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Spanish 104 Syllabus

The Ohio State University
Quito, Ecuador
Spanish 104

• Long, Donna Reseigh y Janice L. Macián. De paseo, 3/e. Boston: Heinle & Heinle,2005.
• Long, Donna Reseigh y Janice L. Macián. Diario de actividades, 3/e. Boston: Heinle & Heinle, 2005.
• Spanish-English dictionary (pocket dictionaries are not recommended.)

Placement Test: All students who studied Spanish for two years or more in high school and have used Spanish to fulfill the admissions requirement, but have not received any previous Spanish credit at The Ohio State University or another university should have taken the placement test. If you have not done so, inform the Resident Director.

Course Objectives:Spanish 104.01 is the fourth course of a four course sequence (101.01, 102.01, 103.01, 104) which leads to the fulfillment of the foreign language requirement. Spanish is the primary language of instruction. The general goal of the course is to develop basic language skills. During this course students will...

• Expand vocabulary usage
• Practice listening skills
• Practice conversation skills
• Read authentic texts (articles, short stories, essays, and poems, etc.)
• Practice writing in Spanish
• Review grammar concepts and incorporate new structures
• Learn cultural concepts of Spanish-speaking countries
• Research a theme on the Internet and present your topic orally and in writing to your instructor (1:1)
• Use technology to explore and reinforce linguistic concepts

Attendance and Participation: All students are required to attend all classes and are expected to arrive on time. If an illness or an emergency prevents you from attending class, you are expected to notify the RD as soon as possible. Upon your return to school, you must submit a note from a physician explaining your absence. The Resident Director will notify you if the absence is excused.

• Makeup work will be permitted only when the RD is presented with acceptable documentation and the absence is excused. Students with an unexcused absence will not be allowed to submit makeup work. Class participation points cannot be made up for any reason.
• After two hours of unexcused absences in a course, each additional unexcused hour will result in a one-percentage point reduction of your final grade per absence. This means that if you miss one school day and your absence is unexcused, your final grade will be reduced by 2 percentage points. For example, an 80% becomes a 78%.
• Lateness to class counts toward unexcused hours and will be rounded to the next quarter hour. (If you arrive 9 minutes late, you now have 15 minutes unexcused; arrive 17 minutes late, you now have 30 minutes unexcused, etc.). Repeated lateness and absences will require a meeting with the RD, will be reported to The Ohio State University, and may result in your removal from the class.
• Missing or arriving late to required meetings and required school activities will be counted as an absence and will be treated as outlined above.

Academic Misconduct: Academic misconduct is defined as any activity which tends to compromise the academic integrity of the institution, or subvert the educational process. All suspected cases of academic misconduct will be reported to the Committee on Academic Misconduct as required by University rules. Such instances include, but are not limited to: plagiarism (representing as one's own work anything done by another), 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.

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. Work submitted must be in your own words. "Borrowing" materials without citing sources is plagiarism.

All cases of copying, cheating, plagiarism, fraud, deceit, and other unacceptable academic conduct will be reported to the Resident Director and subsequently to the Office of Academic Misconduct at the Ohio State University in Columbus without exception.

Code of Conduct: Disrespectful or disruptive behavior in this program will not be tolerated and may result in non-completion of the program. Please refer to the OSU Student Affairs "Code of Student Conduct" Web site for rules and procedure.

Disability Services: Anyone who feels they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the RD to arrange an appointment as soon as possible. At the appointment you can discuss the course format, anticipate your needs, and explore potential accommodations. We rely on the Office for Disability Services for assistance in verifying the need for accommodations and developing accommodation strategies. If you have not previously contacted the Office for Disability Services, we encourage you to do so.

Grading

Note: Students are not permitted to take this course as an audit or pass/fail, or receive a grade of incomplete.

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Guide for Spanish 104

Exams (40%): All exams will be created by the OSU Dept. of Spanish and Portuguese and proctored and graded by the RD. You may not use notes or dictionaries during the exams. You will find a review for each chapter and the final on the SPPO Web site (See links in calendar).

Composition (10%): There is one in - class composition in Spanish 104 (see calendar for date). The composition is worth 10% of the final grade. The outline (bosquejo) will count toward the composition grade (the bosquejo is worth 10 points, the composition is worth 90 points, for a total 100 points). The composition must be at least 250 words in length and will be used as part of your individual oral exam with your instructor. See the scale for evaluating the composition.

• On the date of your first exam you will also indicate the topic of your choice from the themes you have studied in class (Latin music, the Yucatan and Mayan culture, sports and leisure activities, the environment).
  
  Example: Describe the contributions of the Mayan Civilization.
• You will write your outline (bosquejo) for homework. Bosquejo form and sample [DOC]. Check your syllabus for the date to turn it in for approval. You should use at least three Internet sites (in Spanish) that contain useful information about that topic. Remember, you should use the vocabulary and structures that you have studied in your class. Do not try to translate your sources or copy the information. Use your own words!
• Your instructor will return your bosquejo before the date of the in-class composition. You may use it to write your composition. No other notes, dictionaries, sources will be permitted.
• Your composition will be graded and returned to you. You should revise it using your instructor’s suggestions, and submit a final version with your original on the designated date of your oral exam. Your instructor will refer to this copy during your individual oral exam.

Journal (10%): 4 journal entries per week of 125+ words each and will be turned in to the RD at the end of each week.

Current Events Newspaper Project (10%): Taking into consideration the current chapter topic, find 3 newspaper articles from a current Ecuadorian newspaper pertinent to Ecuador or Latin America to:

• Summarize each article in English (good practice for the SLRPE exam!). This should not be a word for word translation, but a summary of the most important issues highlighted in the article (who?, what?, where?, when?, how?, why? and organized to form a cohesive paragraph).

• Include a vocabulary sheet with 5-7 words that you had to look up in the dictionary. Use each one in a unique Spanish sentence to demonstrate your understanding of the word.

Due to the RD the day before your speaking test. Be sure to copy the articles and vocabulary sheets so that you may study them for your oral exam! Inappropriate themes in oral or written work will not be accepted.

Oral Exam (15%): Your pre-scheduled oral exam has two components: a presentation/conversation with your instructor; and a discussion of your current events newspaper project. You may not use any notes or scripts during the exam.

• Part 1: Presentation & Conversation with your instructor. Students will prepare an oral report based on the information obtained from the Internet sites and your in-class composition. The oral report will last 10 - 15 minutes. The instructor will use the revised composition and information presented during the report to ask additional questions and/or clarify information provided.

• Part 2: Current Events Newspaper Project. For the second part of the oral evaluation, you will present the information you have learned while researching your topic on the Current Events Newspaper Project. You should be able to present a summary and discuss with your instructor in Spanish the information you have found. Your instructor will ask you simple questions in Spanish about your report. Using the structures and vocabulary you have learned, you should also be able to answer several other additional questions that are related to your topic.

Participation and Homework (15%): Regular attendance, arrival to class on time, and participation in all class activities and outside activities scheduled during the program are essential to a successful language learning experience. In order for you to progress in your understanding and speaking Spanish, you must hear and speak it on a daily basis. Therefore, you must prepare by completing all assignments in advance and be ready to participate in class activities. Inappropriate themes in oral or written work will not be accepted. Homework will be graded and recorded by the instructor.

All your work should be included in your Quito program portfolio.