made up in the case of an excused absence, which would consist of an absence due to illness, team event, or family emergency which is substantiated by a note from Health Services or from the Associate Dean’s office. Students with justifiable reasons for missing class must discuss their absence with me before the class that you miss. Needing to leave early before a vacation or at the end of the semester does not constitute an excused absence, and work cannot be made up.
· If you are on a sports team, please get me an official schedule of your games a.s.a.p. You are responsible for homework assigned when you are absent, so check with a friend and come to class prepared. You will ordinarily be expected to turn in homework and to take quizzes even if you were absent the previous day. You may make up quizzes or tests missed for games, but only if you have given me your game schedule and cleared your absence well in advance.
Spanish TV:
You now have the opportunity to watch Spanish television on the SMC cable network. This is a new resource that will help improve your listening comprehension in a natural, easy way. The Spanish channels are channels 68-70, and you can find out more about programming on the SMC website at http://www1.smcvt.edu/Admin2.asp?SiteAreaID=1506&Level=1
Fechas importantes (pero tentativas):
· el lunes 6 de febrero: Living Lab #1 (due in class or before)
· el viernes 10 de febrero: In-class, composition #1
· el jueves 16 de febrero: Proficiencia Oral #1
· el viernes 17 de febrero: Examen, capítulos 8 & 9 (This is the day before our Presidents’ Day break. Be here! Make-ups will not be given.)
· el viernes 3 de marzo: In-class, composition #2
· el lunes 6 de marzo: Living Lab #2 (due in class or before)
· el lunes 27 de marzo: Proficiencia Oral #2
· el martes 28 de marzo: Examen, capítulos 10 & 11
· el viernes 7 de abril: Labo en vivo #3
· el viernes 28 de abril: Examen, capítulos 12-14
· el martes 2 de mayo: Proficiencia oral #3 (la proficiencia oral final)
· el viernes 5 de mayo: In-class composition
· Final exam dates are set by the Registrar’s Office and cannot be changed. Exams will not be given other than at the scheduled date and time.
o SP102B (8:15 section): Wednesday, May 10, 9:00.
o SP102D (11:45 section): Friday, May 12, 9:00.