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Introduction to Spanish I

Fall 2007

Prof. William Keeth

E-mail: [email-masked]

Telephone:

570-662-4605  or

570-662-4581

Class Schedule

Office: Belknap 110-C

Office
Hours

Required material:

Texts:

Knore, et.
al.  Puntos de partida.  7th Ed.  Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2005.

Other Resources:

Quia Puntos de partida Lab Manual and Workbook.

Modern Language Learning Center

Spaleon or Conjuguemos.com

Suggested Material:

Miscellaneous:

A spiral notebook
(class journal)

Flashcards (verb
and vocabulary drill)

Texts:

Castillo, Carlos, et. al.  The University of Chicago Spanish Dictionary.
Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2002.

Lacasa,
Jaime.  The Complete Handbook of Spanish Verbs.  Lincolnwood,Ill.:
Passport Books, 1984.

Spinelli,
Emily.  English Grammar for Students of Spanish.  Ann Arbor,
Mich.:   Olivia and Hill Press, 1998.

Butt,
John.  Spanish Grammar.  New York
: Oxford UP,
1996.

Overview of course:

This course is designed for
students who are just beginning to study Spanish.  In this course we will
develop fundamental communicative skills in Spanish: speaking, listening,
reading, and writing.  These skills will be practiced daily in both class
and group activities.  Students can expect to encounter a variety of activities
that focus on cultural awareness. The format of tests will reflect both the
course’s concentration and focus.  Daily homework and laboratory
work are graded.

Specific Course
Goals

Textbook
Timetable

● Recognize
and use basic vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and grammar.

● Build
written or verbal messages in Spanish that reflect class activities and the
fundamental skills of communication that are introduced in class (speaking,
writing, listening, and reading).

● Use
guessing/prediction strategies and grammatical forms in language production.

●
Recognize culturally relevant information and demeanor.

● Return
conversation in casual talks, classroom discussions, dialogues, group work
and questions.

System of
Evaluation

Standards of Measurement

Criteria and Weight*

Class Participation

10%

Lab

5%

Workbook

5%

2 Quizzes

25%

Midterm

25%

Oral Presentation

5%

Final Listening Exam

5%

Final Exam

20%

Total

100%

Important Dates

September 21st , 2007– Quiz 1

October 12th , 2007– Midterm

November 9th, 2007– Quiz 2

December 3rd & 5th , 2007–
Oral Presentations

December 7th, 2007– Final Listening Exam

December 10th, 2007 at 3:15 PM – Final
Exam

General
Education Requirements and the General Education Portfolio:

Every Spanish course fulfills the General Education
Distribution requirements for Group II “Languages and Literature”. In
order to maintain this GE qualification, students in 100 or 200 language level
courses may not take the course as “pass/fail”.

Effective September 2006,
students are no longer required to submit General Education Portfolios.

Although portfolios collected from individual students are no
longer the focus of the assessment process, the General Education goals have
not changed and artifacts for General Education assessment may be gathered by
your professor in this course.  For instance, the most conspicuous
artifacts that can be drawn from this language course fulfill the
“communication” category of GE competencies; for instance, your
professor may video taping the Final Oral Presentation.  A composition
that shows how a student is able to identify and cite reasons for his/her
opinions may also be held as a Critical Thinking Artifact.  Likewise, a
homework assignment that shows how a student is able to correct his/her
answers, methods or procedures may also be gathered. A
“web-based” or “realia”
assignment that includes a "real world" task or an assignment that is
based on a role-playing scenario may be used as a Problem Solving artifact.

Quizzes, Midterm, Final Exam:

Students MUST take each quiz,
Midterm, and Final Exam on the day scheduled for examination. If a student is
absent from any quiz, Midterm, or Final Exam, then s/he will receive a zero
(unless the student has made a prior arrangement with the professor). The
Midterm Exam and Final Exam will be comprehensive and accumulative in content.

Students with a 93.1% or higher
cumulative course grade (following the Final Listening Exam), will excused from
taking the Final Exam (written portion).

The idea of “dropping of low
exam or quiz scores” does NOT exist in this course.

Homework and Lab Activities:

It is the student’s
responsibility to complete and electronically submit a score record for each
workbook and lab exercise that is assigned in class. These records should be
submitted in a timely manner allowing the professor and students to track their
progress and provide feedback. Electronic material that is submitted late will
not necessarily count towards homework credit. If you have problems using the
electronic media, please consult with the instructor or lab assistant ASAP. Not
knowing how to use the media or incorrectly registering the media will not be
accepted as an excuse for late homework.

