DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES College of Arts and Sciences

C O U R S E S Y L L A B U S

C O U R S E SPAN 325 – Spanish Conversation and Composition (SC 63) *48748

PRE-REQUISITE PREREQUISITE: SPAN 224 OR EQUIVALENT

MW-Morgan 326 TIME (M,W,F): 11:00 - 11:50 CLASSROOM F- Morgan 303 T E R M FALL 2010

CREDIT HRS 3 OFFICE 305-D OFFICE HRS *MTWF-1:00

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Intensive practice in oral expression and conversation based on assigned readings, with frequent written exercises

TEXTBOOK: Aparisi et al. REVISTA: CONVERSACION SIN BARRERAS Third Edition Vista Higher Learning, Boston 2007. English-Spanish dictionary required. Spanish-Spanish dictionary not required, but strongly suggested.

INSTRUCTOR Margarita Obregón, Lecturer Office Hours: M TWF – 1:00 – 2:00 Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures * or by appointment 1 University Circle, Morgan Hall 305 D Macomb, IL 61455 Tel: (309) 298-1557; Fax: (309) 298- 1060 e-mail: [email protected] URL: www.wiu.edu/users/mo103 (here you can find a link to the Revista on-line)

INTRODUCTION Each student has his/her own reasons for studying Spanish. The instructor has the responsibility of providing a high quality of instruction in the classroom. Our success, however, depends on each student’s commitment to coming to class prepared, seeking help immediately whenever needed, and actively participating in assigned activities. Because of the cumulative nature of this course, it is mandatory that you attend class every time.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES Spanish 325 is course designed to help you perfect your knowledge of Spanish language and culture. This will be accomplished with intensive practice in oral expressions and conversations based on assigned literary and cultural readings, with frequent assignment of written exercises.

•LISTENING: To be able to understand the main ideas of most speech in a standard dialect in a variety of contexts and topics.

• SPEAKING: To be able to satisfy the requirements of everyday situations and routine school and work activities. To be able to narrate and describe with some details, linking sentences together. To be able to communicate facts and talk casually about topics of current public and personal interest, using general vocabulary.

• READING: To be able to read somewhat longer prose of several paragraphs in length, particularly if presented with a clear underlying structure. To be able to interpret texts that include descriptions and narrations such as simple short stories, news items, bibliographical information, social notices, personal correspondence, and simple technical material written for the general reader.

MARGARITA OBREGON 1 SPAN 325 – SPANISH CONVERSATION AND COMPOSITION FALL 2010

•WRITING: To be able to write about a variety of topics and to describe and narrate personal experiences using different styles and formats having good control of the morphology and the most frequently used syntactic structures. To be able to evaluate their own work and apply self-correcting strategies in order to improve their writing process

 To demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices, products, and perspectives of the Hispanic culture (greetings, formal and informal ways to address people, schedule, dress code, family structure). To demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and perspectives of the Hispanic culture (holidays, family structure, food, music and other cultural practices).

EVALUATION Participación 10% Examen 20% Examen Oral (Situaciones-Tertulia) 30% Actividades/ Tareas/Pruebas cortas 30% Composición 10%

*Pruebas cortas may be announced or surprise.

The following scale will be used to determine individual assignments, tests and final grade:

B+ 87―89 C+ 77―79 D+ 67―69 F 0―59 A 93―100 B 83―86 C 73―76 D 63―66 A- 90― 92 B- 80―82 C- 70―72 D- 60―62

ATTENDANCE & PARTICIPATION POLICY The student is expected to attend all sessions and come to class prepared. You cannot improve your listening comprehension and speaking abilities unless you participate actively in class. Class attendance is essential and will be taken daily. The student's participation grade is based on his/her willingness to contribute to classroom activities and completion of homework assignments. Unless you are in class to hear Spanish geared to your level of acquisition, you will not acquire the ability to understand and interact in Spanish. If you miss a class it is your responsibility to find out with a classmate what material was covered. Work is due on time. . Tests and quizzes will usually be announced one week in advance. If you are unable to attend class the day of an exam because of serious illness or an emergency, CALL ME BEFORE THE EXAM. It is very unlikely that I will allow you to make up a missed exam unless I have prior notice. You have up to three absences without any penalty, aside from possibly missing a homework assignment, but after 3 unexcused missed classes, you lose 3 % of your total points for each absence. 6 absences will lower your grade by one letter grade. 3 tardy arrivals = 1 absence Four tests will be given during the semester (including the Final Exam). Tests will usually be announced one week in advance. A grade of “0” will be recorded for a missed test. The Final Examination will be held during the regular final examination period, and will cover all material from tha whole semester. * Students who are absent because of a verifiable illness will be allowed to make up missed work. It is the student’s responsibility to check in with the campus medical center, and then make arrangements for make-up work as soon as they come back to class.

SAVE all assignments after they are graded and returned. Mistakes can inadvertently be made during grade recording; if there is a question concerning your grades, it will be easier to resolve if all returned work is saved until after the course is completed.

