Christina Isabelli-García, PhD

Illinois Wesleyan University

Intermediate Spanish Spanish 201 - Spring 2008

309-556-3174
309-556-3284 (fax)

Spring 2008 - office hours
MW 11-1, F 11-12

Updated:  4/10/2008

Alonso-García, Nuria. ¡Tú dirás! Activities Manual. 3rd ed. Boston: Heinle, 2003.
Martínez Lage, Ana, John Gutiérrez and Harry Rosser. ¡Tú dirás! 3rd ed. Boston: Heinle, 2003.
A bilingual dictionary (The New World)

OBJECTIVES
This course is the last of the introductory courses to the Spanish language and the many facets of Hispanic cultures. It also fulfills the Second Language requirement of IWU’s General Education program. In this course you will:

The course places emphasis on the four basic language skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening comprehension. The in class time will be mostly devoted to the oral components of speaking and listening, but we will also practice reading and writing. The class period will be conducted entirely in Spanish. Every effort is made to provide each student with several opportunities to speak during each class period, but students must make a conscious effort to take advantage of this time. You should come well prepared to speak in class.

You should read the assignment from Tu dirás and try to anticipate what you can contribute to the class activities for that day. Prepare questions if you don’t understand certain points, prepare vocabulary that might be needed, and never be afraid or too shy to ask. Remember that in a foreign language classroom the instructor is a moderator/helper, and students are the active participants.

Evaluation criteria for class participation
9-10:    Student is well prepared for class, volunteers frequently during drill and conversation, sticks to
            business and contributes effectively in small group activities. Never speaks English.
8:         Well prepared but must be encouraged to participate.
6-7:      Preparation inadequate to allow full participation; speaks in English.
1-5:      Disruptive to rhythm of drill, little to add to conversation speaks English, not prepared and thus
            unable to participate, does not bring materials to class. Student arrives ten or more minutes late.
0:         Asleep, does the homework in class, bad attitude, no interest in the class at all, absent from class

II.  ¡Háblame! Tutor program (25 points): Each week you must go, in groups of two, to the LRC and speak in Spanish with a tutor. The tutors will have specific situations to discuss with you. The conversation should take about 15 minutes and also serves as practice for your oral presentations. It is also a time for asking tutors any questions you may have.

III. Quizzes/Reading assignments (50 points): There will be five (5) quizzes over assigned readings. The assigned readings will be made available on the web through IWU’s Pipeline system. Go to our Group website after logging into my.iwu.  Click on Files, and then click on the arrow next to Lecturas.  Along with the assigned readings, helpful handouts will also be made available. The handouts contain before- and after-reading activities that you need to complete as homework to be discussed in class and during your ¡Háblame! sessions with the tutors. Although these handouts will not be collected, your active participation in class and during the ¡Háblame! sessions will be noted and counted toward your participation grade.

IV. Wikis (30 points): Wikispaces.com is a collaborative website on which anyone can post texts, edit, or can have controlled access. The online communication tool, Wiki, allows you to help each other correct mistakes, spend time reflecting on material, and look at what you and your group members have written in the past. There is going to be a Wiki for each of the reading assignments. The class is going to be divided in groups and each group will be in charge of a section of the Wiki.  The purpose of these Wikis is for you to practice your writing skills in Spanish, edit and comments on your classmates’ ideas.  The deadline date for each contribution is indicated in the syllabus.  You will receive more specific instructions during our Inducción day at Ames Library about these Wikis.

A copy of the evaluation criteria for these Wiki assignments can be downloaded here (pdf).
Section 4: 1-2pm: Wiki groups4 (pdf)
Section 5: 2-3pm: Wiki groups5 (pdf)

V. Oral exams (150 points): An important part of this course is to improve oral proficiency. Your spoken Spanish will be evaluated during two oral exams.

(1)    The first oral exam will be an oral assessment in which you will be given an assignment at the beginning of the semester in order to practice and prepare, and an assigned date when you will be presenting it to the class.  This oral exam is based on the reading assignments and the exam will be graded based on elements such as: content/quality; voice; pronunciation/fluency; structure/grammar; and memorization/eye contact.  You will use PowerPoint to guide your oral presentation and also to supplement the Wiki you have created for the reading assignment that the oral presentation is based on. You will be shown how to do this during our Inducción day at Ames Library.

A copy of the oral exam evaluation criteria can be downloaded here (pdf).
Section 4: 1-2pm: Presentation groups4 (pdf)
Section 5: 2-3pm: Presentation groups5 (pdf)

(2)    The second oral exam will be in the format of a 15 minute one-on-one interview with me. The possible topics will be noted during the duration of the semester. The best way to prepare for this exam is to participate actively in class activities and to take advantage of conversation time allowed during the semester to practice these topics.

