Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies - UF Spanish and ...

Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies
University of Florida
POR 3010: Introduction to Portuguese and Brazil
Spring 2012 (Section 2735 Period 5 - 11:45 to 12:35)
Instructor: Felipe Amaro Class location: MAT - 13
Office: Yon 431 Office hours: TTh 10:00-11:30
Email: felipeamaro@ufl.edu
Spanish & Portuguese Studies Department:
http://www.spanishandportuguese.ufl.edu Goals of the Portuguese Program
. To enable students to communicate effectively in Portuguese through
the learning of grammar,
vocabulary, and idiomatic expressions of the language.
. To enable students to achieve competence in all the basic language
skills: listening comprehension,
reading, writing, and speaking.
. To increase students' awareness of and appreciation for Brazilian
culture. Prerequisites
. To be a native speaker of Spanish, with formal schooling in Spanish:
experience and/or formal training at the intermediate-high (3000),
with no previous knowledge of Portuguese.
. POR 1130 passed with an A.
Note: If you have had previous training or are a native speaker of
Portuguese you must take another class. Materials
Required
. Ponto de Encontro: Textbook
. Ponto de Encontro: Student Activities Manual
Website(Listening Exercises):
http://wps.prenhall.com/wl_klobucka_ponto_1/70/17987/4604752.cw/index.h
tml
Recommended
. The Oxford Portuguese Dictionary or Harper Collins Concise Portuguese
Dictionary Grading Policies
a) NO EXTRA CREDIT WORK FOR ANYONE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. NO EXCEPTIONS.
b) A grade of (I)NCOMPLETE will not be given under any circumstances. NO
EXCEPTIONS.
c) Final grades cannot be changed unless there is an error. Students must
present the graded
materials as evidence that a mistake was made. The final grade will be determined as outlined below:
Class participation 10%
Homework 10%
Tests (4) 30%
Compositions (3) 15%
Oral exams (2) 10%
Presentation 10%
Final exam 15%
The grade scale is as follows:
A = 100-93 C(S) = 76-73 For further information
regarding
A- = 92-90 C-(U) = 72-70 passing grades and grade
point
B+ = 89-87 D+ = 69-67 equivalents, please refer to
the
B = 86-83 D = 66-63 Undergraduate Catalog
B- = 82-80 D- = 62-60 (http://www.registrar.ufl.edu/
C+ = 79-77 E = 59-0
catalog/policies/regulationgrades.html).
Class participation
Active participation in class is essential, because success in the study of
Portuguese depends largely on daily exposure to the language. Students
cannot participate if they are not in class. There cannot be make-up for
class participation. This portion of the final grade will be measured
according to all of the following criteria: a) attendance and punctuality,
b) preparation, c) initiative, d) use of Portuguese exclusively, e)
positive attitude, f) being primarily on task, g) NOT USING YOUR CELL
PHONE, h) other in-class work. Before coming to class: a) study the
assigned material, and b) do exercises pertaining to the assigned
section(s) in the syllabus in order to check your knowledge. Attendance
Your instructor will note attendance every day whether roll is called or
not. FIVE ABSENCES will be allowed for any reason. Do not bring written
excuses to your instructor. After five absences, one percentage point will
be deducted from your participation grade for each additional absence.
Please note that three late arrivals to class (more than 3 minutes) will
count as one absence. In the case of an emergency after the fifth absence,
consult Make-up Procedures below. Homework
You are expected to read the assigned pages and complete the exercises in
the Student Activity Manual (SAM) for the day that they are listed on the
syllabus so that you are familiar with the concepts and vocabulary we will
cover that day and so that we can get the most out of our classroom time.
Because of the intensive nature of the class, we will get much more
accomplished and have more time for oral practice if you prepare adequately
outside of class!
