CAT3180
Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies
Fall 2014
Introduction to
Catalan
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
Instructor: Francesc Morales
Office hours: M 3, R 6, and F 7
Section 196F
Telephone:
Office: 322 Yon Hall
fmorales1980@gmail.com
Goals
The goal of this course is to help students acquire a working knowledge of Catalan, a language
spoken in four European countries (Andorra, France, Italy and Spain). Emphasis will be given to the
four basic linguistic skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) and to culture. The course is
designed for students who have no previous experience with Catalan. By the end of the course,
students will have the necessary linguistic and cultural tools to perform at a level above basic
communicative functions. Designed to introduce students to the culture and society of the Catalan
speaking territories through language and cultural expressions, this course fulfills a humanities with
international focus requirement for general education.
Calendar
Week
1
2
3
4
5
6
Days
25 Aug
27 Aug
29 Aug
1 Sept
3 Sept
5 Sept
8 Sept
10 Sept
12 Sept
15 Sept
17 Sept
19 Sept
22 Sept
24 Sept
26 Sept
29 Sept
1 Oct
3 Oct
Unit
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
Notes, Assignment, Presentation, Test, and Others
Introduction
Presentation
Homework
Labor Day (no classes)
Homework due
Homework
Homework due
Exam 1
Homework
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CAT3180
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
6 Oct
8 Oct
10 Oct
13 Oct
15 Oct
17 Oct
20 Oct
22 Oct
24 Oct
27 Oct
29 Oct
31 Oct
3 Nov
5 Nov
7 Nov
10 Nov
12 Nov
14 Nov
17 Nov
19 Nov
21 Nov
24 Nov
26 Nov
28 Nov
1 Dec
3 Dec
5 Dec
8 Dec
10 Dec
Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies
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3
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
5
5
5
5
5
5
6
6
6
6
Fall 2014
Homework due
Homework
Homecoming (no class)
Presentation topics
Reading proposal
Homework due
Exam 2
Homework
Homework due
Homework
Thanksgiving (no class)
Thanksgiving (no class)
6
6
Homework due
Exam 3
Oral exam
Presentations and essay due
Method of Evaluation and Their Grade
Exercises from the grammar and exercise book and compositions will be assigned. The syllabus
indicates when the student has to start and to finish the assignment. The grammar book will be
checked by the instructor during the tests and will have to be showed at the oral exam absolutely
complete. Every late homework assignment will have 2% penalty of the total 10%. No late homework
assignments will be accepted after one week of the deadline.
Reading/Written Test
We will work the language and cultural resources with short texts (newspaper article, short story,
etc.) in Catalan that the student has to find, read, and write a short essay in Catalan (1–2 pages). The
text to read has to be present to the instructor in the week 10. After the approval of the instructor the
essay will be deliver during de week 16 of the semester. The perspective for the essay is totally free:
plot, genre, context, main thesis, summary with a discussion, etc. It has to follow the MLA format
and citation style.
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CAT3180
Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies
Fall 2014
Exams
These will include listening comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, questions, and reading sections.
There are three exams in total, one after every two units of the textbook. In consequence the content
for each exam will be the contents of each two units.
Oral Exam
The oral exam will take place in class. It is a 3–4 minutes interview the instructor does with one
student at a time. The interview will be basically questions similar to the textbook. The student has to
ask at least two questions to the instructor.
Cultural Assignments
This Fall we have several holidays and festivities: Veteran’s Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, etc. For
cultural assignments the instructor will provide one festivity or Catalan tradition to each student. He
or she will do a presentation of 3–7 minutes about the topic in front of the class.
Student Preparation and Participation
Since the main source of oral input that you will receive comes from interaction in the class, your
attendance and your active participation in class are essential for success in this course.
Grading






Class participation: 20%
Homework: 10%
Exams: 30%
Cultural assignment: 10%
Compulsory reading/written test: 10%
Oral exam: 20%
Attendance Policy and Make-Ups
Requirements for class attendance and make-up exams, assignments, and other work in this course
are consistent with university policies that can be found in the online catalog at:
https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/attendance.aspx.
Accommodations
Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office.
The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this
documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodation.
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CAT3180
Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies
Fall 2014
Textbooks
Required
Mas Prats, Marta, and Albert Vilagrasa Grandia, ed. Veus 1: Llibre de l’alumne. 2nd ed. Barcelona:
Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 2010. Print.
—. Veus 1: Llibre d’exercicis i gramàtica. 2nd ed. Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat,
2010. Print.
Recommended Materials
4cats. Institut Ramon Llull, 20 Aug. 2014. Web.
Catalan Dictionary: English-Catalan, Catalan-English. London: Routledge, 1994. Print.
Catalonia Today. Girona, 2014. Web.
Collin, P. H. Business Glossary: English-Catalan/Catalan-English. Teddington: Peter Collin, 1997.
Print.
Diccionari de la llengua catalana multilingüe. Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2014. Web.
Gallifa i Mas, Rosa, and Juliane P. Harris. La Jenny. Barcelona: Cat&Company, 2001. Print.
Llibre d’estil de la Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 25 Feb. 2005. Web.
Neugaard, Edward J., ed. Anthology of Catalan Folktales. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 1995.
Print.
Servei Lingüístic. Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 6 June 2014. Web.
Xurriguera, Joan Baptista. Els verbs catalans conjugats. Barcelona: Claret, 1998. Print.
Grades and Grading Policies
A = 100–93
D = 66– 63
A- = 92–90
D- = 62–60
B+ = 89–87
E = 59–0
B = 86–83
NOTE: A grade of C- will not be a qualifying
grade for major, minor, Gen Ed, Gordon Rule
or Basic Distribution Credit courses. For
further information regarding passing grades
and grade point equivalents, please refer to
the Undergraduate Catalog at
(http://www.registrar.ufl.edu/catalog/policies/r
egulationgrades.html).
B- = 82–80
C+ = 79–77
C (S) = 76–73
C- (U) = 72–70
D+ = 69–67
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CAT3180
Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies
Fall 2014
Course Evaluations
Students are expected to provide feedback on the quality of instruction in this course based on 10
criteria. These evaluations are conducted online at https://evaluations.ufl.edu. Evaluations are
typically open during the last two or three weeks of the semester, but students will be given specific
times when they are open. Summary results of these assessments are available to students at
https://evaluations.ufl.edu/results.
Class Demeanor
Any classroom issues, disagreements or grade disputes should be discussed first between the
instructor and the student. If the problem cannot be resolved contact the Professor Ana de Prada
Pérez (aprada@ufl.edu). She will require documentation of the problem as well as all graded
assignments for the semester. Final grades cannot be changed unless there is an error. Students must
present the graded materials as evidence that a mistake was made.
Academic Integrity
All students are required to abide by the Academic Honesty Guidelines, which have been accepted by
the University. The UF Honor Code reads: “We, the members of the University of Florida
community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and
integrity.”
On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is
either required or implied: “On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in
doing this assignment.” For more information please refer to http://www.dso.ufl.edu/studentguide.
Counseling and Wellness
A variety of counseling, mental health and psychiatric services are available through the UF
Counseling and Wellness Center, whose goal is to help students be maximally effective in their
academic pursuits by reducing or eliminating emotional, psychological, and interpersonal problems
that interfere with academic functioning. The Center can be found online at
http://www.counseling.ufl.edu/cwc or reached by phone at 392-1575.
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