DEPARTMENT OF MODERN LANGUAGES & LITERATURES
PITTSBURG STATE UNIVERSITY
__________________________________FALL, 2010___________________________________
Title: Spanish Grammar/Composition II Instructor: Bert Patrick
** Concurrent enrollment in MLL 450 Readings in Hispanic Lit/Civ II required **
Course Num: MLL351-01 Office: 416 Grubbs Hall
Prerequisites: MLL356 Conversation II & Office Hours: 10-12 TTh, 2-5 MW or by
MLL358 Readings Lit/Civ I appointment
Credit Hours: 3 Office Phone: 235-4711
Course Time: 10-10:50 MWF Cell Phone: 404-9400 (before 10pm, please)
Office e-mail: bpatrick@pittstate.edu
Personal e-mail: bertrick1940@yahoo.com
______________________________________________________________________________
I COURSE DESCRIPTION A further review of the grammar of the Spanish language begun
in MLL 254 Grammar/Composition I. In addition, there will be writing activities based on topics in each of the chapters in the text.
II PURPOSE OF COURSE The PRINCIPAL GOALS IN THIS COURSE are to help you 1) master
more of the grammar of the Spanish language; and thereby be able to 2) write in Spanish with greater clarity, accuracy and fluency; and 3) to expand and deepen your understanding and appreciation of Hispanic culture, art and literature by reading and writing about a variety of topics.
III COURSE OBJECTIVES By the end of this course you should have mastered more of the grammar
of the Spanish language. Consequently, you should be able to express yourself with greater clarity and accuracy in writing Spanish. Finally, you should have a greater understanding and appreciation of Hispanic culture, art and literature after having read and written about the same.
IV TEXT FUENTES: Conversación y Gramática ; & Activities Manual & CD s Rusch,
Domínguez, Caycedo Garner *** 3rd Edition ***
2001 Spanish and English Idioms Savaiano and Winget
V TEACHING STRATEGIES Class time will be spent in a variety of activities: 1) doing one-on-one,
small group and whole class activities; 2) reviewing out-of-class assignments; 3) writing; 4) reading a classmate’s composition; or 4) working independently.
Student Responsibilities
Work on task ...the entire time we are in class. If you finish before others, chat in
Spanish about the class, review, look ahead…but stay on task.
Work cooperatively , in pairs, in small groups or as an entire class. Be the best partner/member possible! Try to work with a different partner every day ; this permits you to meet every one and to play the three roles of interacting with others.
Look only at your own information, if appropriate : don’t peek at your partner’s.
Enunciate and speak clearly . Your partner(s) deserve to know what you are saying.

Correct each other’s grammar/pronunciation/spelling… when needed. Making mistakes….and learning from them…is why we are here. If you had already mastered this information or had these skills, you wouldn’t need to be in this class.
However, correct each other in a supportive, non-critical, non-judgmental way.
Always be positive!!!
Speak only in Spanish ; use gestures if needed to convey meaning. It is SO easy to just say it in English, but staying in Spanish, using circumlocution and struggling through the challenge is how we grow. This is true in every aspect of life. No pain, no gain is a truism.
VI EVALUATION
A. OVERALL EVALUATION
1 WORKBOOK / LAB MANUAL Complete the activities in Capítulos 8 a 11 in these two portions of the Activity Manual . I will assign some of them as homework to reinforce what is done in class. However, whether assigned or not, you are to do all activities in both the Workbook and the Lab Manual sections . Hand in the entire book on the day we finish a chapter. While you write your composition for that chapter, I will spot check them. Write your name in large letters on the edge of the pages so I can recognize whose it is easily. These chapters will be 25% of your grade for this course (4 X 6.25% = 25%).
2 WRITING ACTIVITIES You are to write a “reaction paper” over each chapter topic. Papers
should be a minimum of one full page in length (partial pages receive
Partial Credit!), maximum of two . They should be in size 12 Times New Roman fonts with 1” margins and be handed in at the beginning of class on the last day we work on a chapter (see
/ 3 o
/ 4 o escrito on page 3 for dates)
Entregar el 1 o
/ 2
. You will be asked to write this same paper in class that day as o well. All papers will be graded according to five criteria, each worth 20%: 1) content development (in how much depth is/are the main idea[s] treated); 2) physical organization (does the presentation move naturally from an introduction to a development of the main ideas and then end with a reiteration/ summary/conclusion); 3) vocabulary (does the paper use the same words over and over or does it reveal a variety of words and expressions, a sign that you are growing linguistically); 4) language usage (syntax
[word order], idioms, transition expressions, real Spanish [not “English translated into Spanish”]; and 5) language mechanics (spelling, subject-verb agreement, correct verb tense usage, noun-adjective agreement, etc.). The combination of the grades on your two “reaction papers” will be 50% of your grade (4 X 12.5% = 50%).
3 VERB CONJUGATIONS [[Go to the Lessons tab on the class Angel site and print off copies
of these two documents: Muestra de los tiempos de los verbos en oraciones and Esquema de los tiempos de los verbos.
Bring them to class every day with the assigned verb conjugated on the Esquema page.]] Because mastery of the verb forms of the Spanish language is a pre-requisite for writing the language correctly and effectively, you are to conjugate a different verb in the forms in the first box, the Tiempos simples ). Write the forms on the white board upon arrival in class . For the next class , do the yo forms of ser .
For next Friday, Aug. 27 , do the tú forms of ir .
There will be four verb quizzes after we have formally studied all tenses. Each will have two verbs you are to conjugate in all tenses and each will be worth 2.5% of the total grade for verb conjugations. This section is 7 % of your course grade..

