syllabus agreement - Orange Coast College

Spanish 280 SYLLABUS Section Number 32260
Monday& Wednesday: 11:10 am to 1:45 pm / Business Education 101B. Instructor: Miriam Houssels, M.A.
Mail box: Admissions Building (Adjunct Faculty)
email: mhoussels@occ.cccd.edu or mhoussels@charter.net
ACADEMIC CLIMATE (Instructor's Welcome):
I have prepared what I believe you will find to be an exciting and
interesting course. We will be a busy class, doing lots of activities that
are fun as well as educational. You will spend a lot of time interacting
with your fellow students, giving you a great opportunity to make new
friends. We will be trying to communicate with each other in a language
most of us hardly know. This can be very frustrating if we don't remember
to laugh at our mistakes and go with the flow. We will have to be careful
not to disturb students in neighboring classrooms. Quality participation includes:
(1) Following instructions, or, if you don't understand them, letting me
know by raising your hand and saying, "No comprendo";
(2) Contributing positively to class discussions; both speaking and
listening-- demonstrating interest in what others have to say, asking
questions, not dominating conversations;
(3)(Especially for advanced students) adjusting your language level in
order to communicate effectively with the rest of the class;
I look forward to working and playing with you as we set about learning the
Spanish language. COURSE DESCRIPTION:
¡Bienvenido/a! Welcome! This course is designed to help you further explore
the Spanish language. In it, you will continue to develop proficiency in
the Spanish language by learning more strategies for communication in four
areas: oral (speaking), aural (listening), reading, and writing. Be
prepared, then, to jump from language and learning skills activities, to
discussions of geography, cultural identity and politics. OBJECTIVE:
Greater emphasis on reading and writing than in first-year Spanish, and you
can expect to work on these skills both in class and at home. Students are
expected to use only Spanish during the entire class, with the exception of
the last 10 minutes, during which you are free to ask any questions you
wish in English.
Upon completion of this course, you will:
(1) Be able to communicate with others at an Intermediate-High level:
this includes engaging in conversations, providing and obtaining
information, expressing feelings and emotions, and exchanging opinions in
areas centered beyond your immediate and personal needs; content areas
include: current events, media, politics, values, history and traditions,
social issues, customs, etc., with increased awareness of target cultural
concerns, norms and values, and culturally specific customs and events;
communication is in the present, future and past tenses;
(2) Recognize Hispanic cultural products (art, literature, music,
food, laws, etc.) and practices, and understand their relationship to
Hispanic perspectives (attitudes, values, ideas);
(3) Reinforce and further your knowledge of other disciplines through
Spanish; and acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints
that are uniquely Hispanic;
(4) Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of language and the
concept of culture by comparing the Spanish language and its cultures with
language(s) and culture(s) with which you're familiar;
(5) Use Spanish both within and beyond the classroom setting; and,
show evidence of becoming a lifelong learner by using Spanish for personal
enjoyment and enrichment and in professional endeavors, independently
pursuing activities using Spanish throughout your lifetime. METHOD OF INSTRUCTION:
This course is presented using the "natural approach," which emphasizes
using the language in the context of everyday situations. Workbook online
and internet activities are used to provide additional practice. Students
will participate in many different classroom scenarios designed to provide
a range of opportunities to use the Spanish language. Practice Spanish
outside of the classroom: read bilingual product labels and instructions,
start a journal in Spanish, write notes and lists to yourself in Spanish,
chat with other Spanish students, and surf the Spanish-language Web. ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS:
This is an academic course intended to prepare students for upper division
work at a four-year university. In order to succeed in this course,
students will have to put in a lot of work. This class counts for five
units. Some think it should count for six or eight. For every hour that
you spend in class, you're expected to spend two hours preparing outside of
class. For this course, then, anticipate spending about ten hours per week
outside of class (actual time may vary depending on your background,
abilities, etc.) A large part of language acquisition will occur outside of class, from
doing homework assignments and by practicing the language with classmates.
