Syllabus SPN1121 Beginner Spanish & Culture Spring 2012 Instructor Contact Instructor Office CU 277 Office Hours Ramona Rendon Phone 561-2972602 E-mail Monday and Wednesday 1:00-2:00 PM rrendon@fau.edu Course Information Course Name Beg Spanish & Culture II Course ID & Section SPN1121 Credit Hours 4 Semester/Year Spring 2013 Location CU /TBA Course Description Emphasis on speaking and aural comprehension. Practice in reading and writing. For students with some experience in the language. Not open to native speakers or equivalent, who may substitute it with SPN 1340.Credit may not be awarded for SPN 1121 and SPN 1340. The primary focus of this second semester of Spanish is to develop your ability to understand native spoken and written Spanish and to increase your skill at expressing yourself in basic situations. Listening comprehension and reading are the bases for the sound acquisition of a foreign language. Cultural aspects of the Hispanic populations will be discussed. In order to develop a clear understanding of the spoken language, the
class will be conducted in Spanish. The student is not expected to understand every word the instructor says but is expected to concentrate and follow the class. Course Prerequisites SPN 1120 or equivalent Course Objectives At the conclusion of the course, the student should be able to: 1. Gain a basic understanding of the Spanish language in predictable contexts on familiar topics. 2. Proficiency and knowledge of basic grammatical structures and terminologies. 3. Develop strategies for reading and understanding authentic texts in Spanish. 4. Develop awareness of the culture of Spanish-speaking people, which provides the context for a correct understanding of the language. Required Text Title: Sol y viento 3rd Edition PLUS Package Sol y viento: Beginning Spanish (Digital Edition), 3rd Edition Sol y viento Online Manual de actividades, 3rd Edition, Volume 1 Sol y viento Online Manual de actividades, 3rd Edition, Volume 2 Publisher: McGraw-Hill Author: VanPatten, Leeser, Keating ISBN: 007750545X Course Requirements Participation Your participation grade will be based on several components: individual participation, preparation for class as evidenced by in-class performance, group work use of Spanish in the classroom and punctuality. There is NO make-up for participation, with the exception of the following, for which you will be awarded full participation for the day by providing proper documentation to your instructor: (1) a religious holiday in your own faith, (2) serious illness, (3) death in your immediate family, (4) attendance to statutory governmental responsibilities (such as jury duty) Exams There are lesson exams that correspond with the textbook. They are announced on the syllabus and will be held in the room and class period in which class is held (except for the final exam). No deviation of this schedule will be allowed. If you cannot take an announced exam due to a documented emergency, written proof of the circumstances must be presented to your instructor no later than one week after you return to class. See the Make-up Procedures: Exams / Assignments section for details.
Oral Exams There is one oral exam; it will take place during regular class time. The oral exams consist of a 7-8 minute conversation between you and a partner or in extraneous situations a short interview with your instructor. In some cases there will be 3 people in a group. These interactions will based on situations and themes covered in class and will be graded according to the assessment criteria listed in Blackboard under Course Documents. The dates are listed on the calendar. Although your instructor will not inform you of the exact topics/questions for the oral exams, all of them are similar to/based on the communicative activities you do in class. Compositions You will write two compositions online. The topics of the compositions deal with the topics covered in class. Cell Phones and Electronic Devices University Policy: In order to enhance and maintain a productive atmosphere for education, personal communication devices, such as cellular telephones and pagers, are to be disabled in class sessions. The use of cell phones and electronic devices is prohibited in class. All cell phones should be turned off before the start of class (not set on vibrate, but turned OFF). If you have a medical or family emergency and need to receive a call during class, you should inform your instructor before class. Students without authorization who uses cell phones and electronic devices in class may be dismissed from class and counted as being absent for the day. In order that the University may notify students of a campus-wide emergency, either the instructor s, or a designated student s cell phone will be set to vibrate during class. If a student is caught with his/her phone out or sending messaging, it will be taken away till the end of class. The second time the student is caught, he/she will be asked to leave the class. Student E-Mail Policy: Effective August 1, 2004, FAU adopted the following policy: When contacting students via e-mail, the University will use only the student s FAU e- mail address. This will ensure that e-mail messages from FAU administration and faculty can be sent to all students via a valid address. E-mail accounts are provided automatically for all students from the point of application to the University. The account will be disabled one year post-graduation or after three consecutive semesters of nonenrollment. E-mailing Your Instructor: Please use your FAU account when e-mailing your instructor. If you use a personal e- mail account (e.g., hotmail, yahoo, g-mail, etc.) your instructor will not know whether the message is junk mail, and therefore, will not respond. FAU e-mail is considered by the university to be official communication, and you should therefore address your instructor