4 IDIOM QUIZZES In order to help you speak and write more authentic, colloquial Spanish, you are to learn the idioms and refranes (aphorisms) in 2001 Spanish and English Idioms . You are to study five pages of idioms per week (see the schedule below). On Sunday evenings at 8:30pm, you are to take a multiple choice quiz over that week’s idioms on the Angel site.
This is 6% of your course grade.
5 CLASS ATTENDANCE Frequent exposure to and use of the target language is vital in making real
progress toward fluency in a foreign language. Therefore, I expect you to be in class every day, prepared to participate fully.
Should you miss class, it is your responsibility to get the next day’s assignment (contact me or a classmate) and return to class prepared to participate fully in the activities. If on a given day, however, you have an exam or a presentation to make in another class and you are not prepared, go ahead and come to class; before class gets under way, ask me not to call on you on that day and I will respect your request. You learn more by just being in class, observing and listening, than you do by missing. I take roll each day. Each class meeting you miss, for whatever reason , will result in this portion of your grade being reduced by 5 percent [5%]. Arriving in class after we have begun is considered a tardy and is the equivalent of a half an absence (2 ½%).
This is 3% of your grade.
After a student’s sixth absence, the instructor will notify the student, in person, if possible, or via email, that if they are absent again, they will be dropped from the class. If any student is uncertain about the number of their absences, they should contact the instructor.
5 PREPARATION/PARTICIPATION I pay close attention to who is prepared to participate
fully in each day’s activities. Preparing home work assignments, being a ready and active partner in pairs, small group and whole class activities, volunteering to participate in activities at the white board, offering your opinion in class discussions, and sitting in different seats and working with all classmates are the criteria I use to determine preparation/participation . This is worth 3% of your grade.
6 CONVERSATION PARTNER You are to schedule a weekly conversation session with a partner
ASAP. Talk about the issues being explored in this course. Partners are NOT tutors to help you write your compositions, however; they are to help you improve your speaking and comprehension skills. 6% of course grade.
7 FINAL GRADE Your grade for the course will be determined in the following manner:
results on the Workbook/Lab Manual (25%), reaction papers (50%), verb conjugations (7%), idiom quizzes (6%), attendance (3%), preparation/participation (3%) and conversations (6%).
B. EVALUATION CRITERIA Workbook activities 25%
Reaction papers 50%
Verb conjugations 7%
Idiom quizzes 6%
Attendance 3%
Preparation/participation 3%
Conversations 6%
100%
C. GRADING SYSTEM A 100-90 B 89-80 C 79-70 D 69-60 F 59-00

