Spanish 131 Spring - Stephen F. Austin State University

Stephen F . A ustin State University Department of L anguages, C ultures and Communication E lementary Spanish 1-- Spanish 131 Spring 2014 Instructor: Kelsey Treusdell O ffice: LAN 253 O ffice phone: (936) 468-4303 (Modern Languages) Contact: [email protected] C lass meeting: SPA 131.010 MWF 1:00 - 1:50 pm SPA 131.011 MWF 2:30 - 3:20 pm O ffice Hours: Texts:

MWF 11 am ± 12 pm, TR 3:30-4:30 pm, and by appointment

(required)

V istas, 4th E dition Authors: Blanco and Donley Publisher: Vista Higher Learning

Description: Spanish 131 serves as the foundation of the first-year Spanish program at SFASU. It is designed to help students develop skills in speaking, reading, writing and listening comprehension in Spanish, and provide them with a better understanding and appreciation of Hispanic cultures. Even though this is an introductory course, class work will be in the target language in order to facilitate and encourage the studeQWV¶LQWHUHVWLQEHFRPLQJIOXHQWLQ6SDQLVK7KLVFRXUVHZLOOSUHVHQWJUDPPDWLFDO structures, vocabulary and cultural knowledge necessary for effective communication in the target language. O rganization: 7KLVFRXUVHZLOOFRYHU³/HFFLyQ´WKURXJK³/HFFLyQ ´LQ9LVWDV A ttendance: Attendance is absolutely mandatory. Students are allowed three absences to use at their discretion without penalty; beyond this, documentation must be provided for such circumstances as illness or family emergencies. (Schoolsponsored events and religious observances are likewise considered excused.) Each excess unexcused absence will result in 1 point deducted from the final grade. If you are absent it is your responsibility to keep up with assignments and material covered. Spending class entirely off-task (i.e. with headphones on, texting throughout class, or sleeping) will result in being counted absent. T ardiness: Students are expected to come to class on time and prepared. Consistently arriving to class tardy will negatively affect your participation grade. 3 instances of significant tardiness (10 minutes or more) will count as an absence.

Participation: This course is geared for students to develop not only listening, reading and writing skills, but also speaking and general communicative competence in Spanish. This means that your active participation is absolutely essential for success in this course. You will earn a weekly participation grade of 10 points based on the following criteria: x Your attempt to always use Spanish in whole-class and group activities. x Your contributions to the class by asking and responding to questions. x Showing initiative and responsibility by asking questions about assignments/ material yoXGRQ¶WXQGHUVWDQGLQFODVVDQGLQWKHRIILFH x Attentively listening to others and respecting them. Not texting, sleeping, doing other work or using any electronic devices in class. x Your willingness to work on-task in groups. x Your preparation for class ± having materials, being prepared to answer questions and demonstrating knowledge of material. Homewor k Your homework will consist both of paper assignments and online assignments through studyspanish.com. All assignments are to be completed by the day designated on the syllabus/ announced in class. To set up a studyspanish.com account and enroll in the class: *RWRVWXG\VSDQLVKFRPDQGFOLFNRQWKH³0HPEHUVKLSRSWLRQV´EXWWRQDWWKHWRS &OLFNRQWKH³OHDUQPRUH´OLQNQH[WWR³)UHHPHPEHUVKLS´ 3. Enter your e-mail address, then check your e-mail and follow the instructions in the link. 2QWKH³&RPSOHWH0HPEHU3URILOH´SDJHHQWHUWKH7HDFKHU,'3 K 76F24R. 2QFH\RXJHWWR\RXU³$FFRXQW,QIR´SDJHFOLFNWKH³FKDQJHSDVVZRUG´OLQNDQG change your password to something you can remember. :KHQ\RXDUHUHDG\WRGR\RXUDVVLJQPHQWVFOLFNRQWKH³*UDPPDU´WDEDWWKHWRS DQGILQGWKHDVVLJQHGOHVVRQRQWKHVLGHEDU7DNHWKH³%DVLF4XL]´DQGWKH³0LQL 4XL]´IRUWKHOHVVRQDssigned. Your lowest 2 homework grades will be dropped. I will only accept late work at my discretion. If you are genuinely confused and unable to complete an assignment, I invite you to come to my office to clarify your questions.

Composition / C ulture assignments Towards the end of the semester you will have a composition and a ³PLQL-SURMHFW´ in which you will use the Internet to plan a trip to Madrid, in the process learning about a city you may have the chance to visit after completing Spanish 232 at SFA. In DGGLWLRQ\RXZLOOZDWFKILOPVLQODEGXULQJWKHVHPHVWHURQ\RXURZQWLPH³/D PLVPDOXQD´³8QGHUWKH6DPH0RRQ´ DQG³9RFHVLQRFHQWHV´³,QQRFHQWYRLFHV´  The assignments that go along with these films will be part of this 10% portion of your grade. Q uizzes Expect short weekly quizzes throughout the semester covering material we have practiced that week in class. These will usually be given at the beginning of class on Fridays. Make-up quizzes will not be given as a general rule, since I will return these and we will go over them shortly after they are taken. Your lowest 2 quiz grades will be dropped at the end of the semester.