If you have chosen to enroll in this course in order to meet college
requirements (rather than taking a more advanced level or studying a
different language, for example), keep in mind that you will only earn
credit for what you accomplish/complete in this class, not for what you
already know. Also, as with all students in the class, you will be
evaluated on how you contribute to the dynamics of the class. Students taking this course are assumed to have excellent study skills,
good writing skills and a solid grounding in English grammar - even though
this is a Spanish class. Students who are not comfortable speaking English
in front of a class are likely to find speaking Spanish in front of class
very uncomfortable. Students will be required to speak a lot of Spanish in
front of class in this course. Students are expected to use the level of
Spanish that the class has studied or is studying. There may be students enrolled in this class not sufficiently prepared
academically to take this course at this time. Students who find they are
not yet ready to take this Spanish class should do themselves a favor and
withdraw early. Dates to Remember Last day to drop class and receive fees refund: Friday, February 8th,
2008
Last day to drop class without a "W" grade: Friday, February 22nd,
2008 Last day to drop a class with a "W" grade: Friday, April 18, 2008
Students who do not officially withdraw from the class will receive a
letter grade. TEXTBOOK AND Supplies--
You'll need the following items; bring your textbook and writing
instruments with you to each class:
1- Textbook: Mundo 21, 3rd ed., Samaniego, Rojas, Ohara, Alarcón.
2- Online Workbook/Lab Manual: Quia online (electronic) Student Activities
Manual (SAM)
Note: The book key (access code) for the online SAM is included with new
textbooks purchased at the OCC Bookstore. If you purchase the textbook
somewhere else, or buy it used, you may have to purchase the book key
separately (see "Quia Enrollment" instructions to find out how).
3- Internet (preferably broadband) and printer access, and an e-mail
account
Note: You can get a student account, and then use computers on campus at
the John R. Clark Computing Center (714.432.5634) or at the OCC Library
(714.432.5885). You'll need to provide your own headphones (the same type
that you would use with a portable CD player or iPod.) You can get free e-
mail accounts at a number of sites; some of the more popular include:
Google, Yahoo, Hotmail; some possibilities in Spanish are: LatinMail,
Brújula, Wanadoo.es.
4- Writing Instruments:
- A pencil, or a black or blue pen for writing homework and exams.
- A red pen for correcting homework.
You must have the necessary materials with you in class, whether it be your
textbook, paper, a functioning writing instrument, a staple or paper clip
for your homework, etc. Students must have also Scantron #882-E answer cards and number-two
pencils available for the final exam. A white plastic eraser must be used
to make corrections. These items are available at the bookstore or from
the new student supplies vending machine located in front of the Chemistry
Building. Students should bring a notebook to every class to take notes.
Students are responsible for all vocabulary words written on the board, in
addition to those in the text. A high-quality Spanish-English / English-
Spanish dictionary makes a good investment.
GRADING POLICY:
Grades are determined in a very straightforward manner. Examinations,
homework, workbook, an oral presentation and the final examination are all
factored together to produce a final grade for each student, using the
following scale: A = 90% and above
B = 80% - 89%
C = 70% - 79%
D = 60% - 69%
F = Less than 60% The various elements of the grade are weighted as follows
1. Quizzes Taken1 5%
2. Chapter Exam Average Score 30%
3. Homework - % completed 30%
4. Oral presentation 10%
5. Final exam 25%
Total2 100% 1 Lowest quiz score will be dropped 2Total is adjusted up or down to determine final grade.
Extra credit raises this total.
Attendance issues lower this total.
Adjustments to final grade:
Several adjustments are made to the overall score as calculated above:
1. Students may earn extra credit by doing additional work. This work
can add as many as five percentage points to the final grade (see
section on extra credit).
2. Excessive absenses and tardy arrivals are penalized.
See section on attendance.
3. The instructor may adjust final grades up or down by as much as two
points to reflect classroom participation (see section on classroom
participation).
4. Students electing take a pass/fail grade must earn a score of 60 or
above to receive a "pass" grade. P