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SPANISH 1: Spanish 1B is the continuation of Spanish 1A; together these two courses constitute Spanish 1. Spanish 1 is a transferrable course that is applicable to many degree programs at four-year colleges and universities including UC and CSU systems.
ARE YOU READY FOR ONLINE? Taking an online foreign language course requires students to study about nine hours every full week of of the semester, and no student should take an online course for the first time without taking the technical and student skill quizzes at "Brief Self-Evaluation ?" After you read the rest of the syllabus, come back and click on this link.
TEXTBOOK AND WEB SITE ACCESS KEY: The online Spanish 1A and 1B courses use Nexos, Media Edition, as the textbook, which has a multi-media internet site with video, audio, text and interactive features, as well as an interactive workbook/lab manual . Students purchase the passcodes with their textbook. Chapters Four, Five and Six are covered in Spanish 1B. The fall 2008 calendar of coverage is as follows:
August: review Spanish 1A topics and vocabulary (online)
September: Chapter Four (online)
October: Chapter Five (online)
November: Chapter Six (online)
December: review (online) and final exam,
The final exam is a mandatory, in-person exam, and will be given at two times in December, one in morning during the week and another time on Saturday December 20 from noon to 2:00 PM. The exact times and locations are pending confirmation. There is some scheduling flexibility, but the exam must be taken in person with the instructor.
Please note that the practice exercises, while quiz-like at times, are not quizzes. Students should have their textbook and notes available while doing the online exercises.
Students who join the course after the in-person orientation, will need to do the orientation online, and catch up with the course content in time to take the chapter test at the end of Chapter Four with the rest of the class members.
GOALS: Students study to development cultural awareness and understanding, to improve their reading, writing, listening comprehension and speaking skills in Spanish. Vocabulary growth occurs in two areas: approximately 500 new words and the improved ability to recognize dozens of cognates in cultural readings. Good pronunciatin and intonation are important to the improvement of speaking skills. Grammar lessons are part of a larger communicative goal. For example, one learns the grammar of the verb gustar in order to express likes and dislikes. Cultural readings and video presentations focus on countries and various aspects of life in the Spanish-speaking world. There are listening activities that include comprehension checks. It is essential for students to find a way to make Spanish a part of their daily activities in order to retain the lessons they are studying.
OBJECTIVES: Each chapter's objectives vary and are specific to the content. However, most students will have these objectives, also.
Improve memorization skills: Primarily vocabulary and phrases in Spanish, but also grammar rules.
Improve reading skills in Spanish: Focusing on word groups, rather than reading word by word. Recognizing cognates (e.g., independencia, libertad, comunismo...) more quickly.
Improve listening skills: Listening to course materials and level-appropriate materials on a regular basis in order to stop translating from Spanish into one's mother tongue. It is possible to understand without translating!
Improve speaking skills: Expand the number of topics about which you can converse at a basic level and deepen your ability to communicate about your personal areas of interest that are reflected in the course content.
ONLINE TEST TAKING POLICY: Students are on the honor system when taking the online quizzes. They promise to not use a dictionary or other reference materials, not use their textbook, and not ask other people for help. The face-to-face final exam counts much more than the online tests, and it serves to validate the student's average from the online testing.
ORAL QUIZZES: Students are given explicit directions to complete a set of interview questions. They are to practice answering, rehearse their answers, then submit their oral quiz. There are two basic ways: (1) use the Wimba voice recording tool that is on the course's homepage at online.ccsf.edu, or (2) call up the instructor's office phone and leave a voicemail. Students may also record themselves and email an mp3 file to the instructor inside WebCT. Their speech should demonstrate their best pronunciation and intonation. Answers to interview questions that sound as if they are being read have poor intonation by definition.
GRADING POLICY: Grading is calculated within a weighted formula; for example, a point on an exam is not equivalent to a point on a homework assignment. There are four weighted categories of grades that combine to be the semester grade for the course:
25%: four quizzes:
Preliminary Chapter, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, and Chapter 3
10%: communication with classmates and instructor in Spanish
postings on the boards, participation in chats, partner practice sessions
15%: online "homework"
workbook and lab manual usage at Quia
50%: final exam
INTERACTION WITH INSTRUCTOR AND CLASSMATES: Students need to practice communication after learning the words and grammar. They will have an assigned practice partner, and there will be open forums, too. Assignments vary; for example, some assignments will ask the student to email their instructor, some will instruct them to make a posting to a discussion board, and others will tell them to read postings and respond. There are chat rooms for synchronous student-to-student practice in both voice and text chat modes. There will be a discussion board space for technical troubleshooting and user tips.
OFFICE HOURS: The instructor's office is on the Ocean Campus of CCSF in A203-B. See the homepage here for current hours. We can confer on the phone during office hours, or we can confer in a text or voice chat room inside the WebCT course site. If you wish to confer in one of the chat rooms, please call and direct the instructor to the chat room. The phone number is (415) 452-5053. Outside of office hours, questions for the instructors are best directed to him using the email tool in WebCT. Avoid using his general CCSF email address for course related matters. Let's keep all of our email in one place!
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