VI. Bulletin board (Tablón de Anuncios) (50 points): There will be five (5) “threaded discussions” during the semester that will be completed on the web through IWU’s Pipeline system.  Go to our Group website after logging into my.iwu. For each discussion, a question or problem situation will be posted on the bulletin board for your section. During the time that your class is working on the chapter to which a question relates, everyone in the class will be required to respond to the question or problem situation by writing 2 paragraphs (en español). The response will have two parts: (a) a response to the question posed by the instructor; and (b) a response to something that one of your classmates has written. The deadline date for each contribution is indicated in the syllabus.

VII. On-line chats (20 points): There will be two (2) “chats” during the semester, and they will be written “conversations” in Spanish in one of the chat rooms for your section. During class time in the computer lab, you will chat either with fellow classmates or with special guests who will be invited to participate. We have some topics/activities designed for these chats, and some will be free conversation. Each section has several chat rooms, and you will be assigned to a particular room when the class goes to the computer lab. You will receive more specific instructions during our Inducción day at Ames Library. The on-line chats will be evaluated as a completion task.  Points will not be deducted if your “chats” show active participation and accuracy. 

IIX. Workbook assignments (50 points): The workbook (activity manual) is a useful tool for a variety of purposes. It will serve as the basis for our out-of-class assignments. Specific exercises that are mandatory are written into the syllabus. Please note that many of the workbook assignments will require time, particularly the writing assignments. I will either collect these workbook assignments or use them as a basis for an in-class activity and check in class. The workbook assignments will be evaluated as a completion task.  Points will not be deducted if your workbook exercises are complete and/or you show active participation in going over the exercises in class.

IX. Compositions (150 points): Students will write three compositions. The topics will come from either the workbook or a specific topic the professor assigns. As in other types of formal writing, the compositions are to be typed, double-spaced, with correct punctuation (including accent marks), include careful paragraphing and coherent organization.  The value of writing frequently is that you become more confident and expressive in your use of Spanish. There may also be short writing sections on the tests. Each composition will be corrected and resubmitted.

X. Chapter tests (300 points): There will be three (3) tests during the semester. Although the exams will mostly focus on certain chapters, students will be expected to use all previously studied vocabulary and grammar accurately. The dates for these exams are indicated on the course schedule.

XI. Final exam (150 points): The final exam is comprehensive. It will take place on Tuesday, April 29th from 10:15 to 12:15 in CNS 101.

The Department of Hispanic Studies hires work-study students to serve as tutors for students of Spanish. Usually these are Spanish majors, many of whom have studied for many years and who may have returned from study in a Spanish-speaking country. They are available to go over compositions, workbook exercises, prepare for tests, answer personalized grammar problems, etc. The hours for the tutors are posted in the Language Resource Center (Buck 107).

All classes are conducted exclusively in Spanish. The purpose of this policy is to maximize your contact with the spoken language. Please ask me to slow down or repeat if you have not understood something. If you can't express something in Spanish the way you want to, try to think of a simpler way to get the same idea across.

Students are expected to turn in papers, make presentations and take tests on the date specified. Special arrangements may be made when justified by certain circumstances, but only when the professor has been consulted IN ADVANCE. Make careful note of announced office hours, as these are the best times to try to contact the professor. You may leave a message with the voice mail system, but that does not constitute consultation. Likewise, the nurse's list is considered information only, and does not, by itself, give permission to make up work missed due to illness.

A word about office hours: University professors spend a lot of time preparing class (think about how long it takes you to prepare a class presentation). This preparation takes place at home, in the library, and elsewhere. Office hours are times of the day that the professor announces him/herself available for other kinds of work: consultation with students, but also with other faculty, etc. Feel free to drop in or call during office hours, but if you know in advance that you are going to need time, let your professor know, either by leaving a voice message or by speaking briefly after class.

Students should be aware of Illinois Wesleyan University’s policy toward academic dishonesty. For clarification go to University Policies Concerning Student Conduct & Academic Integrity from the Student Handbook (http://titan.iwu.edu/~stdntaff/handbook/handbook2.html).

I will make myself available to discuss appropriate academic accommodations that you may require as a student with a disability.  Before course accommodations will be made, students may be required to provide documentation to the Associate Provost, 211 Holmes Hall, x3107.

