SPANISH 2, Continuation of Elementary Spanish

CRN 31105, Stering, Spring 2010

Monday through Thursday, 1:00 PM – 2:15 PM, Arts Building, Rm. A312

First class, January 19, Tuesday

Last class, May 19, Wednesday

Final Exam, Friday, May 21, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

• Course:  Elementary Spanish 2 is a course for continuing elementary students of the language. This is a traditional course of the five language skills: reading, writing, listening comprehension, speaking, and cultural context. The emphasis is on communication in Spanish. Every language is a representation of the collective culture of the people who speak it. Hispanic culture is part of everything we do it Spanish 2. (A few Spanish 2B students will be joining us on March 1.)

• Text and Activities Manual:  The textbook is Plazas, lugar de encuentros, 3rd edition. Students are required to use the textbook and the Student Activities Manual (SAM). In SPAN 2, we do Chapters 7-12.

• Lab:  Two hours of lab work per week are required. The best place to do the lab work is at the Language Center on the second floor of the Rosenberg Library. You will need your student ID to use the Center to listen to the audio files and record yourself.  You will also need a photo ID to use CD-ROM or video. In 17 weeks of classes, you are required to do 34 hours of lab. One half, or 17 hours, must be done in the Language Center in the Rosenberg Library. 

Note that the CD that comes with a new textbook is not the lab audio files; it is the audio that links to the textbook.

• Internet: There will be assignments that require the student to log into the Internet. There are online study resources, learning tools such as flashcards and practice quizzes, also. There are computers in the Language Center for your use.

• Class Meetings: Class commences at 1:10 PM and ends at 2:15 PM Monday through Thursday. At City College in the credit classes, attendance is required and excessive absents are grounds for being dropped from a course. In this course, the following rule applies: Five absents by March 19 should be a drop. Nine absents by April 23 (deadline for withdrawals) should be a drop. Written justification (jury duty, medical appointment, verifiable illness) can establish an extenuating circumstance. Finally, note that 10% of the overall semester grade depends on being present and on participating actively in class.

• Classroom expectations: It is important that there be no visible cell phones, headphones, or distracting items.  Of course, turn off cell phones before entering the classroom. Personal electronic devices such as a laptop computer may be used to display the course materials. No food consumption is permitted.

• Office Hours: Monday through Friday, noon - 1:00 PM in A203-B in the Creative Arts Building. Private meetings can be arranged by appointment.

• Preparation and Homework: While it is necessary to study and review intensely, specific homework assignments will name exercises and activities in the text and the activities workbook which should be done thoroughly during the time between classes.  Alternate and optional activities may name related sources such as the Internet.  See best study methods later in this syllabus.

• Compositions: There will be two typed one-page compositions. One will follow Chapter 9, and the other will follow Chapter 11. Instructions will be given at the appropriate time.

• Quizzes:  There will be a vocabulary quiz and a grammar quiz on every chapter studied. The lowest score on a quiz will be dropped at the end of the semester.

• Oral Quizzes: speaking or oral sections on tests are graded 60% for clear and appropriate communication and 40% for pronunciation.

• Tests:  There will be a chapter test on each chapter from Chapter 7-12.  One part is a listening section based on the language lab work, and the instructor will play the recording.  The rest is all printed on the exam.  There are sections that test vocabulary, grammar, reading, writing, and cultural information.

• Final Exam: The final exam covers the whole semester.  The final exam has all the same kinds of sections as a chapter test. Note: there is a three-hour block of time for the final exam.

• Make-up Quizzes or Tests: When a student misses a quiz or test, he/she must take the make-up quiz outside of class within one week of returning to class.  Normally, the student must go to the instructor's office for make up work. 

• Tutors:  The Learning Assistance Center on the second floor of the Rosenberg Library has tutors for Spanish.  Their schedule is posted in the Center. Please have the tutor write a note giving your name, the date, the time spent with the tutor, and the tutor’s signature. Turn in the note with your lab cards, and you will get lab credit for time spent with Spanish tutors.

• Grades:  Please note that you may take this course for a letter grade or on a credit/no credit basis (CR/NC, credit=A or B or C; no credit=D or F).  Letter grades of quizzes and tests are based on the percentage of correct answers.  Writing quizzes are graded based on content, comprehensibility, organization, presentation, accuracy, and effort.  The following chart shows the letter to percentage equivalencies.  Please note that CCSF does not record pluses and minuses on grades, but we will use them.

The grade chart shows letter to percentage equivalencies.

A     93-100%                         C+         77-79%                           D-          60-62%

A-    90-92%                           C           73-76%                           F            0-59%

B+   87-89%                           C-          70-72%                          

B      83-86%                           D+         67-69%                           Numbers will

B-     80-82%                           D           63-66%                           rounded up.

The overall grade is a combination of six categories.  This chart shows the weight by category for the various requirements in the course:

10%             classroom participation (relates to attendance and punctuality)

10%             six activity manual chapters, written and lab exercises

10%             two one-page compositions and other written assignments

15%             twelve oral and written quizzes, one drop score

30%             six chapter tests

25%             final exam

100%           overall grade

 Some guidelines for Spanish 2:

• Study:  You need to study Spanish ten hours a week outside of class for a five-unit course; two hours need to be lab practice with audio and multi-media. 

• Flash cards: The book companion site has a link to electronic, interactive flashcards. The vocabulary quizzes are based on the list at the end of each chapter. Keep Hispanic cultural images in mind as you memorize the vocabulary.

• Language Lab: listen to the audio tracks more than once, use pencil in your lab manual so you can erase and rewrite more neatly.  Remember: a few of these activities form the listening part of each chapter test. Remember: when you use the answer key, use a separate color of writing for your corrections.

• Grammar: Study the textbook explanations thoroughly when we come to them in each chapter.  Pages 515-522 have a complete list and explanations of grammatical terms.  You must be able to identify the following: adjective, adverb, article (definite and indefinite), conjugation, conjunction, gender, imperative, infinitive, preposition, pronoun (all kinds), subject, tense, conjugation and verb.  Conjugating verbs will be on every test. Pages 523-531 have verb charts.

• Participation:  Listen actively with full attention in class and when doing the lab work.  Use a normal tone of voice when repeating in class.  Speak up when responding in class.  You should repeat your response if any of the students cannot hear you well.  Ask questions that will help you understand the purpose and process of an activity.  Do not interrupt a lesson with questions that do not directly relate to the topic of study in the moment.  Use office hours, voicemail and email for individual or private concerns and questions. 

• Tutoring:  Even students with a grade of A should visit the Learning Assistance Center in the Rosenberg Library and practice speaking Spanish with the tutor. 

• Punctuality and procrastination: Arriving to class very late and/or cutting class are the first steps towards failure in a course.  Doing all the work on time and participating actively assures a good result. 

• Communication in Spanish: In class you will often be asked to pair up with another student to do a communication activity.  Always respect the learning process and your classmates.  Keep your voice low and articulate.  Always try for your best pronunciation.  When corrected, repeat the correction in a normal voice.

• Resources: There are links to online activities, as well as self-quizzes, for Plazas, lugar de encuentros on the CCSF Language Center website.  Spanish language television and radio stations can help.  Rental movies on DVD with subtitles are helpful, also.  Some students may even have a Spanish-speaking acquaintance with whom they might practice their flashcards or conversational Spanish.