Spanish 101A
Spring 2014
Instructor: Richard Moran
Phone: (562) 111-1111
Classroom: LA-1 Room 007
Section: 01
Office: LAB-001
Email: jrmoran614@gmail.com
Day/Time: M 2-3:50pm
Course #: 1111
Office Hours:
Monday 12:30-1:30pm
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Heining-Boynton, Audrey. Anda. Curso elemental. (1st edition), Pearson-Prentice Hall, 2009
(with access code to MySpanishLab)
PREREQUISITES:
One semester of college Spanish or two years of high school Spanish. This course is designed for
non-native or non-heritage speakers. If you speak even a small amount of Spanish, your
instructor will ask you to enroll in the appropriate higher section or Spanish 250. If you are not
sure about the level of your Spanish, please speak to your instructor and/or the Language
Coordinator about the possibility of enrolling in another course. Spanish 101B is the beginning
of a three-semester sequence that includes Spanish 101B, 201A and 201B. In order to do well in
this course, students must be able to do the following:
·
follow a class conducted entirely in Spanish,
·
understand thoroughly the structures and vocabulary that can be expected of a
student after one semester of college or two years of high school Spanish
·
read short narratives and dialogues without looking up each term or translating
word for word, and
·
participate in group activities in Spanish.
PREPARATION:
Since this is a four-unit course, the university requires a minimum of eight hours of outside
preparation per week. The amount of time necessary to be adequately prepared for class will vary
from student to student depending on a number of factors.
COURSE GOALS:
Because the students in Spanish 101B had various learning experiences in Spanish, the focus of
this course is to bring these different levels together and to further develop the your existing
listening and speaking skills with classroom and other activities that provide ample practice in
these skills. However, in 101B you will begin to work more on developing your reading and
writing skills. The development of these linguistic skills is done in the context of an exploration
of Hispanic cultures and languages.
Language is communication. Do not be overly concerned when you make errors or stop yourself
when you detect an error. It takes time and practice to learn a new language. Above all,
remember that acquiring a new language is exciting and rewarding, so enjoy yourself!
GRADE DISTRIBUTION:
Participation (20%)
Since attaining communicative competence is the primary goal of this course, you must be
willing and prepared to express and share ideas with your instructor and classmates and to
cooperate in any group activities. Please be punctual. Tardiness is disruptive and disrespectful
both to your classmates and to the instructor.
Please note that simply attending class does not earn you better than a D grade.
Participation means to be actively and cooperatively involved in the classroom session.
Your participation grade is composed of the following two elements: 10 classroom activities (10%) and
a quantitative and qualitative assessment of your participation in class by the instructor (10%).
You earn the first 10% of your participation grade through 10 classroom activities throughout the
semester. These activities are collected and graded. If you miss them, you will receive a 0 (zero) for
participation on that particular day. These activities may or may not be announced by your instructor.
The second 10% of your participation grade are based on your instructor’s assessment of your
participation in class during the entire semester.
Absence or tardiness is not an acceptable excuse for missing classroom activities, quizzes, tests, or
assignment deadlines. It is the student’s responsibility to consult the calendar, syllabus, and/or
announcements for this course on BeachBoard or contact the instructor to discuss the possibility of
making up the work that was missed. Arriving late or leaving early (30 minutes) will be counted as half
an absence. Classroom activities cannot be made up.
Homework (10%)
Homework assignments from MySpanishLab and the textbook are intended to prepare,
complement, and reinforce the work done in class. Completing the exercises and readings
before coming to class will only benefit and ease the learning process, while failing to do so will
only make it more difficult for you to keep up with the work. All assignments must be
completed and turned in as assigned by your instructor. When pages are assigned from Anda.
Curso elemental, you are to do all charts and answer all questions in writing. No late written
work will be accepted.
The Student Activities Manual (My SpanishLab) is available online. You should take advantage
of this very sophisticated online learning tool. It combines the traditional Student Workbook, a
dictionary pronunciation help, grammar tutorials for both English and Spanish, flashcards, and
other interesting and useful features in one system. Your instructor will check your computergraded homework online but may ask you to complete certain assignments in writing. Please
consult the course calendar and the calendar on MySpanishLab on a daily basis for the due dates
of each homework assignment. Do not wait until the last day to work on your homework
assignment. While it is possible to experience occasional technical difficulties with
computers, this is not an excuse for not turning in your homework on time.
Compositions (15%)
As part of your written work this semester, you will also be asked to write 2 (two) compositions
on topics related to your class work and readings. They will be evaluated on their content,
grammar and organization. Your compositions should be clearly organized (with your name,
class, and the assignment information), double-spaced and typed.
Quizzes (15%)
There will be 5 short quizzes throughout the semester. These quizzes are intended to test your
preparation for class (vocabulary, grammar and some cultural knowledge). If you do your
homework assignments on a regular basis, it will be easy for you to do very well on these
quizzes. Quizzes cannot be made up unless they are covered by an excused and documented
absence.
Exams (20%)
There will be two (2) in-class exams. Exam 1 is a traditional exam that tests your knowledge of
grammar, vocabulary, and culture by means of a variety of exercises. Exam 2 is a “Dialogue Exam” in
which we ask you to compose a conversation between two people based on a given situation or task.
Please consult the course outline posted by your instructor for the dates of these two exams.
Comprehensive final exam (15%)
The final exam is comprehensive but will emphasize the material covered after Exam 1. Final
exams are scheduled by the university. Please read the following statement carefully!