***

CALENDAR (Do not print - Subject to change)

Fechas          Temas
7 enero          Introducción

9                   Repaso: Pretérito e imperfecto (Handouts: Rules for Preterite vs. Imperfect use and Preterite Practice)

11                 Repaso: El subjuntivo (Handouts:  Subjunctive Sentence Structure and Subjunctive practice)
______________________________________________________________________________
14                 Inducción (meet at Instruction Lab in the Ames Library).
                     If you missed this you MUST make an appointment with Jaime Orrego ASAP (jorrego@iwu.edu)

16                 Capítulo 12: De viaje (388-395)
                     Tarea 1 due 1/18 - Workbook p. 243 12.1 and p. 244 12.2

18                 Repasar Tarea, 396-399
                     Tarea 2 due 1/21- Workbook pp. 245-248 12.3, 12.4, 12.7, 12.10
______________________________________________________________________________
21                 Repasar Tarea, 400-405
                     Tarea 3 due 1/23 - Workbook pp. 248-250, 12.11,12.12,12.14

23                 Repasar Tarea, 405-408
                     Tarea 4 due 1/25 - Workbook pp. 251-252 12.16,12.17,12.18

25                 Repasar Tarea, 409-414
                     Tarea 5 due 1/28 - Workbook pp. 253-256, 12.20, 12.24, 12.25, 12.26
                     Tablón de anuncios #1 (para el domingo 27, 2am) - log on to Pipeline and go to Groups for this
                     assignment
______________________________________________________________________________
28                 Lectura #1, presentación oral sobre Lectura #1, discuss pre-reading activity

30                 Discuss story and post-reading activities
                     Wiki #1 (para el jueves 31, 10pm) - log on to Pipeline and go to Groups and click on Wikis for this
                     assignment

1 febrero       Snow Day - no class
                     Composición #1 (para el lunes 4)
______________________________________________________________________________
4                   Quiz #1 (Lectura), 415-419 y turn in Composición #1                    

6                  Repaso

8                  Prueba #1 (Capítulo 12)
                    Tablón de anuncios #2 (para el domingo 10, 10pm)
______________________________________________________________________________
11                 Lectura #2, presentaciones orales sobre Lectura #2, discuss story and activities.
                     Wiki #2 (para el martes 12, 10pm)

13                 Capítulo 13: Las artes 424-429
                     Tarea 6 - 13.2, 13.3, 13.4 (AM 263-64)

15                 Quiz #2 (Lectura), Repasar Tarea, 430-35
                     Tarea 7 - 13.5, 13.6, 13.7 (AM 265-66)       
______________________________________________________________________________
18                 Repasar Tarea, 436-39
                     Tarea 8 - 13.9, 13.10, 13.11 (AM 267-268)
                     Tablón de anuncios #3 (para el martes 19, 10pm).

20                 Lectura #3, presentaciones orales sobre Lectura #3

22                 Discuss story and pre- and post-reading activities
                     Wiki #3 (para el domingo 24, 10:00 pm)              
______________________________________________________________________________
25          Quiz #3 (Lectura), 439-43
                     Tarea 9 - 13.13, 13.14, 13.15 (AM 269-270)

27                 Repasar Tarea, 444-51
                     Tarea 10 - 13.18, 13.20, 13.23 (AM 270-274)

29                 Integración (452-453)
                     Composición #2  (para el lunes 3)
______________________________________________________________________________
3 marzo       Repaso y Composición #2

5                  Repaso

7                  Prueba #2 (Capítulo 13)
                    Tablón de Anuncios #4 (para el  domingo 9, 10pm)
______________________________________________________________________________
10                Lectura #4, presentaciones orales sobre Lectura #4.
                    Wiki #4 (para el martes 11, 10pm)

12                Discuss story and pre- and post-reading activities.                             

14                Quiz  #4 (Lectura), Chat #2 (Instruction Lab – Ames Library)                       
 ______________________________________________________________________________
17-21           Spring Break - No hay clases
  ______________________________________________________________________________
24                 Capítulo 14: Las letras, 456-463
                     Tarea 11 - 14.1, 14.2, 14.3 (AM 281-282)

26                 Repasar Tarea, 464-468
                     Tarea 12 - 14.5, 14.7 (AM 283-284)

28                 no hay clase
______________________________________________________________________________
31                 Repasar Tarea, 469-474
                     Tarea 13 - 14.10, 14.11, 14.12, 14.13, (AM 286-288)

2 abril           Repasar Tarea, 474-483
                     Tarea 14 - 14.15, 14.17, 14.21, 14.23 (AM 289-292)

4                   Repaso
______________________________________________________________________________
7                   Prueba #3 (Capítulo 14)
                     Tablón de Anuncios #5 (para el  martes 8, 10pm)

9                   Lectura #5, presentaciones orales sobre Lectura #5

11                 Discuss story and pre- and post-reading activities
                     Wiki #5 (para el domingo 13, 10pm)
______________________________________________________________________________
14                  Quiz #5 (Lectura)

16                  Examen oral
 
18                  Examen oral
___________________________________________________________________________
21                  Repaso
_____________________________________________________________________________

29 (martes)      Examen Final (capítulos 12, 13, 14) 10:15-12:15pm en CNS 101