Español 201
Prof. Angeles Castrillejo
Craven Hall 1253
760-750-8011
acastril@csusm.edu

Course Description

 Objectives: Upon successful completion of the course, you should be able to:

·         Comprehend and produce Spanish, in oral and written form, so as to carry out a range of real-world functions including: greeting others; describing yourself and your surroundings; taking care of basic ‘survival’ needs such as securing medical attention, making travel arrangements, obtaining housing, planning a career and obtaining a job, etc.; expressing your opinion about a range of topics; narrating and reporting about past, present and future events; giving advice and/or instructions about a range of concrete topics; comprehend/interpret menus, schedules, job and housing ads and announcements, television and radios ads, short pieces of radio and television programs, and short newspaper and magazine articles on common and familiar topics. 

§         Express yourself in the above situations, orally in short to longer phrases, and in writing with complete sentences in up to a two page text, with enough appropriateness and accuracy so as to be understood by native speakers who are accustomed to speaking with non-native speakers.

§         Recognize many of the important Hispanic people, celebrations, and events, as well as understand many of the similarities and differences between North American culture and those cultures that share the Spanish language with respect to family and home life, workplace situations, art, and news events.

Required texts:

Cubillos, J. (2000) Temas. Boston: Heinle & Heinle. (packaged with Audio CD)

Shook, D and Noverr, A. (2000) Temas: cuaderno de ejercicios y manual de laboratorio**. Boston: Heinle & Heinle. (accompanying answer key also available)

**Audio tapes accompany the manual de laboratorio may be purchased separately, but can also be found in the Language Learning Center in University Hall, 240 and on reserve in the CSUSM Library.

Recommended Texts: The following text is recommended especially if you do not have a basic grasp of English grammar. Most students who have purchased the book are quite happy they did so!

Spinelli, Emily (1995) English Grammar for Students of Spanish. Ann Arbor: The Oliva and Hill Press.

Course requirements: Your evaluation in this course will be based on the following work.

Class participation (10%): You cannot develop skills in Spanish without frequently using the language in a variety of ways. It is for this reason that you are required to actively participate in class discussions and activities throughout the semester. Your participation will be evaluated on a daily basis and will take into account a number of variables including, but not limited to, 1) your willingness to use and practice Spanish; 2) your willingness to participate; 3) your cooperation in group and pair work; and 4) the quality of the overall effort you put into the course. Please consult the attached criteria to be used by your instructor to determine your participation grade. 

Class work (30%): There are three components to this portion of your grade, all of which will be averaged together at the end of the course: homework and workbook/lab manual, pop quizzes, and 2 written compositions.

·         Homework & workbook/lab manual. You are responsible for turning in workbook (cuaderno de ejercicios) and listening lab manual (manual de laboratorio) pages for each corresponding chapter. You will turn in these pages on the day of the corresponding chapter exam. Since the WB/Lab Man. activities closely correspond with the textbook activities, it is recommended that you complete these pages as you work through the chapter and NOT the night before the exam.

There is a specific format in which your WB/Lab Man must be completed and turned in. If you do not follow this format, your work will not be accepted and you will not receive credit for the assignment.  Before you do each WB/Lab Man activity, review the corresponding section of the textbook. Complete the activity, without looking at the answer key or the textbook. After completing the activity, check your answers and make any correction necessary in a different color pen. The purpose is so that your instructor can check to see that you have actively engaged in studying and correcting your work. This is the best way to learn. The purpose of this is NOT to take points away from you for incorrect answers, so please do not feel uncomfortable about getting something wrong. When you find that you have made an error, ask yourself why you made the error. Was it just a careless mistake? Or did you just not have the correct form memorized? If the latter is the case, then this is an indication that you need to make flash cards, word lists, or whatever else is necessary to make this information readily available to your recall ability. In short, more reinforcement work is necessary. If, however, you find that you do not understand why you have made the error you should one of two things is going on. Either you simply haven’t understood the concept or structure involved well enough, or you are not wrong at all and the answer key has printed the wrong “correct” answer.  To decide which is the case,  look at the corresponding textbook section again. Study the material there and try to figure out why yours was the wrong answer. If you find justification for your answer, ask your teacher in class the following day whether or not you are right. If you do not understand the concept, try looking at the textbook explanation and examples as well as your notes once more. If you still do not understand, ask your teacher in the following class.    

In addition to the above work, your instructor might assign additional assignments to be turned in throughout the semester, however, even when no specific work is assigned, you still should not think that you do not have homework. To be a successful language learner, and to do well in this course you must study every day. Plan to spend approximately 2 hours each day studying Spanish.

