North Central Texas College

ESFL Department: Spanish Division

Elementary Spanish: Beginning Spanish 1

SPAN 1411.403 TR ~ Fall 2017

Instructor: Elizabeth Gosch       

Class Section: SPAN 1411.403

Class Meeting Time & Location: TR 9:30 am–10:50 am, rm 257 *Arrive on time!*

Office Hours: 9:00 am – 9:30 am and 10:50 am – 11:20 am TR, and by appointment

Office Location: 201 Corinth Campus             

Instructor’s e-mail: egosch@nctc.edu

Course Description: Elementary Spanish language skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing within a cultural framework.  Students will acquire the vocabulary and grammatical structures necessary to communicate and comprehend at the elementary level.

Required Textbook and Course Materials: Jarvis, et al.  ¿Cómo se dice? 10th ed. w/ Connect. Cengage, 2015.  ISBN:  978-1-305-23699-8 (book and iLrn access) Book only ISBN: 978-1-305-12648-0.   *You also will need 13 Scantrons Form 882-E for the Lab component of this course.

Currently this bookstore packet includes Connect (here after called iLrn) access for 24 months, but you may buy the materials and access directly through Cengage as well and for shorter (6 month) subscriptions. Be aware that your iLrn subscription will include access to the electronic eBook and a free 3 week trial.

Required Technical Resources

Canvas/iLrn Access:  All students must have complete access to Canvas and iLrn for the entire semester.  It is the student’s responsibility to have access to the internet at all times, as well as having all needed programs to complete online components of the course.  Students are not to give any other person access to his/her accounts.  Students can be removed from the course immediately upon violating this rule.  Once a student has given another person access to his/her accounts, the credibility of any work completed becomes questionable.

Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete SPAN 1411 will meet the following learning outcomes:

• Engage in conversations using level-appropriate grammatical structures including narrating events that take place in the present and producing questions and responses on a variety of topics dealing with everyday life.
• Demonstrate understanding of level-appropriate spoken Spanish.
• Write simple sentences and organize them into short paragraphs.
• Read and comprehend level-appropriate texts.
• Identify and discuss traditions, customs, and values of the Hispanic world.
  • Compare and contrast the traditions, customs, and values of the Hispanic world with characteristics of their own culture.

Core Objectives Foundational Component Area:  Language, Philosophy, and Culture

• Critical Thinking Skills (CT) - to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information.
• Communication Skills (COM)- to include effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral, and visual communication
• Social Responsibility (SR)- to include intercultural competency, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities
• Personal Responsibility (PR)- to include the ability to connect choices, actions, and consequences to ethical decision-making

Spanish Language Immersion Classroom & Communicative Development

Spanish is a “hands-on” course and its structure focuses on practical application of language content to develop skills via communicative partner activities.  Every day in class, students will work in pairs as we progress through vocabulary and grammar. Students will do listening, speaking, reading and writing activities in Spanish every day with a cultural framework.  Thus, students need to come well prepared to class and ready to participate.  This class will be conducted mostly in Spanish. 

ASSESSMENT

Grading Policy & Procedures

This course does NOT offer extra credit.  At the end of the semester, the standard Departmental rounding policy applies to everyone.  For example, an 89.4 will remain a B, but an 89.5 will round up to an A.  There are no exceptions.

Participation: Attendance is Mandatory

To achieve the highest possible personal level of proficiency in Spanish and to be successful in this course, it is necessary to come to each class focused on that goal. Students need to perform the five basic tasks listed in the rubric below in order to be successful in communicating in Spanish.  Additionally, students will also see these efforts recognized and rewarded academically because active in-class participation is a substantial portion of the overall course grade.  (Students not meeting or not exceeding expectations for all five tasks listed in the rubric below will receive verbal/written warnings and reduced points/a zero may also be assigned according to the policy of the instructor). See Canvas for more information.

Online iLrn Homework Activities: Both Machine Graded & Instructor Graded

You will complete activities online using iLrn at http://hlc.quia.com. This portion of the course consists of activities, and assessments offering practice for all vocabulary and grammar topics introduced. Due dates are listed on the assignment calendar.  Late submissions will NOT be accepted in the case of unexcused absence.  All online activities must be completed by 9:00 am (before class) the day on which they are assigned in the syllabus in order to receive credit.  Please be aware that iLrn does not currently have an app for mobile devise and is not very mobile friendly at this time.  In case of any technical difficulties, students must contact Heinle Learning Center technical support at http://hlc.quia.com/support. (Tech Support).  iLrn Support Phone number 1-800-990-8211.  For help with initial registration, call 800-354.9706. 