The University requires that every class include a final exam except certain activity classes
for which the dean of the college authorizes an exception. No instructor may change the
scheduled time for a final exam without authorization from the dean of the college. Always
check the final exam schedule before you register for your classes! The final exam schedule
is available in the Spring 2011 catalog on the university’s website at www.csulb.edu.
Please note: If it is impossible for you to take a scheduled exam, or a quiz, or turn in a
composition on the due date because of a medical or other emergency, you must provide
your instructor with a valid written excuse. Please refer to “Excused Absences” below for
further information.
Skit (5%)
During the last week of the semester, your instructor will ask you to do a little skit or
conversation (with partner/s). If you participate actively in all classroom activities, you should be
more than adequately prepared to do well on this little exercise.
Language lab [LAB 001 and 002]:
You may complete assignments in the language lab, in any computer lab on campus or at home. While
language lab attendance is not a requirement, we encourage you to use the lab because it offers many
useful resources (you might find a tutor there or other students who learn the same language; you can
also use the lab to practice your skit or write your compositions).
GRADE DISTRIBUTION:
Participation:
Homework:
Compositions:
Quizzes:
Exams (2):
Skit:
Final:
20 %
10 %
15 %
15 %
20 %
5%
15 %
GRADING SCALE:
90 - 100
A
80 - 89
B
70 - 79
C
60 - 69
D
Below 60
F
OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION:
Communication between instructor and students:
It is the students’ responsibility to maintain a valid email address throughout the semester. The
instructor will post pertinent course information on BeachBoard on a regular basis and the
students need to check both BeachBoard and their email frequently. If students are unable to
attend a scheduled exam (see course calendar and the final exam schedule) due to a medical or
other emergency, they have to notify the instructor by email or phone as soon as possible.
BeachBoard and the CSULB Technology Help Desk:
To access your BeachBoard page, you will need to have a valid email address that you have
provided to the Registrar’s Office. In addition to opening an e-mail account for you and helping
you navigate BeachBoard, the Help Desk can assist you with a wide range of other computer
issues including: operating systems, remote connection to CSULB, Microsoft Desktop
applications, anti-virus software, and Internet- and Web-related topics. Contact the Help Desk
by phone, e-mail or on the web.
Phone: (562) 985-4959
E-mail:helpdesk@csulb.edu
Web: helpdesk.csulb.edu
Withdrawal Policy:
It is the student’s responsibility to withdraw from classes. Instructors have no obligation to
withdraw students who do not attend courses, and may choose not to do so.
The students should consult the Schedule of Classes for the various withdrawal deadlines.
Withdrawal from a course during the final three weeks of instruction requires the signature of the
instructor, the department chair, and the dean of the college and is permissible only for serious
and compelling reasons. [Severe or extensive medical problems would be a reason to withdraw
after the deadline, but fear of receiving a final grade lower than desired, or a change in one’s
work schedule are not considered serious and compelling reasons]
Cheating and Plagiarism:
It is expected that the work you submit for this class will be your own and that when it is not you
will give credit to the source by using quotation marks, footnotes or some other form of
reference. General definitions of what constitutes cheating and plagiarism and the measures the
university may take in such cases are given in the Schedule of Classes, pages 51 and 52. For
example, using the Internet (services such as Babel Fish or Google’s “translate” service) to
translate English compositions into Spanish or having somebody “proofread” (meaning
“correcting”) your work constitutes a form of cheating and the work will not be accepted as your
own (in addition to receiving 0 credit for your work, instances of cheating will be brought to the
attention of the Office of Judicial Affairs).
Excused Absences:
Students may have a valid reason to miss a class. Students are responsible for informing their
instructor of the reason for the absence. For a list of acceptable reasons to miss a class, the
student should consult the current CSULB Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog. In case a
student misses a scheduled test (Exam) or other assignment due to a serious emergency, s/he
must provide the instructor with a valid written excuse before s/he will be allowed to make up
that examination. A valid excuse will include the date(s) and reason for the absence from class as
well as the name and phone number (and other appropriate information) of the doctor or other
person who can be contacted to verify this information. Your instructor will not accept
documentation that is illegible or incomplete. The coordinator of lower division language
courses, Dr. Markus Muller, will check the validity of your excuse.
Students with Disabilities:
Students with disabilities who need assistance or modification to the University’s programs
and/or activities should inform their instructor (or the Language Coordinator) immediately upon
knowing that such modification is necessary. You should discuss your request for reasonable
accommodation in academic courses with the instructor (or Language Coordinator) and with the
Office of Disabled Students Services, located in Brotman Hall 270; Phone: (562) 985-5401. If
the modification or accommodation provided is inappropriate or insufficient, you may seek the
assistance of the Office of Equity and Diversity.
NB: Disability cannot be claimed retroactively for work or exams already completed in the
course.
Problems and concerns:
Any problems or concerns you may have regarding this course should first be presented to your
instructor. If the issue remains unresolved, make an appointment to discuss the matter with Dr.
Muller, the coordinator of lower-division language courses at the Romance, German, and
Russian Languages and Literatures Department. You may speak with the department chair, Dr.
Lisa Vollendorf, only after you have met with Dr. Muller.
Dr. Markus Muller:
Office: AS 342
Phone: (562) 985-4323
E-mail: memuller@csulb.edu
NB: Under no circumstances can changes be made to this syllabus without the consent of
Dr. Markus Muller.