Elementary Spanish 1001
Dr. Vicki McCard
Fall 2013

My office is 310 A and B Dunlap Hall. My telephone number is 864-1965. My email address is victoria.mccard@ung.edu.
My office hours are 9:00-9:45 (MW), 2:45-4:00 (MW), 3:30-4:30 (Tues), and by appt.

It is the student’s responsibility to read this syllabus and to follow the policies of the class.  Ignorance of policies stated on the syllabus will not be an excuse for not following them.   

Text: Vistas. Introducción a la lengua española. 4th ed., Blanco, José A. and Philip R. Donley.
           Vistas Super site (Practice and Web SAM).

Course Description:
This is a beginning course with emphasis on developing listening, speaking, writing, reading, and cultural competency skills. Classroom instruction is conducted in Spanish and consists primarily of oral and listening activities that put into practice vocabulary and grammatical structures and/or introduce cultural elements. Assessment instruments include short written quizzes, compositions, online and traditional homework, oral classroom activities, chaper/unit tests, oral and written final exams. Participation in laboratory activities and oral interviews (outside of class) is also required.

Course objectives:
Oral proficiency will be promoted from the outset through the use of Spanish in class. The student must demonstrate via class activities and the oral exam an ability to employ the vocabulary and grammar studied.

The student must demonstrate oral and written mastery of basic vocabulary and grammatical structures (communicative goals) introduced in chapters 1-6 of Vistas.

Awareness and sensitivity to Hispanic culture will be promoted through the reading, viewing and discussion of materials in Vistas and the Super site that introduce cultural elements.

Methods of Instruction: 
In class practice through individual and pairs/group work on vocabulary, grammar, videos, readings and topics presented in the textbook. Online homework assignments. Professor will provide additional explanation when needed, and engage students in written and spoken work.

Academic Integrity: 
You are expected to be familiar with and follow the academic integrity policy of the university as outlined in the UNG 2012- 2013 Undergraduate Bulletin: .  http://catalog-ngcsu.ung.edu/2012_13%20Undergraduate%20Catalog/index.htm. Academic dishonesty is defined in the 2013-2014 UNG Student Handbook and Planner on p. 31-32. Putting your name on work that was produced or written by someone else including translators available on the internet or through computer software is a violation of this policy.  You should do your own work.  You may study with classmates but you may not turn in the same work.  Violations of this policy will result in a zero for everyone involved on the assignment in question and the possibility of additional disciplinary action at the institutional level. 

Students with Disabilities:  
UNG is committed to equal access to its programs, services and activities for people with disabilities.  If you believe that you have a disability requiring an accommodation, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the instructor and the Office of Student Disability Resources. Contact Thomas McCoy, coordinator of student disabilities resources, in the Stewart Student Success Center, Room 313 (706‑867‑2782) for more information.

Course Evaluations: 
Class evaluations at UNG are conducted on-line through Banner.  Evaluation of the class is considered a component of the course and students will not be permitted to access their course grade until the evaluation has been completed.  The evaluations will be accessible during the last week of the course.

Attendance:
· 6 permitted absences (MWF class). 4 permitted absences (TR class). Student athletes (and others on university-sponsored  events) are not allowed
    more absences in addition to the days they miss for events.  The permitted absences include those events.
· On the 7th or 5th  absence you will be dropped with a WF.  At the discretion of the professor, and under extreme circumstances,
   you may be allowed to remain in the course beyond these limits.  Communication with the professor is essential for this to happen. 
· 2  tardies or leaving class early twice, sleeping, and/or not having your textbook with you twice will result in an absence.
· Weddings, leaving early for vacation (including prepurchased airline tickets), appointments with academic advisors, study
    groups, etc. are included among permitted absences.

Technology devices:
Smart phones, laptops, tablets, calculators, and other distracting devices must be silenced (not put on "vibrate") and put away upon entering class.  If a cell rings, you text in class, or use another device you will be called out for it and you may be asked to leave.

Other: 
·Drinks are fine in class, but please do not bring/consume food. No one has ever starved to death during a SPAN 1001 class!
·You should arrive on time, and unless you have a good reason to get up and/or leave the room (which you would have to discuss with professor in advance), you should remain in class until its conclusion. Please use the bathroom before or after class.

Sistema de evaluación
Course grade:  (90-100= A, 80-89=B, etc)

Quizzes and compositions......................................................... ................................10%
Tests (3 in all)........................................................................................................... 20%
Super site exercises.................................................................................................20%
Written final exam.....................................................................................................20%
SPAN 1001 K (MWF) Friday, December 13th, 10:20-12:20
SPAN 1001N (TR) Tuesday, December 10th, 3:00-5:00
Language lab activities...............................................................................................10%
Cultural interviews with professor ..............................................................................10%
Oral final exam..........................................................................................................10%

Class Participation & Quizzes 
Active participation is essential because success in the study of Spanish depends largely on ongoing and frequent exposure to the language.  Being prepared for class will enhance in-class communicative practice and help improve communicative skills, so it is important that you study the assigned material before coming to class. Active participation in class activities makes it easier and less stressful to interact one-on-one with the professor in the cultural interviews and the oral final exam.  A positive attitude helps also! Don't be afraid to make mistakes.  There will also be at least one or two quizzes per chapter on concepts, themes, and/or vocabulary studied in previous classes or assigned for that day.  Some will be short, given at the beginning of class and unannounced. Others will be longer and announced.  Quizzes may not be made up for any reason.  Your lowest grade will be dropped. Tests may be made up only with a legitimate excuse.

Homework
Homework is assigned on the Super site (vhlcentral.com) which comes with your textbook purchase. Please visit the site and create your account as soon as you purchase your book. You will logon to view all homework and submit most, but not all, of the assignments online.  It is important to visit the Super site frequently.  I will post announcements on that site as well.  Having access to a computer with internet capabilities is essential for success in this class. Do not plan on using your phone for this. You may use our language lab (Dunlap 317) to do this work and to consult with our team of excellent Spanish tutors. 

I often ask you to read, study, and/or complete assignments on material before we cover it in class. You may hate this, but there is a very good pedagogical reason for it. If you work with a concept before we cover it, even if you don't understand it, the classroom discussion/practice of that material will still count as review. In this way you will have activated the material two times, not once.  This is a superior strategy, especially in language study.  As we all know, learning from our mistakes is a very effective way of learning, because we end up seeing how to do things right as well as what the pitfalls are. Watching the tutorials presented by the virtual professor in the Tutorials menu of the Super site will help you understand the new material being introduced in the homework.

Oral Final Exam
There will be an oral exam consisting of an interview in the professor's office. It will be based on topics we covered during class discussions and/or activities you completed on the Vistas Super site.  You will be asked to respond to a series of questions and elaborate on your answers. You will receive a description of its content beforehand.

Written Final Exam
There is a comprehensive exam that will include all the material covered in the course.  

Spanish 1001 contributes to the development of the following ACTFL (American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages) standards and sub-standards: Communication - 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3; Cultures- 2.2; Connections - 3.1and 3.2; Comparisons - 4.1 and 4.2.  A detailed list of ACTFL standards is available on the ACTFL web site.

Plan de estudios (tentativo)
(Daily assignments and announcements are posted on the Super site)

SPAN 1001K (MWF)

SPAN 1001N (TR)