Oral Presentations:

Please, refer to the Oral
Presentations Guide (1,2)

Class Participation:

Each student can expect his/her
class participation to be evaluated in accordance with the general guideline
for “Class
Participation” and in accordance with the system of “Scoring
Class Participation”.  Students will receive participation scores
from their peers as well as the professor (60% professor, 40%  peers).

All students are expected to attend
every class. Any unexcused absence will result in a 15% reduction in the
student’s final Participation grade at the end of the semester.  Any partial absence (over 15 minutes)
will result in a maximum score of 2.5 for the day.

Attendance:

All students are expected to attend
class on a regular and punctual basis. Missing a class does not release a
student from class obligations. Students should keep in touch with classmates
and be sure to contact their professor in advance of any absence.
If this is not possible, they must contact the professor no later than
the first class period after the excused absence.

If a student has to miss a class due
to documented illness or other excusable reason, the

student must:

1.      inform the
professor as soon as possible and no later than the first class period
after the excused absence;

2.      provide the
professor with a copy of the signed excuse from a physician, coach or other
authority no later than the first class period after the excused absence
(The original must be available for faculty review.);

3.      arrange with the
professor to make up missed graded assignments or exams as soon as possible.

In order to avoid prolonged delay
of make-up of the work, the professor may, at his discretion, give the make-up
work and hold it for grading until after the written excuse is received.

Any unexcused absence will result
in a 15% reduction in the student’s Participation grade.

Electronic submission of written
work is an effective way of handing in required written work by a specified
deadline, especially when a student expects to be absent.

Suggested Method of Study:

1) Class Journal
and Daily Review—Apart from completing homework assignments and attending
class, students should keep a class journal (notes, diagrams, etc. related to
Spanish, made both in and out of class).  This journal should be reviewed
(at length) following each class and briefly looked at prior to each class
session. This activity allows one to pay closer attention to the material,
raise questions in class sessions, and keep continually
“fresh”—one of the most essential parts of learning a foreign
language.

2) Establishing
Priorities—Students should try to study the most difficult Spanish topics
first and dedicate more time studying these areas later, especially prior to
exams.

3) Avoiding
Burnout—Students should always study in multiple, staggered, short blocks
of time.  Each block should be no more than an hour and should include 5
to 10 minute breaks.  Integrating numerous small blocks of study time into
the weekly schedule is empowering.

4)
Consistency—Creating and sticking to a study schedule is very important.
For many students, weekends represent more valuable moments of study.
Reserve these moments for studying ahead and resolving any problematic areas of
study.

5) Positively
Influencing One's Horizon—Each student needs to periodically assess this
course’s requirements, his/her degree of success and failure, his/her
expectations, and the direction of energies applied to this course.  This
helps to opportunely adjust study strategies or seek outside help, either with
the professor or a tutor.

Conduct:

Academic honesty, the submission of
original work, and student interaction is expected in this class. Any form of
cheating may result in failure of the course. Additional information concerning
academic honesty and the procedures your professor

will use to initiate disciplinary
action in cases of academic dishonesty can be found in The Password
(for upperclassmen) or in The Student Planner (for freshmen).

The Syllabus:

This syllabus serves as a contractual
agreement. Presence in this class means that you agree to the items stipulated
in the syllabus and are aware of any modifications made throughout the
semester. One should periodically check the course web site for any updates to
the syllabus and/or class calendar.

Class records and Grades:

Oversee your grade by monitoring
your progress and maintaining contact with your instructor. Any student
material or record that has been returned to the student becomes the student's
responsibility to maintain as a permanent record for the course. Students are
responsible for picking up any materials that are made available to them or are
returned in class. If a student loses these records and the professor does not
have a copy of the material available, the student will receive a failing grade
for the particular activity.

Students with “exceptionalities”:

Any students with documented psychological or learning disorders
or other significant medical conditions that may affect their learning should
contact Mr. William Chabala in our Counseling Center
(101 Hemlock Manor, Phone: 662-4695; [email-masked]).
Mr. Chabala will provide the professor with the appropriate letter and
materials that will enable him to serve the student’s particular needs
more effectively. If a student has an exceptionality that requires class or
testing accommodations, Mr. Chabala will work with the student and the
professor to identify and implement appropriate interventions.

Other:

If you are interested in studying
abroad, please contact the Office
of the Provost or Study
Abroad advisor for information about studying abroad and make an office
visit with your professor so that he may address your questions or concerns
more straightforwardly.