VII KANSAS STATE DEPT OF EDUCATION (KSDE) TEACHING STANDARDS
This course meets the following KSDE teaching standards:
Standard #2 Knowledge 1,2. Performance 3, 5, 6, 7.
Whether you tend a garden or not, you are the gardener of your own being, the seed of your destiny.
HORARIO DE CLASES
AUG 23 Introducción
25 Cap 9: Tema de escritura: Por qué me encanta … [cierta obra de arte]
27 Cap 9
30 Cap 9
SEP 1 y 3 Cap 9 1 a
Prueba de modismos
6 Día del Trabajo: ¡ no hay clase!
8 y 10 Cap 9 2 a
Prueba de modismos
13, 15 y 17 Cap 9 3 a
Prueba de modismos
20 Entregar el 1 o escrito Por qué me encanta…….
22 Cap 10 Tema: Cómo cambiaría mi vida si me casara (divorciara) mañana
24 Cap 10 4 a
Prueba de modismos
27, 29 y OCT 1 Cap 10 5 a
Prueba de modismos
4 y 6 Cap 10 6 a
Prueba de modismos
8 NO HAY CLASE
11 y 13 Cap 10
15 Cap 10 Entregar el 2 o escrito Cómo cambiaría mi vida si me casara (divorciara) mañana
y 7 a
Prueba de modismos
18 Cap 11 Tema: Si yo/un-a amigo-a mío-a hubiera consumido las drogas, cómo habría sido
diferente mi/su vida
20 Cap 11
22 Asueto otoñal
25 y 27 Cap 11 8 a
Prueba de modismos
29 NO HAY CLASE
NOV 1, 3 y 5 Cap 11
8 y 10
12 Cap 11 Entregar el 3 o escrito Si yo/un-a amigo-a mío-a hubiera consumido las drogas, cómo
habría sido diferente mi/su vida 9 a
Prueba de modismos
15 Cap 12 Tema:
Con respecto a la inmigración (i)legal, en mi opinión…
17 y 19 Cap 12 10 a
Prueba de modismos
22 Cap 12
24-26 **Vacaciones para el Día de Gracias**

29 Cap 12
DIC 1 y 3 Cap 12 11 a
Prueba de modismos
6 y 8 Cap 12
10 Cap 12 Entregar el 4 o escrito Con respecto a la inmigración (i)legal, en mi opinión…
y 12 a
Prueba de modismos
DIC 13-17 Semana de exámenes finales

POINTS TO CONSIDER WHILE COMPOSING YOUR ESSAYS
∙ Keep your audience in mind when writing. Is your style appropriate?
∙ Keep your thesis in mind. Is discussion in the body pertinent to what you are saying?
∙ Keep your working title in mind. It will help keep you on track, but change it if your ideas change.
HELP WITH LANGUAGE FOR YOUR ESSAYS
Reported Speech
Here are some ways to introduce information taken from others:
Dice que
Opina que
Piensa que
Le parece que
Insiste en que
Cuenta que
Afirma que
Confiesa que
Contesta que
Responde que
Cree que
Explica que
Marking Sequence with Transition Words al principio en seguida después por último al final primero antes más tarde por fin luego antes de eso después de eso finalmente
Providing Smooth Transitions
Transition words provide the glue that holds a piece of writing together. Here are some examples: así que= so (result) de repente, de pronto=suddenly como resultado=as a result entonces=so (logical result) por eso=that’s why por lo tanto=therefore sin embargo=however como consecuencia=as a consequence ya que, puesto que=since a causa de (que)=because debido a (que)=due to
Using Transitions of Concession

Often when discussing or giving opinions, certain transition words and expressions are particularly useful for acknowledging the validity of another person ’s points or ideas, while at the same time challenging them: a pesar de (que)=despite, in spite of aunque=although, even though con todo, aún así=still, even so, nevertheless no obstante=nevertheless sin embargo=however
Example: A pesar de que la trama es excelente, hay, sin embargo, ciertas lagunas que afectan la credibilidad.
Comparing parecerse a=to resemble ser similar=to be similar to al igual que=just like, as ser parecido=to be similar to a semejanza de=just like, as ser semejante a=to be similar to de la misma manera=in the same way tan (+ adjetivo) como=as (adj.) as de la misma forma=in the same way tanto A como B=both A and B del mismo modo=in the same way
Contrasting a diferencia de=unlike por un lado=on the one hand diferenciarse de=to differ from por otro lado=on the other hand en cambio=on the other hand, instead sin embargo=however en contraste con=in contrast to/with no obstante=however más (+adj./sustantivo) que=more (adj./noun) than menos (+adj./sustantivo) que=less/fewer (adj./noun) than
Causes and Effects así que=thus, so el resultado=the result el factor=the factor ya que=since la causa=the cause puesto que=since por consiguiente=therefore como=since por eso=therefore a causa de (que)=because of, due to por lo tanto=therefore debido a (que)=because of, due to conducir a=to lead to como resultado=as a result llevar a=to lead to como consecuencia=as a consequence