·         Pop quizzes. Your instructor may also throw unannounced pop quizzes at any time.  These quizzes cannot be made up for any reason. If you don’t want to miss a quiz, don’t miss class.

·         Compositions. You will be required to write two 2-page compositions this semester. They must be typed (double spaced in 12 pt. font –use standard academic fonts) and spell checked before being turned in.

Midterm exams (40%): There will be two midterm exams, to be given after completing chapters 9 and 10, respectively. These tests will include listening and reading comprehension as well as written production of Spanish. Dates for exams are posted on the course syllabus. MAKE-UPS ARE ONLY GIVEN IN EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES, i.e. you are too ill to come to class, you have been in an accident, etc. In such an extreme emergency, written documentation (such as a doctor’s note) is required before any make up will be scheduled. Because of this strict policy, please look at the schedule and plan for back-ups on exam dates just in case of an unexpected emergency.

Final exam (20%): Your final exam will be comprehensive, thus you cannot wait until the last minute to study for chapter tests. Doing so might enable you to squeeze through a chapter exam, but probably won’t help you acquire and store the skills and vocabulary in your long-term memory. Mark your calendars now for the final exam. Prepare just in case of emergencies, etc. because NO MAKE UPS WILL BE GIVEN. If you miss the final, YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE CREDIT FOR THE EXAM.

Attendance: You will not gain course credit for attending class because the mere act of filling a seat is not what helps you acquire a language (it is actively engaging in class activities that will help you). However, if you do not attend class you cannot participate, so a failure to attend class will result in the lowering of your grade. Therefore, you will be bound by the following attendance policy:

·         You are allowed three absences throughout the semester no questions asked- though you could use these days to “take a vacation”, it is recommended that you use these days for those unforeseen emergencies that inevitable happen every semester, i.e. your car breaks down, your alarm doesn’t go off, your kids get sick and you have not back up, etc. Your freebies are not valid on exam dates.

·         After three absences each absence will lower your final grade by one letter level (B+ to B).

·         After your three freebies there will be no “excused” absences, so please do not even ask your instructor to excuse them. Should you be forced to miss class because of an uncontrollable circumstance (i.e. jury duty, you become physically incapacitated, etc.), after documenting this condition, you will need to consult with your instructor as to whether you will be able to continue in the course. A short term absence under these conditions might be excused, provided all missed work is satisfactorily made up. However, long term absences are impossible to make up and you might be forced to take the course at another time.

Oral assessment: At the end of the semester you will be required to demonstrate your oral communication skills to your instructor. Your instructor will give you more information about the format and the dates of this assessment later in the semester. The purpose of this assessment is to assure that you have acquired the interactive Spanish language skills required of this level of Spanish. You are not expected to speak like a native speaker, to have perfect pronunciation, or to have perfect grammatical accuracy. You are expected to make mistakes (you are a learner, after all!). Your instructor will simply be checking to see that you can interact(produce and understand) in Spanish on basic topics to complete basic everyday functions and manage a conversation (i.e. request that an interlocutor speak more slowly, request repetition or clarification of something he or she has said, etc.).

You will not receive a grade, per se, for this assessment. If you demonstrate skills commensurate with those required of the Spanish 201 level, your grade will not be affected. If you demonstrate skills beyond those required of the Spanish 201 level, your final grade will be raised approximately one letter level (B to B+) If you fail to demonstrate skills required of the Spanish 201 level, your final grade will be lowered by approximately one letter level (B+ to B).

Classroom etiquette: As an instructor of California State University, San Marcos your instructor is committed to social justice and academic integrity. Every effort will be made to foster an atmosphere of friendship, trust, and acceptance in the classroom. Thus, discrimination, intolerance, disrespect, or dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated. If you have any suggestions as to how to further such an atmosphere, please feel free to share them with your instructor at any time.

If you are person with a disability and anticipate needing any type of accommodation to participate in this class, please make your instructor aware of this as soon as possible so that your needs can be accommodated properly.

Challenge Exams: If you believe you have the skills necessary to pass Spanish 201, you may take a Challenge Exam. If you pass you will receive credit for the course, but will not have to attend the rest of the semester. In order to take the Challenge Exam you must be officially enrolled in the course. These exams will be administered during the first two weeks of the semester. Please check the Dept. of World Languages & Literatures Website for specific information about times, days, and requirements for taking the exam.

Important note for fulfilling the CSUSM Foreign Language Requirement: To fulfill the CSUSM language requirement you must achieve a C or better in Spanish 201. If you are at risk of getting a C- or lower, do not wait until the end of the semester to get help from your professor. There is nothing that he or she can do at that point.