Quizzes

There will be a total of 10 quizzes given throughout the semester.  On average, you will take 1 quiz per week and they will be timed at 10 minutes.  The fact that these quizzes are so very frequent requires you to do daily independent study and memorization in addition to your every day preparation for class.  See Comprehensive Quiz Study Guide posted on Canvas for more information.  No make-up work will be allowed for quizzes in the case of unexcused absence (see attendance policy).

Unit Exams

There will be a total of 3 unit exams given to demonstrate your mastery of the material covered.  Due to the nature of language learning, all of the exams will be cumulative.  This means that you are still responsible for remembering vocabulary, verb conjugations and grammar structure material from prior chapters for each exam.  Each exam begins with a listening comprehension section.  Students arriving late will not have the opportunity to make up the listening section.  No make-up work will be allowed for unit exams in the case of unexcused absence (see attendance policy).

Oral Exams

There will be 2 oral exams given to demonstrate your development and mastery of communicative skills in Spanish.  You will know the topic prompt beforehand in order to better prepare and practice the content vocab/grammar.  (In fact, those specific prompts will be posted on Canvas two weeks prior.)  However, you will not know who your partner will be until the moment of your conversation.  Remember that the oral exams are about producing language, establishing conversation and negotiating meaning.  They are not for rehearsing memorizing scripts.  No make-up work will be allowed for oral exams in the case of unexcused absence (see attendance policy).

Lab Culture Assignments

For the Lab component of this course, you will complete a total of 13 weekly audio-visual culture assignments.  Each of these assignments consists of watching the week’s designated Spanish language cultural documentary and completing that film’s Questionnaire of guided comprehension questions.  You will submit your answers via a Scantron Form 882-E at the beginning of class on the date specified in the syllabus calendar.  Remember that the purpose of these films, which you will watch on your own time outside of class, is to aide in your development of listening skills as well as your learning of traditional culture/customs of the Spanish-speaking world.  Additionally, you will make comparisons with your own culture as well as further investigate specified themes.  (See Canvas for more info on film list and questionnaires.)  No make-up work will be allowed for Lab assignments in the case of unexcused absence (see attendance policy).

Comprehensive Final Exam = Unit 3 Exam

The final exam is also comprehensive. Check the NCTC Final Exam Schedule for the day and time of your final exam.  See http://www.nctc.edu/current-students/final-exam-schedule.html   All students must take the final exam on the day and time listed for their class in the college schedule.  The final exam begins with a listening comprehension section.  Students arriving late will not have the opportunity to make up the listening section.  No make-up work will be allowed for the final exam in the case of unexcused absence (see attendance policy).

Course Policies

Disability Accommodations: The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) provides accommodations for students who have a documented disability.  A disability is anything that can interfere with learning, such as a learning disability, psychological challenge, physical illness, or injury. Accommodations may include extra time on tests, tests in a distraction-reduced environment, volunteer note taker in class, etc.

On the Corinth Campus, go to room 170 or call 940-498-6207. On the Gainesville Campus, go to room 110 in the Administration Building (100) or call 940-668-4209.  Students on the Bowie, Graham, Flower Mound, and online campuses should call 940-668-4209 to arrange for an intake appointment with OSD.

North Central Texas College is on record as being committed to both the spirit and letter of federal equal opportunity legislation, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, ADA Amendments Act of 2009, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-112).

ADA Statement: North Central Texas College does not discriminate on the basis of disability for admission or access to its programs.  The College is committed to providing equal access to its students with disabilities by providing appropriate accommodations; a variety of services and resources are made available through the ACCESS Department.  Students are responsible for notifying the ACCESS Department of their need for assistance.  Students with documented disabilities, such as mobility impairment, hearing or visual impairment, learning, and/or psychological disorders are eligible for services. 

EEOC Statement: North Central Texas College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, or disability in the employment or the provision of services.

Scholastic Integrity: Scholastic dishonesty shall include, but not be limited to cheating on a test, plagiarism, and collusion.  See Student Handbook “Student Rights & Responsibilities: Student Conduct [FLB- (LOCAL)]” #18.