The exercises in the second half of each lesson of the SAM are listening
exercises. Each exercise can be downloaded from the textbook website. Go
to:
http://wps.prenhall.com/wl_klobucka_ponto_1/70/17987/4604752.cw/index.html
Click on the lesson you are currently working on, and then on Audio
Resources. The individual exercises will be listed for download. You need
to download Real Player, or another player that is compatible (e.g. VLC). NOTE: The homework will be collected at the end of each lesson. The pages
must be torn out cleanly and stapled, and will be collected at the
beginning of class on the day it is due. For every activity that is not
completed, points will be deducted from your homework grade for that
lesson. Written exams and quizzes
There will be 4 written exams during the semester, in addition to a final
exam to be held during exam week. All exams are announced in the syllabus,
and will be held in the room and class period in which class is held. NO
DEVIATION OF THIS SCHEDULE WILL BE ALLOWED, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, this
means NO early or late exams. Note that language learning is cumulative,
and all tests may include material from previous chapters. Compositions
On the days marked Trabalho Escrito in your syllabus, you will have the
class period to write a first draft of a composition on an assigned topic
that will be provided that day in class. Grade sheets for the compositions
are included in the syllabus for your reference and will be provided when
the first draft is returned. Based on the correction key used by the
instructor (found in the Recursos para Redações folder under the Resources
tab posted on SAKAI), you will rewrite compositions at home. The second
version must be typed, double-spaced, and turned in to the instructor
before the start of class on the date it is due. You must staple it to the
grade sheet, along with the first draft. The first draft is worth 70% of
the composition grade, and the rewrite is worth 30%. IMPORTANT: What you turn in for grading must be your own original work. You
may NOT collaborate with anyone when writing your composition. NO ONE,
STUDENT OR NOT, should LOOK at your composition, suggest changes, or make
corrections. The use of computer- or internet-based translation programs is
not allowed. Individuals who misrepresent work done by another will be
dealt with in accordance with the student judicial process. Oral Exams
The two oral exams will take place in class on the days indicated in the
syllabus. They will consist of interviews between the instructor and two
(possibly three) students at a time. General topics will be provided prior
to the exams. Grade sheets for the exams are part of the syllabus for your
reference, and will be filled out by your instructor and returned to you
after the oral exam. Presentation
Students will be required to make a presentation, as part of a pair, on a
Brazilian cultural topic. Presentations should last approximately 16
minutes total, and the time should be divided equally between each member
of the pair. Any presentation lasting more than 20 minutes will incur a
penalty of one letter grade (10%). Power Point presentations are permitted,
with minimal text. Presentations should be spoken, not read. If the
presentation is read or extensive text is included on the slides, a penalty
of one letter grade (10%) will be applied. YouTube videos and other
visual/audio aids should not take up for than 4 minutes, total. On the day
of the presentation, the group must provide an informational handout to the
students and instructor with an outline and questions based on what you
want your fellow students to learn from your presentation. Students will be
graded individually on pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and fluency;
groups will be graded on content, cohesion, interest and quality of
handout. It is considered rude not to show up on days that you do not
present. Make-up procedures
Tests will not be administered early UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. If you cannot
take an announced test due to an emergency, OFFICIAL WRITTEN proof of the
circumstances must be presented to your instructor no later than the day
after you return to class. Medical excuses must be in writing on
physician's letterhead, and must have a statement "could not attend class",
as well as the inclusive dates in which the student could not attend.
IMPORTANT: A receipt from a physician or ER is not acceptable. Acceptable
funeral excuses are a letter from a funeral home, or clergy person, on
letterhead, indicating attendance at the funeral or service.
Academic Honesty Guidelines
Academic honesty and integrity are fundamental values of the University
community. An academic honesty offense is defined as the act of lying,
cheating, or stealing academic information so that one gains academic
advantage. Violations of the Academic Honesty Guidelines include but are
not limited to:
. Cheating. The improper taking or tendering of any information or
material which shall be used to determine academic credit. Taking of
information includes copying graded homework assignments from another
student; working with another individual(s) on graded ass