Southern Utah University

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Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2025

Beginning Spanish I (Face-to-Face)

SPAN 1010-04

Course: SPAN 1010-04
Credits: 4
Term: Fall Semester 2025
Department: FLPH
CRN: 30714

Course Description

This is a beginning course designed for students with little or no foreign language experience. The course will emphasize conversation, vocabulary building, and basic grammar. Students with extensive secondary school Spanish should contact an advisor or Spanish faculty member to take the placement exam. (Fall, Spring, Summer [As Needed]) [Graded (Standard Letter)] Registration Restriction(s): Intensive English Program majors may not enroll General Education Category: Humanities

We’ll work on four major skill areas for language learning: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Expect about 90-95% of class time to be in Spanish. This class is hands-on and student-centered. It requires daily, active participation during individual exercises and partner/group work. You are expected to actively participate and come to class prepared. Taking the time to complete the daily homework assignments is crucial for not only getting a good grade, but also learning the language and keeping up with the class. The goal of these activities is basic communicative competence not grammatical perfection. 

Required Texts

  • Access to the ebook – Contraseña by Lingro Learning
  • Students will get access to Contraseña through Lingro Learning (https://lingrolearning.com/ ). Register using our course enrollment code. 
  • Course Enrollment Code: TBA
  • $25 – one time payment
  • Access to Canvas

Learning Outcomes

Student Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, successful students will be able to: 

  1. Greet others, introduce themselves, describe things, narrate basic events, discuss their preferences, daily habits and routines, and express desires and wishes in the present tense.
  2. Produce and comprehend Spanish speech and text using basic vocabulary to discuss and/or compare: clothing, colors, physical and character attributes of people (including nationality), birthdays and holidays, classroom objects, weather and seasons, family, personal information, food, and emotions. Students will gain a very basic understanding of various countries and Hispanic cultures. They will demonstrate an awareness of some of their customs and geography and will begin to make connections between these Hispanic cultures and their own.

In addition, we will focus on acquiring the following areas from the SUU Essential Learning Outcomes:

  1. Communication: Gain intellectual and practical skills, particularly in written and oral communication. 
  2. Intercultural Knowledge and Competence: Demonstrate that they possess a set of cognitive and behavioral skills and characteristics that support effective and appropriate interaction in a variety of cultural contexts.
  3. Digital Literacy: Students strategically and responsibly employ appropriate technologies to explore,
create, collaborate, and organize in a digital context.

Course Requirements

Evaluation:                                                                               

Participation/Attendance                  15%                        

Homework/Assignments                   35%                        

Exams (4)                                        20%                        
 
Digital Portfolio                                10%                         

Compositions (2)                              10%                         

Oral Interview                                    5% 

Engagement activities (3)                  5%                                                            

                                                       100%


Grade Breakdown:
A (93-100%)           D+ (67-69%)
A- (90-92%)            D    (63-66%)
B+ (87-89%)           D-   (60-62%)
B   (83-86%)           F     (Below 60%)
B-  (80-82%)
C+ (77-79%)
C   (73-76%)
C-  (70-72%)                     

Participation:  First and foremost, participation includes daily (on time!) class attendance.  However, merely showing up for class is not sufficient to receive an exceptional participation grade.  Full engagement with in-class activities and lessons is required. Students are also required to attend a minimum of three out-of-class activities available on campus throughout the semester (details below).

Cell phone/electronic device policy: The use of phones, tablets, laptops, and other electronic devices for anything unrelated to the course material is strictly prohibited during the class hour. They should be turned off and stored out of sight by the beginning of class. Students who violate this policy will forfeit the participation credit for that class period.

Engagement activities: Throughout the semester, as part of their participation grade students are required to attend a minimum of three outside-of-class activities. In most cases, this will entail visiting the Spanish tutors (in GC 104 or over Zoom). However, throughout the semester there may be other opportunities (Spanish-language films, for example) on campus that will also count toward outside-of-class activities. 

To receive full credit:
Attendance of first activity must occur on or before Friday, September 26th
Attendance of second activity must occur before Friday, October 31st

Exams: There will be 4 chapter exams throughout the semester. Dates will be announced in advance in class and on Canvas.

Oral Interviews:  Oral interviews with students will be conducted once during the last week of classes. I will provide further details as the course progresses.

In-Class Writing:  There will be two in-class assignments in which students will demonstrate the development of their writing skills in Spanish.  This will be closed book, but will ask students to write on a topic that is familiar and that requires the use of vocabulary and grammar that also should be well known by that point of the semester.  

Homework: Homework will be assigned almost daily in one form or another and generally will be completed through the Contraseña online platform. Homework is closely related to daily participation, since in many cases you will not be able to fully participate without having completed the previous day’s assignment.

Digital Portfolio: Details on the content of the digital portfolio will be provided in class. The digital portfolio is due the last day of finals week. 

Course Outline

Weeks 1 – 2 = Unit 1      ¿Quién soy yo?                                           

Weeks 3 – 5 = Unit 2      ¿Quién eres tú?                                                     

Weeks 6 – 8 = Unit 3      ¿Qué tengo que hacer esta semana?                                                       

Weeks 9 – 11 = Unit 4    ¿Cómo es mi universidad?                                                    

Weeks 12 – 14 = Unit 5  ¿A quién admiro?

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Daily homework is usually due that same day prior to our class. Students may turn in a maximum of three late assignments without penalty. Students must submit the late homework within one week of the original due date. Subsequent late assignments will not be accepted. For late assignments that are turned in in-class (as opposed to through Canvas), it must be clearly marked as late at the top of the page and must be turned in by the following class day. Missing class is not an excuse for late homework. 

Attendance Policy

Attendance Policy: Students may miss a maximum of 3 classes without a negative impact on the final participation grade. For every additional unexcused absence, the student’s final participation grade will drop by 5%. For example, a student with 6 unexcused absences can receive no higher than an 85% participation score for the semester. If said student is not fully engaged in classroom activities, violates the electronic device policy, and/or is consistently late to class, then said student can expect a much lower participation grade.

 

       # of absences                                                                                          Maximum possible 
    during the semester                                                                                    participation score

               0-3                                                                                                               100%

                4                                                                                                                   95%

                5                                                                                                                   90%

                6                                                                                                                   85%

                7                                                                                                                   80%

                8                                                                                                                   75%

               etc.                                                                                                                 etc.

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.