appropriately (e.g., Dear Professor, etc.), sign your name, and use a respectful tone. Instructors will not respond to e-mails that do not address them directly, and/or are not signed, and/or are not sent from your official FAU e-mail address. There are no late assignments. Make-up exams are only given in emergency situation which must be discussed with the instructor. These exams will be in a different format than the original Missed Assignments/Make-Ups There are no late assignments. Make-up exams are only given in emergency situation which must be discussed with the instructor. These exams will be in a different format than the original. Students excused for official university business must arrange to turn in assignments and take quizzes before his or her absence. Class work and participation grades cannot be recuperated. Mandatory comprehensive final examination The final examination incorporates all the last chapter material and is required for a passing grade. You are advised not to make other commitments at this time. If you do not take the final exam, you will fail the course for the semester Evaluation and Grading Letter Grade A 92 100 points A- 90 91 points B+ 88 89 points B 82 87 points B- 80 81 points C+ 78 79 points C 72 77 points C- 70 71 points D+ 68 69 points D 66 67 points D- 64 65 points F 63 and below Points
Assignment Percentage of Grade Exams (3) (F2F) 30% Oral Exam (F2F) (2) 15% Online Composition (2) 10% Centro Online Homework 15% Participation online and F2F 15% (10% f2f; 5% online) Online Videos and quizzes (4) 5% Final Exam (F2F) 10% Total 100% Attendance Policy Regular class attendance is obligatory for successful completion of the course. Acquisition of the four skills of language learning (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) can only be mastered with regular class participation. Two excused or unexcused absences are permitted. Each additional absence beyond the two will lower the grade by one-half grade. Two late arrivals or early departures will count as one absence. Non-penalized Absences: You will not be penalized for being absent from class because of (1) a religious holiday in your own faith, (2) serious illness, (3) death in your immediate family, (4) attendance to statutory governmental responsibilities (such as jury duty). However, you must provide prior notification, and you must present written documentation for 3 & 4 upon your return to class. However, you may be withdrawn for excessive absences even if some are excused. You are responsible for the material covered in your absence. If you find it necessary to withdraw, you must do so officially through the Registrar s Office. If you stop attending without officially withdrawing, you may receive an F as your final grade. There is a correlation between missed classes and class performance. Religious accommodations and FAU obligations (athletic, orchestra, field trips, etc.) must be presented before the class meetings, so that arrangements can be made for the student to make up the work before it is due. Students who have scheduled university events that require that they miss more than the allowed two absences should consider taking the class a semester when they can attend class.
Academic Honesty Students at Florida Atlantic University are expected to maintain the highest ethical standards. Academic dishonesty, including cheating and plagiarism, is considered a serious breach of these ethical standards, because it interferes with the University mission to provide a high quality education in which no student enjoys an unfair advantage over any other. Academic dishonesty is also destructive of the University community, which is grounded in a system of mutual trust and places high value on personal integrity and individual responsibility. Harsh penalties are associated with academic dishonesty. For more information, see http://wise.fau.edu/regulations/chapter4/4.001_code_of_academic_integrity.pdf Students are expected to uphold the Academic Honor Code. ALL assignments that you turn in to your instructor for a grade must be your own work. This means that the use of translator programs, excessive help from tutors or anyone else on graded assignments constitutes academic dishonesty. If your instructor suspects that an assignment completed outside of class is not entirely your own work, your instructor has the right to ask you to redo that assignment in his or her presence during office hours. Disability Statement Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (A.D.A).,students who require special accommodations due to a disability to properly execute coursework must register with the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) located in Boca SU 133 (561-297-3880), and follow all OSD procedures. Bring a letter to your instructor from the OSD indicating that you need academic accommodations no later than the second week of classes. In accordance with the OSD s rules and regulations, students must turn in an Exam Sign-Up Sheet at least one week before the date on which each exam is scheduled. Please contact OSD for more information. Copyright This course may contain copyright protected materials such as audio or video clips, images, text materials, etc. These items are being used with regard to the Fair Use doctrine in order to enhance the learning environment. Please do not copy, duplicate, download or distribute these items. The use of these materials is strictly reserved for this online classroom environment and your use only. All copyright materials are credited to the copyright holder. Third-Party Software and FERPA During this course you might have the opportunity to use public online services and/or software applications sometimes called third-party software such as a blog or wiki. While some of these could be required assignments, you need not make any personally
identifying information on a public site. Do not post or provide any private information about yourself or your classmates. Where appropriate you may use a pseudonym or nickname. Some written assignments posted publicly may require personal reflection/comments, but the assignments will not require you to disclose any personally identity-sensitive information. If you have any concerns about this, please contact your instructor. Important Dates Last day to register/drop/add, fee liable: Friday, January 11, 2013 Last day to drop a course without a W : January 12 18, 2013 Last day to drop a course without receiving an F : Friday, March 1, 2013 To drop the class, please go to: http://myfau.fau.edu. Your instructor will not drop you, but will document your attendance in the event the Financial Aid office requests it. If you do not drop the class before the last day to drop a course without receiving an F, the instructor assigns an F. The Spanish section will not support petitions to drop AFTER the deadlines. Links that can help: http://www.studyspanish.com/ http://www.wordreference.com/ No eating or drinking beverages (other than water) is allowed in class. Turn off cell phones and other devices during class as per university regulations.