Phone: 278-6408

Office Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays 9-10 and 11-12, and by appointment. E-mail: santana@csus.edu

Course text: Spanish for Life, M. Carol Brown and Kathleen C. Moore. Heinle & Heinle. 2000. ( HYPERLINK http://spanishforlife.heinle.com/

Course Objectives and Description: This is a beginning course in the Spanish language, with a primary emphasis on the development of audio-lingual skills. Attention will also be given to the interrelatedness of language, civilization and culture, as well as the development of reading and writing skills. Students will be expected to spend at least two hours studying for each class hour or less if you work with the Spanish tutor.

Course Components:

Exams (1 per chapter)—500 pts.

Attendance and Class Participation—100 pts

Quizzes and exams: As indicated on the course calendar, there will be five exams in all for this course. You will have a 50-minute class period to complete it.

Final exam: Wednesday, Dec. 17th from 8-10AM. The exam must be taken at this time--No exceptions!

Grading: The following scale will be used on all quizzes, exams, and compositions. 100-94=A; 93-90=A-; 89-87=B+; 86-84=B; 83-80=B-; 79-77=C+; 76-74=C; 73-70=C-; 69-67=D+; 66-64=D; 63-60=D-; 59 and below = F.

Scores are rounded up or down, i.e., 82.5 will be considered an 83, but 82.25 will be an 82. Incorrect use of accent marks will be worth a quarter-point on both quizzes and exams.

Attendance and class participation: All students are expected to arrive to class on time and participate actively during the class sessions. Please do not chew gum or eat during class. If you come in late to class make sure to softly close the door.

Every day you will be graded on how well prepared you are and how you interact with other students in a communicative setting. Please remove your hats during class so that I may better see your faces and get to know you. Since the course is conducted in Spanish, the use of English will not be permitted. Chronic tardiness will also affect your participation grade. You are allowed to miss TWO classes for the entire semester and do not have to give any reason for them. Starting with the third absence, however, you will be docked two points from your 100 point final participation grade for each day that you miss and your overall grade will be affected. In other words, if you were absent five times you would lose six points off your participation grade.

Workbook and writing assignments: Workbook assignments will be optional and can be discussed with the Spanish tutor. For best results, you should do the work that corresponds with the chapter we are going over in class. To self-correct your work after you finish a given section, go to the back of the book and grade what you have done using a different color of ink so as to highlite your errors. Finally, since you are responsible for knowing what the homework is on days you are absent, it’s a good idea to have the phone number of at least three classmates that you can call. Write down some names and contact information here: Name /Contact information (e-mail or phone #)

Writing assignments will be done this semester in the form of a diary. You will be asked to construct the diary out of white construction paper, staple it together, and design artwork for the cover that reflects your personality. Please write neatly and remember that you will be graded on grammar, appropriate length, and originality. Don’t lose your diary because you will be turning it in periodically for Spanish tutor feedback.

Oral performance: The professor will use a cassette tape of questions from each of the chapters during the class and throughout the semester you will hear and respond to these questions until you begin to “think in Spanish”. This method has been tried and tested with great success and will also be included in the testing for each chapter.

Oral exam: During the last week of class each student will team up with another classmate to do a 3 minute question and answer session as part of the final exam.