Disciplinary Actions [Student Handbook, #5] “When cheating, collusion, or plagiarism has occurred beyond any reasonable doubt, the instructor may give the student or students involved an “F” on a particular assignment or in the course. [See Scholastic Dishonesty FLB (Local)] The instructor shall make a written report of the incident and of the planned action to his Department Chair.  The Department Chair shall report the incident and action to appropriate instructional dean who shall review the case, notify the student and, if necessary, take further action.  This may involve either probation or suspension of the student or students in question. If such disciplinary action is deemed necessary, the Dean of Student Services shall be notified, and the action shall be taken through that office.”

Plagiarism, which should be avoided at all costs, includes the following student actions:

1. Turning in someone else's ideas, opinions, theories, or work as your own;
2. Unintentionally or inadvertently turning in someone else's ideas, opinions, theories, or work as your own as the result of failing to document sources both internally and in the Works Cited;
3. Copying words, ideas, or images from someone without giving credit; Failing to put a quotation in quotations marks;
4. Giving incorrect information about the source of information, quotations, or images;
5. Changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit;
6. Copying so many words, ideas, or images from a source that it makes up the majority of the student's work, whether or not the student gives credit.

Student behavior in the classroom:

Student behavior that interferes with an instructor’s ability to conduct a class or other students' opportunity to learn is unacceptable and disruptive and will not be tolerated in any instructional forum at NCTC. Students engaging in unacceptable behavior will be directed to leave the classroom and the instructor may refer the student to the Dean of Students to consider whether the student's conduct violated the Code of Student Conduct. The University's expectations for student conduct apply to all instructional forums, including University and electronic classrooms, labs, discussion groups, field trips, etc. The Code of Student Conduct can be found in the NCTC Student Handbook.

Attendance:

No make-up work will be allowed for unexcused absences. Only those individuals whose absences are authorized by the instructor will be eligible to make up any assessment or assignment missed. Excused absences include the following: illness with a written excuse from a medical professional from an emergency medial appointment, death in the family, religious holidays, military training, transportation incidents, and university-sponsored activities. Documentation must be provided (physician’s statement, obituary, police report, etc.) the first day upon returning to class in order for the absence to be excused. Absences in observance of religious holidays are authorized only if students have notified the instructor in writing within the first 15 days of the semester. For absences due to military training students must present their paperwork to the instructor prior to absence. For absences due to transportation incidents students must provide documentation of an occurrence preventing class attendance, and should contact the instructor as soon as possible.  If it is not possible to document a transportation incident (such as being in a traffic jam due to an accident on the freeway), students should contact the instructor as soon as possible following the incident, and absences will be excused on a case-by-case basis. For absences due to college-sponsored activities students must obtain authorized absence cards from the Dean of Students and present them to the instructor in order for absences to be excused. Students with 4 unexcused absences will be administratively dropped from the class by the instructor.  3 tardies/leaving early equals 1 absence. At the professor’s discretion, excessive tardiness may be counted as an absence.

Use of electronic devices: No phones and no smart watches during class

Cell phones must be off and put away at all times during class meetings unless otherwise directed by the instructor. Laptops, kindles and tablets may be used to access the electronic ebook during class time, but inappropriate use will affect the participation grade.

A note on protocol: 

If a student has a problem with any issue related to the course (textbook, instructor, testing, etc.), it is his or her responsibility to discuss the problem first with their instructor before contacting the Spanish coordinator.

Tobacco-Free Campus: NCTC restricts the use of all tobacco products including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, electronic cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco on campus property. NCTC is aware that tobacco use influences underage students, accumulates unsightly tobacco litter, and interferes with assuring clean air for all who come to NCTC. NCTC recognizes the health hazards of tobacco use and of exposure to second hand smoke. Information on a tobacco cessation program is available for students, faculty, staff who wish to stop using tobacco products. We would like to "thank you" for your help in making our campuses Tobacco-Free. For questions or concerns, please contact the Office of Vice President of Student Services at 940-668-4240.

COURSE CALENDAR

Syllabus is subject to change.  Class may be video recorded for pedagogical purposes.  All text pages must be read and studied before class so that you are familiar with the material and well prepared to come to class and actively participate in Spanish language communicative partner activities.  All online iLrn activities must be submitted by 9:00 am (before class) the day on which they are assigned in the syllabus in order to receive credit.  All Lab Culture Assignment Questionnaires must be turned in via a Scantron Form 882-E at the beginning of class on the due date specified in the syllabus to received credit.   

Helpful links:

Direct Access link to Canvas:  https://nctc.instructure.com/login/canvas  

Direct Access link to iLrn:  https://hlc.quia.com/books/