ESTHER CASTRO
OFFICE: AL 165 OFFICE HOURS:
TEL: (619) 594-5001 MW 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
E-Mail: esther.castro@mail.sdsu.edu and by appointment
Final Exam: Monday, May 9 from 1:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Sections
SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE.
SPANISH 407 SPRING 2016
COURSE DESCRIPTION: ADVANCED BUSINESS SPANISH
CHAPTERS 8-14
Schedule Time Days Units
1 23229 2:00-3:15 MW 3
Meeting
Location
Bldg./Room
SSW 3620
Prerequisites: 6 units from Spanish 301, 302 or 381 and Span 307
Terminology and forms of business correspondence and documents
REQUIRED TEXT
AND MATERIALS
ÉXITO COMERCIAL,Volume II, 6 TH Ed. For SPANISH 407:
Prácticas administrativas y contextos culturales
Cuaderno de Correspondencia, documentos y ejercicios comerciales (Custom Edition for SDSU, Chapters 8- 14, INCLUDES
Access Code)
By Doyle and Fryer CENGAGE Learning
Diccionario Inglés/Español y Español/Inglés
RAE (Real Academia Española): www.rae.es/
OBJECTIVES:
DESCRIPTION
:
Advanced Business Spanish is designed to give advanced students of
Spanish a solid foundation in business vocabulary, business and cultural concepts, and situational practice to conduct business in
Spanish by preparing documents and forms of business correspondence.
Within the context of grammar review and the development of greater cross-cultural awareness, it will help develop the following language skills: speaking, listening comprehension, reading, writing, and translation/interpretation.
This course will enhance the student’s ability to function effectively in an increasingly important business language both in the U.S. and abroad.
It will provide you with a solid foundation in the vocabulary and discourse related to the following business topics and functional areas: goods and services, marketing, finance, foreign market entry, and import-export. Although Spanish 497 is not a course in Spanish grammar, a review of problematic grammatical structures will be interwoven within the business context. The course will also develop
Span 407
Spring 2016
1

STUDENT
LEARNING
OUTCOMES
:
ATTENDANCE:
PARTICIPATION: geographic literacy and cultural understanding of the Spanish-speaking world, as these are central to being able to conduct business successfully in Spanish. The course, to be conducted in Spanish, will also include translation/interpretation, a language skill used frequently in the world of international business.
By successfully completing this course, students will:

Identify key terms in business discourse, basic business, and cultural concepts.

Contextualize situational practices necessary to be successful in today’s Spanish-speaking business world.

Compare and contrast different structures in the Hispanic business world.

Comunícate orally and in writing with a variety of audiences including peers, native speakers, and experts in the business field.

Identify and annotate various regional usages in the Spanishspeaking world.
Each student is expected to attend class regularly. However, occasions do arrive during the course of a semester that prevent a student from attending a particular class session. For this reason, each student is
allowed two (2) absences. The days may be used for sickness, trips, weddings, funerals, interviews, or emergencies of any kind. After the two absences are used, a penalty of 2.5% off the final course grade will be incurred for each additional absence. Therefore, if, after calculating your final semester grade, you have a 92% and you have four (4) absences, your grade will drop to 87%. Since true emergencies do occur, and important events do occasionally interfere with class time, you are cautioned to be judicious about using these days. Any excused absences
(including official college business, varsity athletics, college sanctioned extra-curricular activities, etc.) must be arranged privately with the instructor prior to the scheduled absence. As noted above, there will be no make-up exams without prior approval.
Regular participation is an important aspect of this course and will comprise 10% of your grade. All students are expected to be full participants in all daily classroom activities and discussions.
Also, this grade will take into account your:
1) use of Spanish,
2) willingness to participate,
3) cooperation in group and pair work;
4) respect and attitude toward the class and your peers.
Since this is a 400-level Spanish course, it is expected that you will speak Spanish 100% of the time in the classroom. This includes greeting, and taking leave of your classmates, casual discussions before and after class, etc. Likewise, the instruction will be entirely in Spanish.
Your use of Spanish (or lack thereof) will be a critical part of your participation grade.
QUIZZES:
SPAN 407
There will be a vocabulary quiz for every chapter. Quizzes may also be related to the content of the course and your homework.
2 Spring 2016

HOMEWORK:
ORAL
PRESENTATIONS
AND INTERVIEW:
One letter grade will be deducted for each day that a business letter or homework assignment is handed in late.
There will be three oral presentations conducted in Spanish. Each student's performance (language skills, ability to communicate clearly, professional attire/behavior) will account for part of the final grade. In addition, all materials presented to the class (charts, graphics) should be in Spanish without grammar or spelling mistakes.
I. Self Presentation II. Economic, financial and cultural aspects of a Spanish-speaking Country
III. Objective and Subjective Analyses of Advertising in Marketing
EXAMS:
There will be two (2) equally weighted (15% each) written exams administered throughout the semester and a final exam. The exams may include sections on any of the following: vocabulary, grammar, content of assigned readings, cultural information, writing business letters, and listening comprehension. There will be no make-up exams without the prior approval of the instructor. Final Exam will be comprehensive.
EVALUATION:
Participation (includes attendance) 10%
Quizzes 10%
Homework/Class work 10%
Oral Presentations 20%
Exams 30%
Final Exam 20%
GRADING SCALE:
A 100-93 A- 92-90 B+ 89-87 B 86-83 B- 82-80 C+ 79-77
C 76-73 C- 72-70 D+ 69-67 D 66-63 D- 62-60 F 59 and below
For class meetings, assignments, exams, and homework due, please refer to the attached
tentative class schedule.
The Department will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. Instructors must receive a verification letter within the first week of classes.
Student Discipline/Academic and Non-Academic Misconduct: Plagiarizing, cheating, unauthorized collaborating on coursework, stealing course examination materials, falsifying records or data and obstruction or disruption of the educational or administrative process, physical abuse or threat of such abuse, theft, vandalism, hazing, sexual or racial harassment, possession of controlled substances or weapons constitute violations relative to Title 5, California Code of
Regulations. Violations will be documented in writing with the upper-division supervisor, and
University disciplinary action will be pursued.
SPAN 407 3 Spring 2016