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up-to-date!SPANISH 2AB COURSE INFORMATION SHEET
Instructor: _____________________________ Office Hours: _____________________________
Office: _________________________________ E-mail: ___________________________________
Course Description:
Spanish 2AB is a highly intensive, intermediate-level course, designed to help you improve your abilities in all four skills, including a thorough introduction to Hispanic cultures. Throughout the course, the grammatical component of the language is gradually reviewed and tested. Class will be conducted entirely in Spanish. By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to:
áctica. Bretz et al., 2nd edition.1. comprehend conversations on familiar topics and stretches of connected discourse,
2. read texts several paragraphs in length with minimum use of a dictionary,
3. write with increased grammatical accuracy and good control of sentence structure as well as a sense of paragraph coherence and text organization,
4. talk about past, present and future events, and express preferences, feelings, beliefs and opinions.
Textbooks:
1. ˇAvance! Bretz et al., 2nd edition.
2. ˇAvance! Cuaderno de pr
3. A good Spanish/English dictionary / recommended
4. A Verb Conjugations book (like 501 Verbs) / recommended
The corresponding audio material is available on the Internet.
Text Material Covered:
Spanish 2AB: Chapters 1 through 8Number of 2x50-minute Class Periods: 38-40 (depending on quarter)
Class Dynamics:
I will attempt to balance a relaxed atmosphere, where students will be willing to use the Spanish language without fear of criticism, with a need for academic excellence. Try, however, not to get as comfortable with the class so as to not study enough; some anxiety about academic performance is always helpful. On the other hand, avoid getting so tense that you
"freeze up". Please, avoid monopolizing the class or otherwise creating an uncomfortable atmosphere for your classmates. Remember that I am always available during office hours to help you.Academic Dishonesty:
Academic dishonesty is unacceptable and will not be tolerated at the University of California, Irvine. Cheating, forgery, dishonest conduct, plagiarism, and collusion in dishonest activities erode the University's educational, research, and social roles. They devalue the learning experience and its legitimacy not only for the perpetrators but for the entire community. It is essential that all members of the academic community subscribe to the ideal of academic integrity and accept individual responsibility for their work. Please familiarize yourself with the UCI Policy on Academic Honesty: http://www.senate.uci.edu/senateweb/default2.asp?active_page_id=754
Note: Any incident involving cheating, plagiarism, etc. will affect your course grade and will be reported to both the instructor's as well as to the student's Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies.
Students with Disabilities:
Students with disabilities who believe they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact the Disability Services Center at as soon as possible to better ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. Students with a registered disability are encouraged to make an appointment with the instructor.
Workload:
Students with a large course- or workload and students with weak studying skills/habits are not encouraged to take this work-intensive class until they solve those problems first. Each class will require approximately three to four hours a day of careful and systematic studying. Without sufficient time and solid studying skills/habits, you will struggle to pass this class. You are strongly advised to evaluate your particular situation carefully before deciding to stay in the class.
Add/Drop Policy:
The School of Humanities follows the
university's deadlines on adding and dropping courses. A student may drop a
course only during the first two weeks of the quarter and may add a course only
during the first three weeks. Students are responsible for making sure they meet
all deadlines. An exception to these policies may be requested only for
extenuating and documented circumstances outside the student's control. See http://www.humanities.uci.edu/
Attendance Policy:
To
develop communicative skills in Spanish, class attendance it is critical,
therefore attendance is mandatory. Regular class attendance is
expected and essential for successful completion of the course. Students may
fail the course due to excessive absences.
You are allowed to miss only two 50-minute class periods, or the equivalent of ONE FULL day during the quarter. For each absence beyond those two 50-minute class periods ("freebees"), your final grade will be lowered by 1.0 percentage point for each class period missed. Three "tardies" (arriving within the first ten minutes) constitute one absence. Arriving after the first 10 minutes will be marked as an absence. Excused absences are granted in the case of a verifiable emergency (e.g. medical or legal). You are required to present proper documentation. It is your responsibility to make up all missed work and meet all required deadlines.
