Youngstown State University Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures Syllabus Summer Session I 2015 Course: SPAN 1550 Instructor: Dr. Servio Becerra CRN: 30327 E-Mail: stbecerra@ysu.edu MTWR: 8:00-10:15 a.m. DeBartolo 447 Phone: (330) 941-1629/3461 Department web-page: http://web.ysu.edu/class/forlang Office Hours: MTWR 10:30-11 a.m. Important Dates: Last day to add classes or change grading option: Thursday, May 21, 2015 Last day to withdraw with 100% refund: Sunday, May 31, 2015 Last day to withdraw with a grade of W : Thursday, June 11, 2015 Final Examination: June 25, 2015 Language Lab: The LLRC (Foreign Language Lab) will be open M-Th 8:00 a.m.-8 p.m.; F 8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. If this class is being cancelled on a particular day because of instructor illness or for other reasons, notification will be sent to the student email address < @student.ysu.edu> as soon as possible. Course Description: Elementary Spanish. Intensive training in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Spanish. Geography and daily life, as well as appreciation of the culture of its speakers, are studied. Grading is ABC/NC. 4 s.h. The class hour is a weekly 50-minute class period and is the basic unit of instruction. The term semester hour (s.h.) signifies one class hour a week carried for one 15-week semester (or the equivalent in a summer term or flexibly scheduled class). A semester hour of credit represents an average of three hours of study and instruction every week through the term. Youngstown State University Undergraduate Bulletin 2013-2014, p. 38. Course Objectives: The goal of the Spanish program is to help students acquire proficiency in the target language and to enrich their cultural awareness. Students will gain functional language ability in social and survival situations, develop strategies that will enable them to continue the process of language learning, and to understand better their own culture and its relationship with other cultures. Required Course Material: All students must have access to 1) the textbook Puntos de partida, 9 th edition (Thalia Dorwick et al.), either in print or as an ebook, as well as to 2) Connect Plus, which is an online program that includes an online workbook/lab manual and other materials. If you purchase the textbook from the bookstore, you will receive a pass code that will give you access to Connect Plus. If you choose the ebook option, you will follow the link sent to you by your professor and purchase Connect Plus online. Also, for the ebook option, you must make sure that your device can connect to the internet at the university so you can use it without problems during the class. It is advisable to seek help from the Tech Desk on the third floor of Maag Library to set up your internet access and to test this out before coming to class. No cell phones are allowed to access the digital textbook in class. If you want to purchase a printed textbook from the internet (new or used), please be aware that it does not automatically come with Connect Plus, which must still be purchased for $130. Grading: Grading in this course is ABC/NC. If your grade in the course is A, B, or C, then you have successfully completed SPAN 1550 and may advance to SPAN 2600. If your grade is NC you have NOT successfully completed the course. The foreign language requirement in most majors that have a foreign language requirement is the successful completion of 2600 in any one language. Evaluation and Grading: The course grade will be determined as follows: Class participation 10% Assignments 15% Quizzes (quizzes + in-class compositions) 15% Oral Exams 20% Exams 40% Grading Scale: A: 90-100%; B: 80-89%; C: 70-79%; Below 70%: NC NOTE: Banner account will display your final course grade approximately one week after the final examination.
Class Participation: For a good class participation grade, students will: attend class regularly, arrive on time, participate actively in all activities and discussions, volunteer in class, have reviewed materials from the book, website and workbook before coming to class, listen attentively when others speak, be polite (no cell phone use), contribute to a positive and productive atmosphere, and provide accurate (or mostly accurate) responses when called upon. An attendance record is kept and placed in the Department files at the end of the semester for both regular and auditing students. Assignments: Homework assignments in Connect Plus are essential to understanding the material presented in the textbook in class and they will help students improve the four language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Assignments are mandatory and should be done by students at home. They are to be turned in by the due dates specified on the calendar. No overdue homework assignments will be accepted. Quizzes: There will be 3 short quizzes (each 5%) given throughout the semester. They will involve vocabulary, grammar, and writing skills. The writing section will consist of an in-class composition done on a different day than the rest of the quiz. More details about the in-class compositions will be given ahead of time. Oral Exams: There will three oral exams during the semester. The first oral exam (5%) will consist of a brief one-on-one interview with the instructor based on a series of simple questions. The second oral exam (7%) will be a more extensive one-on-one interview with the instructor based on series of topics covered in class. The third oral exam (8%) will be an in-class skit that will be based on material learned throughout the course of the semester. Students will be given time to prepare for this skit in class and the dialogues must be memorized. More details about each of the oral exams will be provided. The purpose of them is to assess a student s ability to speak and understand Spanish. They will be graded based on: comprehensibility, content of information, fluency and pronunciation, language accuracy (vocabulary and grammar), and ability to understand and answer simple questions in Spanish. Exams: There will be three exams in this course that will evaluate the following skills: listening, vocabulary, grammar, reading and writing. The first exam (10%) will cover Chapters 1 and 2. The second exam (10%) will focus primarily on Chapters 3-4. The final exam (20%) is comprehensive, but the vocabulary and grammar will come more from the material from Chapters 5-6. More detailed information about the exams will be given in study guides. Academic Honesty: It is assumed that students will do their own work. Students may help one another by sharing knowledge and information when doing assignments inside and outside of class. However, students must not copy from one another or from any source, nor should they seek help from native speakers in preparing graded assignments outside of class. Translation software may not be used. Furthermore, students must not help one another during tests. Americans with Disabilities Act: Youngstown State University is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all persons with disabilities. This syllabus is available in alternative format upon request. In accordance with University procedures, if you have a documented disability and require accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, please contact me during my office hours or via phone or email to discuss your specific needs. You must be registered with the Center for Student Progress Disability Services, located at 275 Fifth Avenue, and provide a letter of accommodation to coordinate reasonable accommodations. You can reach CSP Disability Services at 330-941-1372. Youngstown State University does not discriminate in its programs or activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, disability, age, religion or veteran/military status. Please visit www.ysu.edu/ada-accessibility for contact information for persons designated to handle questions about this policy. Departmental Policy on Attendance, Make-up Work, Incompletes and Extra Credit: Attendance Policy: The Department has developed the following attendance policy. Please note that this policy exists independent of the class participation grading component. Students who miss 50% or more or the classes shall have their final grade lowered by 2 letter grades (i.e., an A will become a C, a B will become a D, and a C or D will become an F).
