COURSE SYLLABUS—SPRING 2016
Spanish 212 Second Year Spanish II (SPAN 212)
T/TH 9.30-10.45
REYN 101
Number of credits: 3
Transferability of course within Nevada: Transfers as SPAN 212 to all Nevada colleges and
universities, Completion of SPAN 212 fulfills the foreign language requirement for those
transferring to a college where such a requirement exists.
Prerequisites: SPAN 211, its equivalent or consent of instructor
Instructor:
Phone:
E-mail:
Office:
Office hours:
Maxine Cirac
775-445-4281
maxine.cirac@wnc.edu
Bristlecone, 350L (Carson Campus)
Monday
1.00- 2.00 p.m. and 4.00- 5.00 p.m.
Tuesday
2.00- 3.00 p.m.
Wednesday 1.00- 2.00 p.m. and 4.00- 5.00 p.m.
If you cannot make one of my office hours, please don’t hesitate to call and/or email me and we’ll set up an appointment.
Required Texts:
1. Potowski, Sobral, Dawson, Dicho y hecho, 9th edition, c. 2012
ISBN: 978-0-470-91782-4
2. Potowski, Sobral, Dawson, Dicho y hecho, 9th edition Activities Manual,
c. 2012
ISBN: 978-0-470-90702-3
Recommended:
1. A Spanish-English dictionary and/or app (www.spanishdict.com/)
Course Description
Considers structural review, conversation and writing, and readings in modern literature.
Course objectives
Spanish 212, the second semester of second year Spanish, is designed for students interested in
the development of all Spanish language skills and/or for those students who intend to
continue Spanish beyond the 200 level.
Upon completion of this course, students are expected to:
2
A.
Be able to write Spanish incorporating a variety of tenses, vocabulary and other
grammatical points learned over the semester. (*GE1)
B.
Be able to communicate orally using Spanish to ask and answer questions on a
variety of everyday topics, describe people, places and events both in the past and
present tenses. (*GE1)
C.
Read and translate selected basic texts. (*GE1)
D.
Understand some Spanish spoken slower than normal pace and develop skills and
coping strategies for filling in the gaps. (*GE1)
E.
Identify selected cultural traits of Spanish-speaking countries. (*GE1)
* GE1 refers to General Education Student Learning Outcome 1: Intellectual Skills. Demonstrate working
knowledge of key concepts, principles, themes and major content areas needed to explain and solve
discipline-specific problems.
Policies and Procedures
Grading
Your grade for the course will be determined in the following manner:
4 news reports (50 pts. ea.)
4 in-class oral presentations (100 pts. ea.)
3 tests (100 pts. ea.)
Homework
200 points
400 points
300 points
100 points
TO DETERMINE FINAL GRADE:
900-1000 points
800-899 points
700-799 points
600-699 points
below 600
A
B
C
D
F
IMPORTANT:
 The last date for a student to withdraw from this class is Friday, April 1, 2016.

Students who do not formally withdraw from the class will receive the grade they have
earned based on the points accumulated for the course.
3
Classroom/Communication
You will be primarily reviewing grammar learned in the previous three semesters.
New grammar will come primarily from Capítulos 13-15 in your text.
Vocabulary themes will be of your choice and assignments will incorporate use of the vocabulary
you most want to develop.
In the case of absence, it is your responsibility to find out from another student what was covered,
what the homework is, and what will be expected of you on your return. If you cannot contact a
classmate, please e-mail or call me at my office and I will be happy to e-mail you the homework
assignment.
Note: Unless I am off-campus for specific meetings or conferences, I check my e-mail and
messages constantly throughout the day during the work week. I rarely check my e-mail over
weekends or official holidays. During the work week, I usually respond to questions from students
within 24 hours of receiving e-mail. Please note that correspondence after 3 p.m. on Fridays is
usually not answered until the following Monday or regular business day if Monday is a holiday.
I will be happy to meet you outside of class time if you need me to clarify any part of a lesson
which you've not understood. The Academic Skills Center provides tutoring at no extra charge.