MARGARITA OBREGON SPAN 325 – SPANISH CONVERSATION AND COMPOSITION FALL 2010

COURSE OUTLINE Primera semana Lunes, agosto 23 Presentaciones Miércoles, agosto 25 Capítulo 1 Realidad o Fantasía. Viernes, agosto27 Capítulo 1 “Viaje a Marte”-Cortometraje. Segunda semana Lunes, agosto 30 Los verbos Ser y Estar. Gramática. Miércoles, Sep. 1 “Celebración de la Fantasía”. Viernes, Sep. 3 Tercera semana Lunes, septiembre 6 No hay clases. Miércoles, 8 “La Clonación”. Viernes 10 Cuarta semana Lunes, septiembre 13 El otro Círculo. Comprensión. Miércoles, 15 **Tertulia. Viernes, 17 Quinta semana Lunes, septiembre 20 Viaje espacial de Quino.. Miércoles, septiembre 22 *Situaciones Viernes, septiembre 24 ¿(Para)normal y (Sobre)natural? Composición– Examen. Sexta semana Lunes, septiembre 27 Capítulo 2 - 10 minutos- Cortometraje Miércoles, 29 El pretérito y el imperfecto. Gramática. Viernes, octubre 1 Séptima semana Lunes, octubre 4 “Las cuatro fórmulas científicas de la felicidad”. Miércoles, octubre 6 Viernes, octubre 8 Octava semana Lunes, octubre 11 “El juego más antiguo”. Miércoles, octubre 13 Viernes, octubre 15 Novena semana Lunes, octubre 18 “No hay que complicar la felicidad”. Miércoles, octubre 20 **Tertulia Viernes, octubre 22 Décima semana Lunes, octubre 25 “Yo le diría”. Miércoles, octubre 27 “Situaciones” Viernes, octubre 29 Composición¿Crees en los astros?Composición - Examen Décimaprimera semana Lunes, noviembre 1 Capítulo 3 “Prohibido pensar”- Cortometraje Miércoles, nov. 3 Las preposiciones. Gramática. Viernes, noviembre 5 Décimasegunda semana Lunes, noviembre 8 “Benicio del Toro: ….” Miércoles, noviembre 10 Viernes, noviembre 12 Décimaterecera semana Lunes, noviembre 15 “Pocholo es virtual.” Miércoles, noviembre 17 Viernes, noviembre 19 Décimacuarta semana Noviembre 22– 26 Vacaciones de Acción de Gracias. Décimaquinta semana Lunes, noviembre 29 “Cine Prado”. Miércoles, diciembre 1 Tertulia Viernes, diciembre 3 Décimosexta semana Lunes, diciembre 6 *Situaciones Miércoles, diciembre 8 Composición – Escribe una crítica de cine – Viernes diciembre 10 Exámen Final Miércoles,15 de diciembre Exámen Final - 10:00 p.m.

WRITTEN EXAMS: The first exam will cover material from chapter one and the second exam will cover material from chapter two. The format of the two exams will be identical in that they include the following sections: (1) listening comprehension, (2) reading comprehension, (3) vocabulary, (4) grammar, and (5) culture. FINAL EXAM: The format of the final exam will be the same as the other exams, with the only difference being that there will be a sixth section, which will be a composition. The final exam is cumulative, meaning that it will be necessary to study all three chapters. There will be slightly more emphasis, however, placed

MARGARITA OBREGON SPAN 325 – SPANISH CONVERSATION AND COMPOSITION FALL 2010 on material from the third chapter.

ORAL EXAMS: There will be two oral examinations per chapter. The first will be performed in groups using the “Situaciones” section in your textbook; the second one will be an individual exam based on “Tertulia”. Your instructor will provide more information on the content and the assessment when appropriate. HOMEWORK: Homework will be assigned on a regular basis. There will be two types of assignments: (1) those that can be done online at the course website, and (2) those that are assigned by your instructor. In order to do the activities online, go to: http://www.vhlcentral.com/ . You must create an account and enroll in your instructor’s online section. Detailed instructions for your section can be found at: http://revista3e.vhlcentral.com/instructions.php?view=instructor&cid=47895&sid=59049 Note that in order to do the online activities, you must use a personal access code that is provided in your TEXTBOOK. YOUR INSTRUCTOR WILL ALSO ASSIGN ACTIVITIES THAT ARE NOT ONLINE.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY Academic integrity is highly valued at the WIU community. It is your responsibility as a student to read and become familiar with the university policy on academic dishonesty available at http://www.wiu.edu/policies/acintegrity.php. In addition to university the policies, the following are examples of academic dishonesty that apply to this course and that will be penalized:

• Asking friends, relatives or native speakers to complete your assignments • Use of automatic translators (this is the most common form of academic dishonesty and the easiest to catch) • Any form of plagiarism • Allowing other students to look at your own work during an exam or in an assignment where collaboration is not allowed.

In all cases the student will not receive credit for the assignment (the instructor will assign a grade of grade of “0” ). Reporting of academic dishonesty will be decided at the instructor’s discretion.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES “ In accordance with University policy and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), academic accommodations may be made for any student who notifies the instructor of the need for an accommodation. It is imperative that you take the initiative to bring such needs to the instructor’s attention, as he/she is not legally permitted to inquire about such particular needs of students. Students who may require special assistance in emergency evacuations (i.e. fire, tornado, etc.) should contact the instructor as to the most appropriate procedures to follow in such an emergency. Contact Disability Support Services at 298-2512 for additional services.”

STUDENTS RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES Please be aware and become familiar with: Western Illinois University – Students Rights and Responsibilities, available at: http://www.edu/provost/student “Western Illinois University, like all communities, functions best when its members treat one another with honesty, fairness, respect, and trust. Students have rights and , and students should realize that deception for individual gain is an offense against the members of the entire community, and it is the student’s responsibility to be informed and to abide by all University regulations and policies on Academic Integrity…”

*SYLLABUS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITH NOTICE.

MARGARITA OBREGON