Spanish I
Class Syllabus, 2011-2012
¡Bienvenidos y bienvenidas al mundo del Español!
Course Description:
Learning a foreign language is an opportunity to discover a whole new world, filled with feelings, perceptions,
history and expressions that can enrich our lives and deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world in
which we live. Spanish I provides students with the opportunity to begin to discover the richness of the
language, culture and contributions of Latin Americans within their own contexts and to the whole world.
¡OJO! Language learning is a highly participatory process, in which students fundamentally “learn by doing”.
From the first day on, class will be conducted overwhelmingly in SPANISH! Not surprisingly, students will
sometimes feel like they have no idea what is going on, that they don’t understand anything, and that they will
NEVER, EVER LEARN. No es problema. That’s what learning a language effectively and efficiently feels
like – just ask any infant or toddler who is barely learning to talk. And remember, they already have been
studying for quite a while, and you are only beginning. Sólo requiere paciencia y esfuerzo, ¿sale? Nobody
needs to feel nervioso ni estresado – everyone is in the same boat and if we all can stand to act and look a little
bit foolish on occasion, we will have lots of fun and learn a good bit of español, as well!
Objectives:
This introductory course in Spanish language and culture will enable the student to:1
 Engage in simple conversations in Spanish, expressing feelings, sharing information and exchanging
opinions.
 Demonstrate a general familiarity with Latin American geography and culture as well as of similarities,
differences and connections between students’ home community and Latin American peoples/cultures.
 Demonstrate a deepened understanding of how language works, developing a deeper understanding of both
English and Spanish grammar and syntax.
 Interact in a mature and respectful manner with people of diverse backgrounds, and in particular of Latin
American descent.
Evaluation:
People only learn to speak languages by hearing and practicing them. To facilitate maximum usage and thus
mastery of spoken Spanish, class will be conducted almost entirely in Spanish, beginning the very first day!
Specifically, class time will be divided between “English time” and “Spanish time”, with “Spanish time”
constituting approximately 90% of all class time. “English time” will be minimal, and will be used exclusively
to clarify grammatical points and meaning of the occasional difficult to understand word, whereas “Spanish
time” will be used to present, practice and perform class content.
To encourage students to engage in Spanish language use, 30% of their classroom grade will be based on
participation, divided as follows: 15% exclusive use of Spanish in “Spanish time” and 15% general attitude and
engagement. The Spanish language usage grade will be based on a maximum score of 4 points per day.
Students will earn full credit for the day by resisting the temptation to speak in English during “Spanish time”.
Those students who choose to speak in English will earn partial credit based on the number of times they speak
in English. The general attitude and engagement grade will be based on students’ active and constructive
1
These objectives reflect the national standards for Foreign Language Learning.
engagement in class at all times, and in particular on their willingness to speak appropriate Spanish during the
“Spanish time”.
Students will also learn to read and write elementary Spanish through daily written/reading practice, both in
class and in the form of homework. Written assignments will not be collected, although there will be time to
work on them in class as well as a time for questions and answers at the start of the following day. There will
be a daily homework check, however, in the form of four or five questions that students will answer and then
turn in to be graded. The average score earned on the daily homework checks will constitute 20% of the
semester grade.
Student learning will also be evaluated through chapter exams (approximately 100 points each), other
performance-based exercises, and a cumulative exam at the end of each semester. Written exams and other
major performance assessments, such as short essays, verbal presentations, oral exams will constitute 50% of
the student’s overall grade.
In summary, grades will be assigned based on the following weighting system:
15% attitude, effort and engagement
15% exclusive and effective use of Spanish during “Spanish time”
20% homework checks/quizzes
50% written and oral exams and other major performance assessments
Classroom expectations:
Learning a language is unlike the process of learning anything students have ever done before except, of course,
learn the language they already speak. Inevitably, everyone in the Spanish class will have the opportunity to
look silly, feel dumb, say the right and the wrong things, laugh at and with each other (including the teacher),
feel overwhelmed, and taste the extraordinary satisfaction of success in the face of challenge.
In order to make the classroom experience of all students as effective and enjoyable as possible, it is critical that
each of us in the room reflect all of the following expectations in our behavior all of the time:
 Be kind, courteous and respectful -- learning a language is hard and we will all sound silly sometime, so
let’s just play nice from the get go.
