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TR 1:30PM-2:45PM
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Department of Modern and Classical
Languages |
SPAN 300, a decisive course to begin studying Spanish at an
advanced level, has been designed for students who have completed two
years of instruction in Spanish (or can demonstrate an equivalent
level of proficiency) and plan to continue studying the
language.
You must be exposed to Spanish and use Spanish in order to learn
it, so you really want to be in class and benefit from it. Class
discussions, presentations and activities provide the kind of
interaction in Spanish that you cannot get at home. For this reason,
there is no substitution for attendance. You are expected to attend
all classes and be on time.
If you arrive late you are being disruptive and you may also miss
some important information given at the beginning which cannot be
repeated every time a student is late. Make sure you get the phone
number of at least two classmates:
Name________________________ Phone_____________
Name________________________ Phone_____________
You are responsible for all material covered in class. Keep in
mind that irregular attendance will severely affect your learning
process and, consequently, your final grade in this
course.
If you have to miss a class, you have to notify your instructor
ahead of time (either by e-mail or a written notice left in mail
box). In case of an emergency, you are expected to let your
instructor know about it as soon as possible.
The progress made by students in this class will be evaluated by
the following criteria:
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1. Participation (includes class preparation): |
20% |
2. Tests: |
40% |
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3. Class presentations (both individual and in groups): |
20% |
4. Portfolio: |
20% |
1. Participation and class
preparation
Participation means active involvement in the class. Students are
encouraged to contribute in class discussions and are expected to
speak only Spanish.
The participation grade includes:
1) your contribution in Spanish in regular class sessions, in group activities and in electronic discussions,
2) your cooperation and leadership in group and pair work, and
3) your respect and attitude towards your peers and the
class.
Your participation grade will be determined as
follows:
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The A student: |
The B student: |
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initiates interaction in Spanish |
show willingness to participate |
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elaborates on answers |
cooperates in group activities but is not the leader |
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shows leadership in group activities |
answers when called upon |
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almost never uses English |
occasionally talks in English |
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asks questions only in Spanish | |
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is always prepared |
is normally prepared |
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The C student: |
The D student: |
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participates more passively than actively |
participates grudgingly |
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tends to use English, especially in small group activities |
speaks mostly English |
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gives slightly more than one word answers |
does no cooperate in group activities |
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is frequently unprepared |
is not prepared for class |
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The F student: |
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is always obviously unprepared |
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is disruptive, prevents other students from hearing |
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refuses to participate in class activities |
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is disrespectful to other students and the instructor |
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almost never uses Spanish |
In order for you to actively participate in class, you need to
read the material assigned for each class and do the activities
assigned by the instructor. Assignments will be collected regularly.
Final versions of the compositions are due one week after the first
draft is due. Late assignments will lose 10% of the grade for each
day the class meets.
2. Tests
There will be two written tests in this course: a midterm and a
final exam. These exams will evaluate the student's ability to
interact with a text using the strategies discussed in class. The
midterm exam will be administered on Thursday, October
9th, 1997. The final exam will consist of two parts: oral
and written. The oral exam will be administered during the last week
of class. The written on December 11th at 1:30
pm).
3. Class presentations
There will be individual presentations based on specific semantic
fields chosen from a list of various topics. The group presentations
will be based on a selection of different texts. More details in
class.
4. Portfolio
Students will compile a portfolio in which they will include all
their homework, the compositions, the written materials used for the
presentations, and a collection of different kinds of texts according
to the text taxonomy seen during the course. More details in
class.
HONOR CODE: Exams, presentations and assignments
must be done independently. Consult the GMU Honor Code for
information.
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