In the event of my absence, I shall send an e-mail via my class roster on MyWNC. Cancelled classes
will be shown on the college website home page. Click on Cancelled Classes for Today:
http://www.wnc.edu/calendar/hotline.php
Western Nevada College is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all persons
with disabilities. This syllabus is available in alternate formats upon request. Any student with a
documented disability needing academic adjustments is requested to speak with Disability
Support Services and the instructor as early in the semester as possible. All discussions will remain
confidential. Please contact Disability Support Services, Carson campus, Cedar 209, 775-445-4459
or susan.trist@wnc.edu.
Participation and Attendance
Regular practice is an essential part of language learning; one cannot do well without it. Your
participation in class includes being prepared when called on, turning in assignments on time,
listening to the audio regularly, doing the exercises in the manual, and coming in for extra help
when you need it. Regular exposure to a language is of the highest importance in the learning
process; you should make every effort to attend each class.
Tests
Dates of tests are indicated on the syllabus. There will be no makeup tests without prior consent.
4
Oral work
Each of you will be asked to prepare four in-class oral presentations and four news bulletins during
the course of the semester.
Academic Honesty
Acts of academic dishonesty, including but not limited to cheating, plagiarism, falsifying
research data or results, using a translation program or translator to complete written
assignments or assisting others to do the same will not be tolerated and will result in an F grade
in the course. Policies regarding student conduct can be found in the college’s catalog. If I have
any doubt that a student is cheating in any way, I reserve the right to require supplementary
examinations.
Tips for Success
1. Be on time and don’t leave early. Sometimes arriving late is impossible to avoid, but
consistently arriving late (or leaving early) isn’t fair to the other students who make a
point of being on time and stay for the whole class. Except for exam days, I do not let
class out early.
2. Turn off your cell phone and keep it out of sight. There is nothing more annoying than
students text messaging . Of course, if you have a special circumstance such as your
child(ren) at home sick, please let me know before class and I shall make the
exception.
3. If you don’t understand something, please ask me right away. If you feel too shy, ask a
classmate when you are working together doing an activity. Also, please don’t hesitate
to come and see me in my office and/or call me. Many times, even 15 minutes of oneon-one time can make a big difference!
4. Avoid procrastination. This course covers a lot of material. Falling behind or skipping
assignments will seriously affect your participation and effort in class, not to mention
your test scores.
5. Respect your classmates. Listen to what they have to say. When someone else is
talking, it is not the time to whisper and talk with the people around you.
6. Try to relax in class: learning involves some hard work, but it should be fun.
SPAN 212
SPRING 2016 SCHEDULE (tentative)
T/TH 9.30-10.45 a.m.
Week 1
T 1-26
TH 1-28
Week 9
Introduction
Object pronouns
Week 2
T 2- 2
TH 2- 4
Object pronouns
OP 1
Por vs. Para
News; Por vs. Para
Review
TEST 1
OPEN
OP 3
Past subjunctive
Homework 3 due; Past
subjunctive
Past subjunctive
News 4; If/then clauses
Week 14
Homework 1 due; Imperative
News 2; Imperative
T 5- 3
TH 5- 5
Indicative vs. Subjunctive
Planning for OP4
Week 15
OP 2
Past tenses
T 5-10
TH 5-12
Week 8
T 3-15
TH 3-17
T 4-19
TH 4-21
T 4-26
TH 4-28
Week 7
T 3- 8
TH 3-10
T
4-12
TH 4-14
Week 13
Week 6
T 3- 1
TH 3- 3
Homework 2 due; Review
TEST 2
Week 12
Week 5
T 2-23
TH 2-25
T 4- 5
TH 4- 7
Week 11
Week 4
T 2-16
TH 2-18
Present subjunctive
Present subjunctive
Week 10
Object pronouns
Planning for OP1
Week 3
T 2- 9
TH 2-11
T 3-29
TH 3-31
OP 4
Review
Week 16 (Finals Week)
Past tenses
News 3; Past tenses
T
5-17
TEST 3
SPRING BREAK (Week of 3-21)
¡Diviértanse y muy buena suerte!
OP indicates Oral Presentation