This is a second-year course that reinforces many of the major grammatical structures and vocabulary introduced in Spanish 1010-2010. We will work on reinforcing and strengthening the core skill areas of language learning: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and culture. You can expect to interact often with your instructor, partner, or in a group. Since Spanish will be the primary language used in the class, it is highly recommended that students study the material, memorize vocabulary, and complete homework assignments thoroughly before class meetings.

Prerequisites: Spanish 2010 or an adequate score on the language placement exam.

This class is communicative 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. I expect you to complete your homework thoroughly and to practice drills of grammatical concepts on your own through homework. Taking the time to complete the assignments is crucial for not only earning a good grade, but also learning the language and keeping up with the class. The goal of these activities is intermediate communicative competence not grammatical perfection. So, don’t worry, making mistakes is a part of the learning process.

The class will be conducted in Spanish in order to provide you with maximum exposure to the language. The main focus of the class is on Spanish communication, and we strive for maximum use of the language in the classroom. This means that your instructor will speak Spanish to you during class, and you will be expected to do the same with your instructor and classmates. Should you need additional explanations or wish to discuss matters not directly related to course content, your instructor will be happy to speak to you in English before or after class and during office hours. This is a college-level language course; thus, expect to move quickly through the material.

• Access to the ebook – Contraseña by Lingro Learning
• Inclusive Access
• Access to Canvas
• Access to a webcam and microphone for Zoom if/as needed

By the end of this course, successful students will be able to do the following:

• Listening: Understand and derive meaning from face-to-face conversations, routine in-class listening tasks (such as instructions and directions), and various authentic audio/video materials.
• Speaking: Express themselves and be understood in uncomplicated communicative tasks and social situations; as well as narrate, describe, and elicit information in several major tenses.
• Reading: Comprehend the main idea of simple, authentic written materials. Develop the ability to identify contextual clues, such as cognates, to facilitate reading comprehension.
• Writing: Produce simple and coherent written discourse that demonstrates knowledge of basic sentence structure, vocabulary, and verb forms.
• Culture: Gain a deeper understanding of Hispanic cultures and develop an awareness of customs, geography, and of the differences/commonalities between traditions and dialects.

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

• Communication: Gain intellectual and practical skills, particularly in written and oral communication.
• 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.

Throughout the semester, students are responsible for completing the following assignments:

• Exams (4) 20%
• Homework in Contraseña 35%
• Participation 15%
• Pruebas 10%
• Composition (1) 10%
• Oral Exam (1) 10%
• Engagement activities (3) 5%

Daily online homework in Contraseña: After purchasing Contraseña you will be able to complete all online assignments and will have access to the e-book. All Contraseña assignments must be submitted by 11:59 am on the day they are due. You will lose 5% for each day an assignment is late. Specific assignments for each week can be found in the course calendar and in the Contraseña platform calendar. It is the student's responsibility to work on these assignments continuously each week. If you have doubts, issues, or questions please contact the professor.

Exams, quizzes, and compositions: All assignments must be submitted on the day and time indicated in the course calendar. You will always receive some sort of study guide prior to exams (often in the form of a Power Point or a short list of content points to study in the e-book).

Exams: Exams can include a mixture of listening, reading, and writing comprehension. You will be informed of the format of each exam ahead of time.

Quizzes: There will be 5 scheduled vocabulary quizzes throughout the semester. See the course calendar for specific dates. Generally, you will be provided with the English word/expression and then you will write the Spanish equivalent from memory. Vocabulary lists for each unit can be found in Contraseña. Quick grammar or content quizzes can also come up as necessary.

Composition: There will be one composition in this course which will be completed individually by the student. You will complete two drafts. The second draft will address the professor’s suggested edits and changes.

Engagement Activities: You are expected to engage with the Spanish language and/or culture outside of class to work on skills such as speaking, listening, writing, or reading. You could attend tutoring and/or attend culturally relevant campus or community events (they will be advertised in class). For your three required activities, you can do a combination of these options, or stick with just one of the options. Students need to submit a short summary in Spanish or English (minimum of 150 words) via Canvas of their experience for each engagement activity. See calendar for the Engagement Activity report due date.

Participation: You are expected to participate actively and consistently in the course all semester. You can earn a good participation grade by actively engaging with your professor, conversing in Spanish with your classmate(s) during group work, asking and answering relevant questions related to the course content, and actively participating during general class discussions. You can find a rubric for your participation grade on Canvas.

I use the following grading scale to submit final grades:

Attendance: Students are expected to attend all class sessions and actively participate in all hours of language instruction. You must be exposed to Spanish and use Spanish in order to learn the language. For that reason, attendance will be taken on a daily basis. You are allowed THREE unexcused absences during the entire semester with no effect to your grade. Additional absences (beyond three) are considered excessive and will be penalized by deducting 1% point per additional absence from your final grade. For example, if you finish the course with a 90% but have missed class 4 times, your final grade will be 89%. If you have a family, medical, or personal emergency that makes completing an assignment by the due date and time impossible, please be sure to reach out to me via email as soon as you are able. While I do not require documentation to excuse the first three absences, I do ask for documentation if, due to your absence, you have missed an assignment deadline (this especially applies to non-Contraseña assignments: exams, quizzes, etc.).