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Spanish 240: A Listening Comprehension Course in Spanish

Requirements || Resources || Calendar

Prerequisite

The prerequisite for this course is Spanish 104, 111, or the equivalent. You may take 240 and 250 concurrently. Students who have taken 400-level courses and above are not eligible to enroll.

Course description

Spanish 240 is a developmental listening course designed to teach learners appropriate strategies for comprehending Spanish as a second language and to provide them with intensive and extensive directed listening practice. Cognitive and metacognitive listening strategies presented in the course will develop learners' abilities to understand main ideas, note specific details, detect sequencing, follow directions, make inferences, predict outcomes, and evaluate listening input. Spanish 240 is designed to prepare undergraduate learners for the demands of 400 and 600-level courses in Hispanic literatures, cultures, and linguistics and also for the Spanish Listening and Reading Proficiency Exam (SLRPE). Successful completion of this exam, indicated by a score of 80% or better on each portion of the test, is one of the prerequisites for entry into our major/minor program. While 240 will help prepare for the listening portion of the SLRPE, students should also plan to view television, DVDs, etc. and listen to audio materials from other sources (see the Resources page) in order to further strengthen vocabulary and comprehension in preparation for the exam. The level of listening proficiency actually achieved by individual learners will depend on the learner's motivation, previous experience, and degree of engagement in course activities. This course will be conducted in Spanish.

Texts, Materials, and Computer Access

• Please note, Spanish 240 requires a computer to use Carmen. If your personal computer is not able to access the 240 Carmen Web site to view audio, video, or complete the on-line quizzes, etc., you should plan to use the OIT Student Computing Centers to complete assignments.
• Access to Carmen.osu.edu. You will also need to upload Real Player and Quicktime on your computer to view the video selections for the course.
• You may need to upload a different web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Safari) because certain browsers may display 240 Carmen content differently.
• For extra listening practice see "Canciones/240 & 240 videos" on the Digital Language Lab.

Course Objectives

In Spanish 240, learners will:

• Learn effective listening strategies and apply them to authentic Spanish-language texts.
• Participate in a variety of intensive and extensive listening comprehension and analysis activities.
• Develop listening skills for academic purposes as well as personal enjoyment.
• Extend critical listening skills by commenting and elaborating on content of listening texts through discussion activities.
• Listen to and interview guest speakers.
• Interview one native Spanish speaker.

Attendance and Class Participation

Regular attendance and participation in class activities are essential to be a successful language learner. In order for students to progress in understanding and speaking Spanish, they must hear and speak it on a daily basis. Therefore, students must prepare carefully for class by completing all assignments in advance and be ready to participate in class. Every day students will be graded on individual, pair, and group activities. The dates for all exams are clearly marked on your syllabus under "Calendar".

Makeup work will be permitted only when the instructor is presented with acceptable documentation. Legitimate excused absences include the following: participation in a scheduled activity of an official University organization, verifiable confining illness, serious verifiable family emergencies, subpoenas, jury duty, and military service. It is the student's responsibility to notify his/her instructor of any excused absence as far in advance as possible. Work must be made up in a timely manner (e.g. before the next scheduled evaluation). Documentation for excused absences must be presented as soon as possible. No documentation will be accepted after the last day of regularly scheduled classes.

NOTE: The following message appears on the "Advice Nurse" page. Did you miss a class due to an illness? Do you need to provide an excuse? If you had a visit with a health care provider they can provide you with a visit verification form. If you didn't see a health care provider but still need to document your illness you can use the Absence Excuse Form. This is NOT an acceptable excuse. You should use your four "grace days" to cover these and any other unexcused absences (work, family vacations, long weekends, undocumented illness, transportation problems, etc.)

• Grace Days. You are given two grace days (4 hours of class). After you have used your “grace days” each additional hour of undocumented absence will result in a 1 point reduction of your final grade per absence, i.e., 5 unexcused hours/absences will reduce your final grade by 5 points. For example if your overall average is 95% and you have five unexcused hours/absences your final grade will be a 90%. Absences are counted from the first day of the quarter. Chronic lateness to class will also reduce your grade. Repeated unexcused absences will result in the filing of a "Student Absence Form" with your college office.

Incompletes

An Incomplete "I" indicates that the student has completed a major portion of the work in the course in a satisfactory manner, but for reasons judged by the Language Studies Committee to be legitimate, a portion of the course requirements remains to be completed.

Academic Misconduct

"It is the responsibility of the Committee on Academic Misconduct to investigate or establish procedures for the investigation of all reported cases of student academic misconduct. The term "academic misconduct" includes all forms of student academic misconduct wherever committed; illustrated by, but not limited to, cases of plagiarism and dishonest practices in connection with examinations. Instructors shall report all instances of alleged academic misconduct to the committee (Faculty Rule 3335-5-487). For additional information, see the Code of Student Conduct [PDF]."
Academic misconduct is defined as any activity which tends to compromise the academic integrity of the institution, or subvert the educational process. Such instances include, but are not limited to: cheating on assignments or examinations, collusion, falsification of excuses, submitting work from a previous quarter without explicit permission of the current instructor, violation of course rules contained in the syllabus or provided in class and plagiarism. Plagiarism is the representation of another's works or ideas as one's own: it includes the unacknowledged word for word use and/or paraphrasing of another person's work, and/or the inappropriate unacknowledged use of another person's ideas. Plagiarism via the internet is not only dishonest; it's also liable to be caught. Paper assignments, if they are clear and course-specific, don't match well with what's available on the net, and search engines on the net make detection of plagiarism as easy as plagiarism itself. For example for a written or oral report you should use the vocabulary, grammar structures, and strategies you've learned. Paraphrase your information and do not "cut and paste" whole paragraphs from the web. For more on university policies concerning plagiarism, including information on the formal hearing process by the Committee on Academic Misconduct visit the COAM FAQ page.

Disability Services

Any student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. Students with disabilities that have been certified by the Office for Disability Services will be appropriately accommodated, and should inform the instructor as soon as possible of their needs. The Office for Disability Services is located in 150 Pomerene Hall, 1760 Neil Avenue; telephone 292-3307, TDD 292-0901.