 Be responsible – your word is your honor now and always, so if you don’t get something done when you
should or you do something that you shouldn’t, just takes responsibility for it and move on.
 Come ready – that means with pencil, paper, books and a ready and willing attitude. A lack of
preparedness in any form will affect your classroom participation grade, and a willingness to jump in
and risk looking and sounding like an idiot from time to time (always for a legitimate, educational
purpose, of course) makes learning a language SOOOOOOO much easier. I promise.
When you are feeling lost and overwhelmed (which will happen to the best of us, I know):
1. Remember that you already learned one language, without ever even thinking about it. That doesn’t
mean without working at it – it just means without stressing out and fighting with the language. Babies and
young children work VERY HARD at learning their first language, and invariably that effort pays off. The
harder you work and the less you stress, the faster you will learn!
2. Come and see me and we can talk about it. There is no way to make learning a language easy – it is a
challenging task for absolutely every person who walks the earth. But I am always happy to work with you
to try and find the best tricks and tools to help you along your way.
3. Trust me. I have worked hard to develop very effective (though sometimes uncomfortable and scary)
techniques for helping you master Spanish in written and oral form. If you stick with me and do your part,
you will learn a useful skill that will come in handy in all kinds of ways, from testing out of college
language requirements to strengthening your job résumé.
Desarrollo lingüístico, Español I 2010-2011
Lección 1: ¡Bienvenidos y bienvenidas a la clase de español!
Introduction to general language
First questions words
Basic personal introduction vocabulary
Basic classroom object vocabulary
Days of the week and months of the year
Numbers to 29
Lección 2: ¿Cómo eres tú?
Noun/adjective agreement
Singular subject pronouns
Introduction to “gustar”, “ser”, “tener” and “llamarse” (three basic types of verbs)
Basic personality descriptor vocabulary
Basic activity vocabulary
Lección 3: ¿Qué clases tienes?
Introduction to “ar” verbs
Introduction to stem-changing verbs
Time telling
Numbers through 101
Ordinal numbers
Singular (review) and plural subject pronouns
Lección 4: ¿Qué te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre?
Simple future with “ir a”
Numbers through 199
El + day of week to say “on Mondays”, etc.
Planning time phrases
Estar and how you’re doing words
Colors
Hace phrases to describe the weather
Activity and destination vocabulary
Contractions “al” and “del”
Short possessive pronouns and possessive “de”
Lección 5: ¿Qué prefieres comer?
Comprehensive practice of “gustar” verbs with all subjects
Comparing and contrasting of “ser” and “estar”
Noun/adjective agreement
Helping verbs: deber, tener que, creer que
Food vocabulary
Lección 6: ¿Cómo es tu familia?
Name formation
Pluralization of subjects and consequent agreement
Supplemental personality and physical descriptors
Family relation terms
General end of semester grammar review
Lección 7: ¿Qué llevas hoy?
Preterite tense, “ar” verbs
Demonstrative pronouns
Clothing and clothes shopping vocabulary
Hace + time phrases for past tense
Relative location prepositions
Numbers up to a thousand
Review indefinite articles
Lección 8: ¡Vamos de vacaciones!
Spanish-speaking countries and capitals
Cardinal directions
Vacation activities
Means of transportation
Direct object pronouns
Tomar/llevar
Lección 9: ¿Cómo es tu casa?
Regular “er” and “ir” preterite tense verb endings
Irregular preterite tense verbs (tener, ir, poner)
House, furniture and chore vocabulary
Review, direct and indirect object pronouns
Lección 10: El Cuerpo y La Salud
Hace phrase to describe how long something has been happening
Review, all hace phrases
Body parts
Older/younger, better/worst and general comparative review
Superlative forms
Health and illness terms
Expansion of reflexive pronouns
Review of direct object pronouns
Review, preterite tense
Introduction, stem-chaning “ir” verbs in preterite tense
Cursory introduction of double object pronouns
Lección 11: ¡Vamos a Wichita!
Table setting vocabulary
Restaurant vocabulary
Present progressive
Introduction to informal commands
Greetings practice
Expanded personality descriptors
Saber/conocer
Review, stem-changing “ir” verbs in preterite tense
Review, food vocabulary
Review, shopping vocabulary
While this list does not cover absolutely everything, it at least gives you a general idea. Please feel free to ask
me any time you have any questions!