Spanish 101 - 4 credits – Fall 2015
M-W-Th-F 10:30am – 11:20pm
Instructor : Señora Tatjana Durand
Office : Basement Honsey Hall 117
Telephone : 344-7303 - My home-phone number is 387-1357
E-mail : Durand@blc.edu
Office hours: MON, WED, TH, FR. 9:00 – 10:00 am. Always look if I am in the office.
Also by appointment.
Text and materials
* Textbook and website: Vistas 5th Edition SE(LL) V1 (1-6) + Supersite (6M)
ESBN 978-1-68004-189-7
This is a loose leaf book that you will need to put in a 3-ring binder. It is for 1 semester only. The loose leaf book and the website come as a unit with a code.
* Loose leaf and notebook for class notes and assignments
* Stenographer's or second notebook for vocabulary
Course Outcomes
1. Person-to-Person Communication
The student will exchange simple spoken and written information in Spanish, and demonstrate skills necessary to sustain exchanges in Spanish using familiar phrases and sentences.
2. Listening and Reading for Understanding
The student will understand simple spoken and written Spanish presented through a variety of media and based on familiar topics.
3. Written Presentation
The student will learn to write a paragraph in Spanish using a variety of familiar vocabulary, phrases and structural patterns.
4. Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products
The student will develop an awareness of perspectives, practices, and products of Spanish- speaking cultures.
5. Cultural Comparisons and Connections
The student will demonstrate an understanding of the significance of culture through comparisons between Spanish-speaking cultures and the student’s own culture.
Additional Requirements .
* Students have to attend a half hour language lab session every week. Times will be assigned.
* Students must keep a vocabulary notebook containing vocabulary words from the chapters.
* Students must go the Online Supersite of the textbook for the homework and exercises connected to the chapter that will be assigned. The activities on the web are due on the date marked for each set of exercises.
* Written homework is to be handed in on the day it is due. (NO late work)
* Students can earn extra credit by watching the telenovela DESTINOS once a week for 1/2 hour (=one episode). They are to comment on the story and grammar points. This is to be emailed to me every week on Friday. (13 episodes)
* Students can earn extra credit by reading and commenting on an article from a magazine, TV program or from a website on the internet every week, concerning a Spanish speaking country. This is to be emailed to me every week on Friday. (13 articles total) I will not accept 13 articles and/or 13 Destinos at the end of the semester. The ones who want the extra credit will have to send me the Destinos and/or Articles every 1 or 2 weeks.
Homework
Success in learning a foreign language is directly related to the amount of time a student spends in contact with the target language. Participation in class and outside preparation are essential in order to reach desired levels of proficiency. Homework is due on the day it is assigned. Homework will be accepted one day late for exactly half the credit. Beyond one day, no credit will be given. In the case of illness, homework will be accepted the day the student returns to class. If additional time is needed, special arrangements may be discussed with the professor.
Attendance
In order to participate in class, you have to be there. Therefore, the final grade will be reduced by 2 percentage points for every absence beyond 3 class periods, up to a total of 10 absences. Missing more than 10 classes will result in automatic failure of the course. This includes absences for any and all reasons: sickness, sports, field trips, sleeping-in, etc.
If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out the homework assignment and what was covered in class. All the homework assignments can be seen on MyBLC, just scroll down for homework you may have missed.
Grading procedure and scale
There will be a quiz or test every week. The day is to be determined. The final grade will be based upon quizzes, exams, homework and attendance. Regular class attendance is required.
Daily work / class participation / Final oral interview: 15%
Participation in conversation labs 10%
Quizzes / chapter tests / Final exam: 75%
No make-ups are allowed for exams (or quizzes) unless the student has made prior arrangements. The professor must be contacted before the exam, even in the case of illness. A message must be left on the professor’s phone or email stating the reason for not attending. It is up to the student to reschedule the exam. If you must miss an exam because of a college event or other approved reason, arrangements must be made a few days ahead of the exam.
However, the lowest quiz score received will be dropped (assuming that all quizzes are taken).
A+ = 100, 99, 98 - A = 97, 96, 95 - A- = 94, 93
B+ = 92, 91, 90 - B = 89, 88, 87, 86 - B- = 85, 84
C+ = 83, 82, 81 - C = 80 to 73 - C- = 72, 71, 70
D+ = 69, 68 - D = 67, 66 - D- = 65 - F = 64 to 0