Welcome to an excellent Spanish program at North!

COURSE SYLLABUS:  SPA 103(Spring 2008)
9-9:50 am - Classroom IB 3325

* Conjugation of verbs in the present and the preterit and the imperfect past tenses.
* Uses of the imperative mood in the Ud/s forms
* Use of object and reflexive pronouns.
* Sentence structure in the affirmative, negative and interrogative forms.
* Uses of adjectives (qualitatives, quantitatives, demonstratives, and possessives). 

*Comparisons of equality and inequality, and superlative structures with nouns, adjectives and adverbs.
* Basic daily interactive vocabulary, including numerals, days of the week, months, etc.

The learning process involves the four elements of language acquisition and use, i.e., reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Spanish is used for classroom interaction, but some parallels are drawn to English language structures.   Students are encouraged to get comfortable with the language by using everyday expressions as much as possible, i.e., by greeting each other, counting, reading instructions, etc.
To facilitate the learning process and to address the different methods of memorization, we use in class and have available at our resource center electronic audio and video tutoring material. We also have personal tutoring, free of charge

http://www.northseattle.edu/services/loft/h_langs.htm.

In this last segment of the introductory level, students are geared towards personalizing the Spanish language by making one 15-minute oral or video show-and-tell presentation with vocabulary from a topic close to them i.e., work, family, trips, research, personal interest, etc.

COURSE OUTCOMES / LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

A) Based on General Education (N S C C)(Jan 2005)

A Definition of General Education

...the mission of N S C C , the college community affirms the place of general education in all programs. 

General education provides the non-specialized portion of students' education, emphasizing attitudes necessary to function as a citizen and life-long learner, skills required for college level inquiry and competence, and knowledge that demonstrates awareness of the complex world in which we live.

Attitudes

To help students achieve the outcomes of general education, certain attitudes should pervade the entire culture of NSCC and encourage faculty, staff and students to:

•  Recognize the value of intellectual inquiry, personal responsibility, and ethical behavior.

•  Discover the interdisciplinary nature of knowledge.

•  Demonstrate a willingness to learn from many cultures, persons, methods, and viewpoints.

•  Be actively involved in the community.

•  Find joy in the process of self-discovery, in expressing oneself creatively, and in life­long learning.

Skills

General education will provide introduction and practice in the ability to think critically, to use quantitative reasoning, to write, to demonstrate information literacy, to use computer skills, to work in groups, and to deal with diversity. 

This course will satisfy the following General Education outcomes:

Outcome 1. Think critically in reading and writing .

Outcome 3. Discover, develop, and communicate one's own creative and critical ideas in writing and respond in effective writing to the spoken, written, and visual ideas of others.

Outcome 6. Work and communicate effectively in groups.

Outcome 7. Deal constructively with information, ideas, and emotions associated with such issues of diversity and conflict as culture, ethnicity, race, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, and abilities.

Outcome 13. Understand the elements of a global society.

B) Specifically:

By the end of  103 or the 100 series students will
*understand the main grammatical structures of the Spanish language.  (Metaphorically speaking, they will have the primer laid and will need to give additional coats - layers - by reviewing and expanding on the structures learned).
* be able to read fluently in Spanish.
* be able to live and interact with everyday activities in a Spanish-speaking country.

* be able to have a personalized mini-portfolio entitled "Mi vida en español" which will adapt the structures learned into their own experiences.

* become fluent in all uses of the Spanish language ( by reading  for at least 15 minutes day in order to cultivate  the language).  

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:  

Regular attendance, punctuality and participation.

An average of one hour of homework per day, including listening and working through audio exercises.                

COURSE OUTLINE:Grammatical structures, vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and written assignments will be taken  from the textbook and laboratory workbook Puntos de Partida , 7th Edition
1. lessons 12-18
2.Audio exercises for these chapters

NOTE: Textbook exercises will be reviewed in class.  Laboratory manual exercises will be picked up on the days of the corresponding exams. Other individualized homework will be picked up, corrected and graded by the instructor.  The completion of all assigned homework is mandatory in order to receive a grade for this course. 

