| Course Description: Intermediate
Spanish I extends and deepens the use and awareness of linguistic
functions in Spanish, and it introduces the history and culture of
Hispanophone countries. Prerequisites: for admission into Spanish
203, students must have completed Spanish 102, or its equivalent,
with a minimum grade of C-. Offered every semester. (4 credits) |
| Textbook and other
materials:
- Castells, Guzmán, Liskin-Gasparro, Lapuerta. Identidades:
Exploraciones e interconexiones, 2005.
- Castells, Guzmán, Liskin-Gasparro, Lapuerta, Bolaños.
Student Activities Manual to Identidades: Exploraciones
e interconexiones, 2005 (Quia version only).
- Other materials to be studied will be supplied by the instructor.
|
| Exams and Quizzes: There
will be three written exams in the course,
each one of equal value, as well as an oral
exit interview. Finally, there will be regular quizzes
throughout the semester, some of which will be unannounced. |
| Oral Presentations: There
will be two oral presentations, to
the class based on the second written assignment. |
Homework: The daily
completion of homework is essential in order to meet the course
objectives. The most obvious piece of the homework is the daily
completion of the Quia workbook.
Less obvious but more important is the daily study of the textbook.
Assigned pages should be studied carefully. Grammatical concepts
should be understood and learned, new vocabulary should be memorized,
and practice activities should be reviewed. There will also be other
assignments, which will appear in the course calendar.
Optional homework: It is strongly recommended
that students work regularly with the on-line quizzes on the Identidades
website. |
| Use of Spanish in the Classroom:
Spanish will be the usual language of Spanish 203. On occasion
English will be allowed, but only briefly and for reasons of economy
and clarity and for the benefit of the entire class. Informal talk
among members of the class is encouraged when appropriate, as long
as it is in Spanish. |
| Participation and Preparation:
For the class to be successful for both the individual and for
the group each person must be fully prepared for each class session
and willing to participate in each day's activities. The degree to
which one meets this goal determines a large percentage of the final
grade. Please see Participation and Preparation. |
Attendance Policy: Attendance
is required in this and all other courses in the Department of Hispanic
Studies. Students are allowed up to three unexcused class and/or
lab absences with minimal penalty to the grade for participation.
More than three unexcused absences will result in a much lowered
grade for participation. One is allowed excused absences with prior
approval of the professor for certain occasions (i.e. course field
trips, intercollegiate sports activities, anticipated personal health
needs and family emergencies). If one is seriously ill or has an
accident the student should contact the Dean of Students. Conflicting
assignments, non-essential appointments, oversleeping, and the like
do not qualify as excusable absences. (This is where the 3 allowed
unexcused absences come in handy.)
Important: As all other courses in the Department
of Hispanic Studies, this one requires attendance at the first meeting
in order to hold one's space in the course. If an enrolled student
is absent for the first meeting without making prior arrangements,
the student may be dropped from the course to make room for another
person on a waiting list.
|
Missed and Late Assignments:
Work is due on specified dates at the time of the class, and
there will be little if any latitude allowed for missing due dates.
On-line assignments (Quia) will be accepted up to 60
minutes late with no penalty. On-line work submitted after that
time may receive a maximum grade of 50%. Beyond 24 hours, late
on-line assignments will not be accepted, and a grade of "0"
will be recorded.
Written work will be accepted up to 60 minutes late with no penalty.
After that grace period they will be accepted up to 24 hours after
the due date but the grade will drop markedly, and no feedback
and/or corrections will be given. Beyond 24 hours, late compositions
will not be accepted, and a grade of "0" will be recorded.
Students will not be allowed to make up written work, quizzes
and/or tests due to unexcused absences. In the latter case, a
grade of "0" will be recorded.
Students who join the class late must have all missed work completed
and submitted no later than class time on the Monday following
the week they enroll in the class.
|
| Grades of Incomplete: A
grade of "incomplete" is rarely an option in this course.
If circumstances seem to require a notation of incomplete it is essential
to make arrangements as soon as possible. Any delay will lessen the
likelihood of approval. |
| Use of Tutors: Student
tutors in Spanish are available for consultation and oral practice
and all language students are strongly encouraged to make use of this
resource. If one seeks helpwith an assignment from a tutor all parties
must be certain that the help be only of an instructional or advisory
nature. That is, simple correction of mistakes by that person would
be considered a violation of an implicit honor code and would be inappropriate
and unacceptable. Advice and instruction while guiding toward improvement
are more appropriate activities to have with an assistant. |
| Plagiarism:
Related to the cautions stated above in the paragraph "Use of
Tutors" is the topic of plagiarism. If at all in doubt about
what it is, please consult the appropriate MAX
Center webpage for guidance, which will go beyond the usual classroom
discussion. In addition to the topics covered elsewhere, using on-line
and other computer-mediated translators might be considered a variety
of plagiarism. In addition to being a misleading and unhelpful tool
used by some students, in this section of HISP 203 careless use of
this kind of assistance is highly discouraged. |
| Course Web Sites: The
course web site on which this syllabus and associated materials reside
is an integral part of the course. It is the only up-to-date source
of information for the course. Changes and additions to the calendar
will be made frequently, and it is each student's responsibility to
consult and verify the calendar at least every other day. |
| Evaluation: The
final grade is based on the following categories of work:
Final grades are assigned according to the following numerical
scale, based on the categories described above: 100-93=A; 92-90=A-;
89-88=B+; 86-83=B; 82-80=B-; 79-78=C+; 76-73=C; 72-70=C-; 69-68=D+;
66-63=D; 62-60=D-; below 60=NC.
PLEASE NOTE: The Department of Hispanic Studies enforces the rule
that a student must receive a grade of C- or better to continue
to the next level of Spanish. |