School of Linguistics and Language Studies. PORT 1010A Course Outline

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1 Fall 2010 CARLETON UNIVERSITY School of Linguistics and Language Studies PORT 1010A Course Outline Instructor: Fernanda Boldrini Nascimbem Office: Contact: Office Hours: Schedule: Location: About the course: PORT 1010 is a beginners course for students with no previous knowledge of Portuguese. It is also the first in a series of two courses (1010 and 1020) of Portuguese offered at the undergraduate level at Carleton. In order to progress from 1010 to 1020, the second semester, you need to pass this course with a grade C or higher. Brazilian Portuguese: Portuguese comes from the same branch of the language tree as French, Spanish and Italian and there are many similarities between them, both structurally and lexically. This fact will help those students who already have some knowledge of these languages to learn Portuguese, but it will also pose some challenges since there are many false cognates among them. For instance, the words: família, amigo, país have the same meaning as: famille/familia/famiglia, ami/amigo/amico, pays/país/paese. However, the word oficina ("garage/workshop") does not share the same meaning of the words: officine/oficina/officina. It is also important to notice that in this course you will be learning Brazilian Portuguese and not European Portuguese. As you may know, Brazil was a Portuguese colony until the beginning of the 19th century and after its independence the Portuguese spoken in South America evolved separately from the variety spoken in Europe. As a result, there are many structural, phonological/phonetic and lexical differences between the two varieties of Portuguese. Despite all these distinctions, Portuguese speakers from different countries can understand each other. 1

2 Goals: Communicative competence in the language is the primary goal of all Portuguese courses at Carleton University. In other words, you will learn to use the language rather than only study how it works. We will develop all the skills necessary to use the language proficiently like an average well-educated Brazilian i.e. speaking, listening, reading, and writing. You will practice and develop these skills by engaging in meaningful and realistic tasks that will range from less to more formal and professional topics and situations. The course is topic and context-based, meaning that we will explore different topics and situations by learning and practicing language skills in and around them. In order to have a better understanding of how Brazilian Portuguese works we will also learn a bit about the country's geography, culture and history. Required materials: You are required to buy the following books: Falar, Ler, Escrever Português -- Um Curso Para Estrangeiros by Emma Eberlein O. F. Lima and Samira A. Iunes, E.P.U (1999). In this course, we will learn the contents in the first 9 units of the textbook and the other half of the book will be used for PORT A Brazilian Portuguese-English dictionary. Make sure you buy a dictionary with Brazilian and NOT European Portuguese equivalents. The Oxford Portuguese Dictionary is the best and most updated dictionary in that regard. Optional materials: Falar, Ler, Escrever Português -- Um Curso Para Estrangeiros (Livro de Exercícios) by Emma Eberlein O. F. Lima and Samira A. Iunes, E.P.U (1999). Minidicionário Houaiss (monolingual dictionary). Obs.: The textbook has a section dedicated to verbs and their conjugation. Even so, you will not find all the verbs listed there. Therefore, I encourage you to check verb conjugation on the following website: All materials mentioned above are available at the university's bookstore or at Girol on 120 Somerset St., Ottawa. For a complete list of books available at Girol, you check their website: Web CT: 2

3 Please note: This course will be supported by the WebCT Course Management System. A variety of resources will be made available through the WebCT site. You must activate your WebCT account by going to the following page: webct.carleton.ca and following the links from the "Student Resources" site on the left hand side. Assessment: You will be assessed throughout the course and by a final examination in December Planned distribution of marks: Participation and Effort 25 % 3 Scheduled in-class tests 25 % Logbook 25 % Final examination 25 % Note that half the marks depend on your performance and dedication during the course. Therefore, students should attend all classes, complete homework, prepare for class and participate actively in in-class activities in order to be granted those marks. Moreover, both the in-class tests and the final examination will be based on the contents studied and practiced throughout the course. For this reason, I encourage all my students to study and do homework regularly. Late assignments or missed written tests may only be submitted or completed if a medical note is provided. We will have in-class tests at the end of each month of class and the final written examination will take place in the formal examination period in December Attendance Policy: Attendance is compulsory. Absences and cumulative late arrivals will reduce the in-class participation mark each term. Absences for medical reasons will be excused if a doctor s note is provided. A student must attend a minimum 80% of classes per term in order to qualify for a passing grade for that term. Failure to meet this requirement will automatically result in a failing grade. Realistic expectations: Learning a new language should be an exciting, challenging and rewarding experience. If you attend all classes, follow up at home, prepare for class, complete all homework, seek out all opportunities to practice your Portuguese, and really throw yourself into the task of acquiring the language, you will make good progress. Learning a new language takes time, effort, commitment, and, above all, motivation. Attendance is compulsory. You simply cannot develop language skills by copying notes of a classmate. Class time provides invaluable opportunities to 3

4 develop your skills in a supportive environment. From the first class on, you will be hearing, speaking, reading and writing Portuguese, and as we progress, you won't be allowed to use English in the classroom. As we do not live in a Portuguese speaking environment here in Ottawa, you will not benefit from the out-of-class reinforcement that an ESL (English as a Second Language), and, to some extent, a French student would. It is therefore important that you follow up at home: Go over what we did in class; practice with classmates; watch movies in Portuguese; listen to Brazilian music and read the news in Portuguese on the Internet. In short, try to immerse yourself as much as you can in the language. There will also be additional practice materials on WebCT. Academic Offences: In all written work, students must avoid plagiarism, i.e. presenting the work or ideas of another as one s own. Forms of plagiarism include (but are not limited to) copying from the work of another author or person without proper use of footnotes and quotations marks, using the ideas of others without acknowledging the source, extensive paraphrasing, or submitting the work of another as one s own. The same piece of work may not be submitted for more than one course or may not have been submitted previously to fulfil any other course requirement. For undergraduate students, academic offences will be reported to the Office of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Accommodations: You may need special arrangements to meet your academic obligations during the term. For an accommodation request the processes are as follows: Pregnancy obligation: write to me with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. For more details visit the Equity Services website Religious obligation: write to me with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. For more details visit the Equity Services website Students with disabilities requiring academic accommodations in this course must register with the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities (PMC) for a formal evaluation of disability-related needs. Documented disabilities could include but are not limited to 4

5 mobility/physical impairments, specific Learning Disabilities (LD), psychiatric/psychological disabilities, sensory disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and chronic medical conditions. Registered PMC students are required to contact the PMC, , every term to ensure that I receive your Letter of Accommodation, no later than two weeks before the first assignment is due or the first in-class test requiring accommodations. If you only require accommodations for your formally scheduled exam(s) in this course, please submit your request for accommodations to PMC by the last official day to withdraw from classes in each term. For more details visit the PMC website: Finally, I really look forward to working with you this semester. Meanwhile: Boas férias e nos vemos em breve! 5