Students who are absent 25-49% shall have their final grade lowered by 1 letter grade (i.e., an A will become a B, a B will become a C, a C will become a D, and a D will become an F). Excused absences will not be counted in the above calculations, but for an absence to be excused, acceptable documentation must be provided to and approved by the instructor (and then passed on to the Department Head). Make-up Policy: Graded work missed (or not submitted) due to an excused absence must be made up as quickly as possible. Students will have one day per day of excused absence to make up the missed work (e.g., if class meets MTWF and you miss Tuesday and Wednesday and return to class on Friday, you would have to make up the work by the next Tuesday.) A make-up request form must be filled out and signed by the student and instructor. This form will include an explanation for why the student requires a make-up, and will specify the DATE and TIME when the make-up will be given (or the assignment turned in). Failure to meet that deadline will result in a grade of zero for the assignment. If you are unable to take an exam as scheduled, you must notify the instructor as soon as possible. A legitimate excuse (illness, accident, or death in the family) will be required for the authorization to make up the exam. Incomplete Policy: Incompletes will be given only in cases in which students have completed all assignments and evaluations for the first thirteen weeks of the semester and have (at the time of the request) a course average which would enable them to receive credit for the course. A request for incomplete form must be filled out and signed by both the student and the instructor. This form will include an explanation of why the student requires an incomplete and appropriate documentation to support the request. An Explanation of an Incomplete Grade form will be filed only after the Chair has conferred with the instructor and given approval for the granting of the incomplete. Students will have one month from the date of the final examination to remove the Incomplete. Extra credit: Department policy forbids the awarding of extra credit USE OF THE TARGET LANGUAGE IN THE CLASSROOM FROM: http://www.actfl.org/news/position-statements/use-the-target-language-the-classroom-0 Research indicates that effective language instruction must provide significant levels of meaningful communication* and interactive feedback in the target language in order for students to develop language and cultural proficiency. The pivotal role of target-language interaction in language learning is emphasized in the K-16 Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century. ACTFL therefore recommends that language educators and their students use the target language as exclusively as possible (90% plus) at all levels of instruction during instructional time and, when feasible, beyond the classroom. In classrooms that feature maximum target-language use, instructors use a variety of strategies to facilitate comprehension and support meaning making. For example, they: 1. provide comprehensible input that is directed toward communicative goals; 2. make meaning clear through body language, gestures, and visual support; 3. conduct comprehension checks to ensure understanding; 4. negotiate meaning with students and encourage negotiation among students; 5. elicit talk that increases in fluency, accuracy, and complexity over time; 6. encourage self-expression and spontaneous use of language; 7. teach students strategies for requesting clarification and assistance when faced with comprehension difficulties; and 8. offer feedback to assist and improve students ability to interact orally in the target language. (Approved by the ACTFL Board of Directors 5/22/2010)
COURSE CALENDAR This calendar may be modified throughout the semester. Students will be advised of any changes in class and/or by email. FECHA (Date) Mayo 18 ACTIVIDADES DE CLASE Y TAREAS Introduction to course and textbook (Puntos de partida + Connnect Plus) Cap 1 - Ante todo, pp. 1-8 19 pp. 9-17 20 pp. 18-27 21 Cap. 2 En la Universidad, pp. 24-36 Quiz 1 25 University closed. Memorial Day 26 pp. 37-46 Turn in online assignments for chapter 1 27 pp. 47-56 28 Cap. 3 La familia, pp. 58-67 Junio 1 pp. 68-76 Repaso/Examen 1 2 Examen 1 (caps. 1-2) Examen oral 1 3 pp. 77-85 Composición 1 4 pp. 86-93 Turn in online assignments for chapter 2 8 Cap. 4 - De compras, pp. 96-106 Repaso/cap. 3 Quiz 2 9 pp. 107-115 10 pp. 116-125 Turn in online assignments for chapter 3. 11 Cap. 5 - En casa, pp. 128-139 Repaso /Examen 2 16 Examen 2
Examen oral 2 Turn in online assignments for chapter 4 17 pp.140-153 Composición 2 18 Cap. 6 - Las estaciones y el tiempo, pp.162-169 Quiz 3 22 pp. 170-181 Composición 3 Turn in online assignments for chapter 5. 23 pp. 182-192 24 Exámenes orales Repaso/Examen final 25 Examen final (The final exam is comprehensive, but it concentrates more on the material from Chapters 5-6.) Turn in online assignments for chapter 6 (by 1 p.m.) SB-5/15/15