The homework assigned from the textbook has abreviated answers on the back of the book. This form will not be accepted as completed homework. The purpose of writing these exercises is to have a foundation for the individualized " creative thinking" projects that will be picked up. Students need to work through each exercise by writing and understanding complete sentences in order to be able to read and translate them in class.

 (Suggested Organization)

Two of the three will be considered for the grade. The lowest score will be automatically dropped by the instructor.                               200 points

 NOTE: If a student took the first two exams, s/he may be exempt from the final provided that:

1) s/he has perfect attendance and has completed all written assignments from the day of the second exam (Fri, May 23) to the last day of class (Tue, Jun 10),
2) s/he has scored at least 75% on exams #1 and #2 (without adding extra points).

IMPORTANT:    If s/he has two acceptable exams (75% min) but did not fulfill the attendance or the homework requirements, s/he must take the final exam. In this case, the final exam will be included in the final grade and the lower score of exams #1 or #2 will be dropped.  (NO EXCEPTIONS)

QUIZ GRADE (FROM GUEST SPEAKERS OR OTHER ASSIGNMENTS):     There will be three sets of questions in Spanish required from each student to interview guest speakers; each set will be worth 10 points.  If we do not have 3 speakers, there will be other written assignments required to be turned in to compensate for the 10 points.  (THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT GRADE ­THE SPECIFIC ASSIGNMENT WILL BE PICKED UP ONLY ON THE DAY THAT IS DUE) 30 points

PLEASE READ THIS VERY CAREFULLY!

Oral and Written Presentation: Each student will make a 1-page, 15-minute presentation, (may be a prepared video) of a topic of his/her choice which will be followed by a 5-minute question-and-answer session. (FOR A VIDEO THE TEXT MUST BE CORRECTED BEFORE FILMING)                                     50 points

1.       The instructor will assign a date for the delivery

2.       Students will turn in:

VERY IMPORTANT:   Class attendance is mandatory and the key element in grading class participation.  If the student foresees more than three hours of absenteeism during the quarter, s/he must discuss the circumstances with the instructor.

NOTE: This course is not designed for students who have a reasonable knowledge of the language and want to take a couple of exams.  If this is your situation, please ask about our Challenge exams.

Other Credits: 

b)* Extra credit from the selection following:        To a max. of                       10 points

-Original skit, song, poem ( 5 min.) ( a written draft must be turned in and corrected before oral presentation).
- Presentation of a grammatical point and class drill (in Spanish).

-Original summary of a grammatical point to be used in class as study guide.
- Presentation on how to use or operate something (-full explanation given in Spanish).
- Written presentation of vocabulary and its application- from sources outside of the textbook--i.e. Internet, magazines, films, radio, TV., etc.
- Meeting of study groups--students must obtain a standard form to record the 5 meetings.
- Working at the Loft with Spanish multimedia material (Sign-up form required) or on the Internet, i.e., ancillary material to textbook
- Correcting Spa 101/102 exams, 3 times this quarter (See instructor for this choice)

* Peer-tutoring helping a classmate at least 5 different times for one hour each time. Tutor gets credit. (Form must be obtained)

- * Etc. (please submit your suggestions)

c)* Service Learning. Students may get 5 points for working as volunteers in a Spanish-speaking helping capacity. Students must work at least 5 hours. They must present a) documentation signed by the supervisor of the program b) a brief report 10 sentences in Spanish about the project.

d)*Mini-porfolio "Mi vida en español". Organizing all "para entregar" homework after rewriting all corrections and turning it in. 3 points
e) * Borderline students may be granted up to:                         3 points (rounded up on an exam- this will be judged by class performance and participation)

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

The Seattle Community Colleges use a numerical grading system.  Numerical grades may be considered equivalent to letter grades as follow:

Students cannot receive a grade of W (withdraw) after the eighth week of classes.  If you need to withdraw from this class for any reason, please do so before the final day of the eighth week.