Participation Policy:
Being prepared for and participating in class activities are some of the most important means of attaining the goals of this course. This course requires active participation in Spanish, which involves arriving to class well prepared, participating in group activities and class discussions, volunteering to answer questions or sharing ideas, and remaining on-task. Using your laptop for surfing the web, checking email, sending instant messages, speaking to classmates in English about unrelated class discussions or similar behavior is disruptive to class and will negatively affect your participation grade. If you are in class, but unprepared, or you do not participate, your course grade will be lowered by 0.5 percent per day (0.25 per class period).
Written and Oral Assignments:
These assignments are part of the course, and consist of material(s) assigned to be completed outside of the classroom, such as the workbook, exercises from the book, exercises in the computer lab, activities on Nulu, short oral presentations, etc. The goal of the homework is to help students identify problem areas. Students are encouraged to clarify any remaining questions with the instructor during office hours.
Homework assignments other than the
workbook will be collected at random and will result in a 0.25 percentage point deduction in your final
grade. The homework
from the workbook will be announced in class or detailed in the day-by-day. The homework
package will be collected the day of each test. Students will be
required to complete the assignments, use the answer key in the back of the
book and correct errors prior to turning in the homework package. Errors should be corrected in a
different color. Failure to complete each package to my satisfaction
will result in your final grade being lowered by 1 percentage point.
Classmate1: Name __________________ E-Mail ______________________ Phone _________
Classmate2: Name __________________ E-Mail ______________________ Phone _________
[You are expected to check your e-mail daily!]
Written Expression:
You will write two in-class compositions (ICC) of approximately 200-250 words on a topic to be assigned, as well as one 300-500-word at-home composition (AHC). The due date for the respective compositions is indicated on the Day-by-Day program and will be turned in via turnitin.com. You will need to print out a copy of the agreement and give it to your TA before the end of the first week of class. The process of writing these compositions and the specific requirements will be explained in detail at the appropriate time(s) during the quarter.
Oral Expression:
You will give one 10 minute oral presentation during the last week of the quarter. A detailed schedule for the presentations, and the oral interview, will be established in due time. You are encouraged to work on your presentation with a partner, or in a small group. Detailed descriptions of the items your instructor will look for, are available on the internet.
Tests and Quizzes:
There will be four regular two-chapter tests, as well as four 30-minute quizzes. Tests will test reading comprehension, listening comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar. There are NO MAKE-UPs for tests or quizzes. If a test or quiz is missed due to a documented police, court or medical emergency of your own, the next test or quiz will count double; permission to make-up the last test, quiz or composition is given solely at the discretion of the individual instructor. There will be five quizzes of which the lowest score will be dropped. Quizzes may be given at any time and may cover any area due for that day.
Final Exam:
This exam (same as SPAN 2B Final) will reflect the overall emphasis given to most of the skills and tasks studied and practiced during the quarter. The Final Exam will be on the date and time indicated on the Registrar's "Final Exam Schedule" (place to be announced at a later date). It is your responsibility to resolve any scheduling conflicts you may have due to work, other exams, etc., before that date.
Extra Credit:
For completing EEE Course Evaluations, students may earned one percentage point towards the final grade; this point may be split between mid-course and final evaluations. An additional 2 percentage points may be earned by doing extra-credit work in Spanish. Check with your instructor and consult the extra-credit Webpage.
Grading Policy:
Your COURSE GRADE will be weighted in the following way:
Tests (4) 25%
Quizzes (5) 10%
Oral Expression 10%
In-class Compositions (2) 20%
At-home Composition 10% Final Exam 25% TOTAL:
100% Note: Your final grade will reflect extra credit points and deductions (i.e., absences, lack of participation and missed homework.)
The following scale will be used to determine your grade in the course.
Remember: it is the School of Humanities’ policy that, "within the beginning and intermediate foreign language instructional sequences, students must earn a ‘C’, ‘P’ [73.0%], or better, in order to advance to the next level of instruction".
A+ = 100.0 - 97 A = 96.99 - 93 A- = 92.99 - 90.0
B+ = 89.99 - 87 B = 86.99 - 83 B- = 82.99 - 80.0
C+ = 79.99 - 77 C = 76.99 - 73 C- = 72.99 - 70.0
D+ = 69.99 - 67 D = 66.99 - 63 D- = 62.99 - 60.0
F = 59.99 - 00.0
Last Updated: January 05, 2013
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