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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "SPAN 101"
COURSE NAME: "Introductory Spanish I"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2020
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Sofia Sanz Alonso
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: TTH 11:30-12:50 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS:
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is designed to give students basic communicative ability in Spanish. Students work on all four language skills: speaking, listening comprehension, reading and writing.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

By presenting the language in a variety of authentic contexts, the course also seeks to provide an introduction to Spanish culture and society.  Students work on all four language skills: speaking, listening comprehension, reading and writing.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Upon completing this course, students will possess the ability to:

-satisfy a very limited number of immediate needs

- understand and convey some spoken Spanish through the knowledge and usage of familiar and memorized structures, on the most common features of daily life that require the interchange of simple and direct information.

- understand the general meaning of oral announcements and brief texts on familiar subjects with simple morphology and lexicon.

- produce one-paragraph texts with limited formulaic information by using elementary functions.

 
TEXTBOOK:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberCommentsFormatLocal BookstoreOnline Purchase
Nuevo Español en Marcha 1.Cuaderno de ejerciciosCarmen SardineroSGEL978-8497789004     
Nuevo español en Marcha 1. Libro del alumnoCarmen SardineroSGEL8497789008     
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
2 TestsThe 2 tests are designed to evaluate the student's knowledge of the grammar, vocabulary covered, their reading and listening comprehension and written ability20%
Midterm examThe midterm exam is designed to evaluate the student's knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary covered up to this point, their reading and listening comprehension and written ability.25%
Final examThe final exam is designed to evaluate the student's knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary covered,their reading and listening comprehension, and the written ability25%
Class participation and homeworkStudents are expected to come prepared to class with all the material required and participate in all activities. Active participation is crucial, since the learning process requires considerable practice. Homework and assignments must be prepared and handled (if required) on the scheduled date. Late work will be penalized. It is mandatory for the course to have and use both the students book and the workbook in paper or electronic version. You are expected to log in to the Moodle platform of the course at least two times per week, in order to follow the course schedule, to participate in class and complete all the required Moodle activities. The activity completion and the login activity will be tracked by the platform. 15%
Oral proficiencyIn class activities (5%), final oral exam/oral presentation (10%). In class activities are prepared singularly and in pairs or small groups. The types of tests/activities are: conversation between the two students or the small groups, monologues, role playing.15%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:

ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY

Students are supposed to come prepared to class and participate in all activities. Active participation is crucial, since the learning process requires considerable practice. Regular attendance is an essential component of class participation. Students are allowed four absences. The final grade will be lowered by 2 points for each additional absence. Make sure your travel plans do not interfere with the class schedule. 

Two late entrances or leaving early from class for two times count as one absence.

MAKE-UPS

The Midterm and Final Exam can only be made up with approval from the Dean of Academic Affairs  (Please see the John Cabot University Catalogue and Student Handbook). The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. 
The same policy is applied for the Quizzes. Students who will be absent from a quiz must notify the Professor before the Quiz and individual arrangements for make-ups will be done only for students with medical emergencies or any other valid reasons. 

Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed.

 
ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
SCHEDULE

Please note that there will be make-up Friday classes on Oct 9, 16 and Nov 13

Please take note of the dates of the exams:

Quiz 1- October 13

Midterm Exam - October 29

Quiz 2 - November 19

Oral Presentations - December 10

 

 

 Week 1 - 22- 24 September

Introducing yourself and introducing a person (formal/informal)

Pronunciation: the Spanish alphabet

The noun and the determinate articles

The gender of the adjectives of nationality

Week 2 - 29 September - 1 October

Professions. Asking and telling telephone numbers

Numbers from 0-20

Personal pronouns

Present tense of regular verbs (three conjugations) and irregular verbs to be and to have (ser and tener)

Interrogative pronouns (que, como donde)

Week 3 - 6 - 8 - 9 October

Describing your family

The plural forms of nouns

Prepositions: locators in place

Possessive adjectives

Demostrative adjectives and pronouns: este, ese, aquel

  Friday 9 October - MAKE UP DAY

Week 4 - 13- 15 - 16 October

Telling and asking the time. The days of the week

Ordering breakfast

Numbers from 21 to 5.000

Prepositions: locators in time (por, de, a, hasta)

Talking about your weekly routine (work and leisure)

Adverbs and markers of frequency 

QUIZ 1 - Tuesday October 13

  Friday 16 October - MAKE UP DAY

Week 5 - 20-22 October

Present tense of reflexive verbs

Present tense of irregular verbs

Describing your home: furniture and parts of a house

Booking a room in a hotel

Week 6 - 27-29 October

Midterm review and MIDTERM EXAM

 Week 7 - 3-5 November

Ordinal numbers

The use of Hay/Esta

Definite and indefinite articles

Midterm review

Week 8 - 10-12-13 November

Talking about preferences

The verb to like (gustar)

Quantifying preferences: Mucho/poco/nada/bastante

Ordering lunch and dinner in a restaurant. Recipes of the world

Regular forms of the imperative

Inviting someone, refusing or accepting an invitation. The verb quedar

  Friday 13 November - MAKE UP CLASS

Week 9 - 17-19 November

Present continuous Estar + gerund

Gerund of regular, irregular and reflexive verbs

Asking and telling how to get to a place in public transport

Describing your neighborhood

Quantifying with indefinite adjectives (algún, ningún, poco, mucho, bastante, nada)

QUIZ 2 Thursday November 19

 Week 10 - 24-26 November

Describing people: appearance and personality

Uses and differences of Ser/Estar

 

Week 11 - 1-3 December 

Asking and giving directions

Talking about the past

Regular forms of pretérito indefinido

The past tense: differences between pretéritito perfecto/pretérito indefinido

Week 12 - 10 December

Final review 

ORAL EXAMS

Final examinations (date to be confirmed)