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Intermediate Spn Prog

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University of Florida

Department of Romance Languages and Literatures 

    SPN 2200: Intermediate

 Spanish I

REQUIRED MATERIALS

PREREQUISITES
SPN 1116 or SPN 1131 or Placement Exam (See Undergraduate Catalog for SAT II, AP and IB scores)

COURSE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The primary goal of the Intermediate Spanish Courses is to offer students an opportunity to review existing and acquire new communicative skills in Spanish while developing an awareness and appreciation of Hispanic/Latino cultures. The courses take their goals from the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21^st Century, also known as the 5 Cs, which focus on five general areas:

Thus with these standards in mind, Intermediate Spanish expects the following

various formats.

Class Participation and Preparation	15%
Tests	25%
Final Exam	15%
Workbook	10%
Compositions (3)	15%
Spoken Language	20%

COMPONENTS
Attendance policy:

Class Participation and Preparation (15%)

Participation in class involves a number of variables, including but not limited to:

    Participation grades will be assessed approximately every two weeks for a total of eight (8) grades throughout the semester, and you may ask your instructor for your participation grades at any time. See page 7 for the specific grading rubric used to assess your participation.

Tests (20%)
There will be three in-class written tests (see Calendar for specific dates), one upon concluding every two chapters (following Chapters 2, 4 and 6). The goal of the tests is to assess your ability to assimilate what you have learned about Spanish grammar, vocabulary, language, and culture in each unit. You are also expected to critically respond to and analyze the topics covered in class and in the texts. Tests will consist of listening, reading and writing sections in which your overall knowledge of the course material is evaluated. Tests are not curved and no make-up tests will be given.

Final exam (15%)
The Final Exam will be comprehensive and cumulative in nature and will be administered during Final Exam Week. Your instructor will provide detailed information regarding the date, time and location of the exam as soon as it is available.

Compositions (15%)
There will be three (3) Compositions of about 250 words each on topics selected by the instructor. The first draft of each composition will be written in class, upon completion of Chapters 1, 3 and 5 (September 8, October 6, November 10), and the rewrite/final version will be written at home.  The first version will account for 70% of the total composition grade. Your instructor will make comments and mark errors (with the symbols indicated in the “Correction Code”). You will then revise the composition and turn in the second version along with the first version for the final grade on the date specified by your instructor; this revision will be graded for the remaining 30% of the composition grade. All compositions must be double-spaced. All second drafts must be typed. See the Grading Scheme on page 10 and the Correction Codes on page 11 for more specific information.

Spoken language (20%)
Your spoken language component consists of three parts: two oral interviews (mid-term and final) and 3 in-class cultural reports. 

For the midterm oral interview (October 25, 27) you will converse one-on-one with your instructor. General topics will be provided prior to these oral exams to aid in your preparation.  Depending on class size, some students may be asked to schedule oral interviews during office hours or other times outside of class. Grades will be assigned according to the criteria on page 8. 

For the final oral interview (December 1,3) you will converse with a fellow classmate.  As before, general topics will be provided prior to these oral exams to help you prepare.  Grades will be assigned according to the same criteria used in the mid-term oral interviews (page 8).

For the in-class cultural report you will discuss a topic of interest to you that is related to the chapters covered in the textbook (Chapters 1-6).

Note: Every student will be responsible for the information provided during all in-class presentations and follow-up discussions throughout the course of the semester. To this end, questions related to these presentations will be included on the exams.

GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES
Expected Time Required (Approximate): A general guideline for the amount of time you should plan to dedicate to this and any other University course is 2-3 hours of homework per hour spent in class.

Extra Credit:
No extra credit will be given under any circumstances.

Late and Make-up Work: Any activities or assignments missed due to an unexcused absence will receive a grade of 0. No late work will be accepted and no make-ups will be allowed. In the case of excused absences (see above), your instructor and the Program Director will determine how the missed work should best be accounted for.

Violations of the Academic Honesty Guidelines include but are not limited to:

Cheating. The improper taking or tendering of any information or material which shall be used to determine academic credit. Taking of information includes copying graded homework assignments from another student; working with another individual(s) on graded assignments or homework; looking or attempting to look at notes, a text, or another student's paper during an exam. 

Plagiarism. The attempt to represent the work of another as the product of one's own thought, whether the other's work is oral or written (including electronic), published or unpublished. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, quoting oral or written materials without citation on written materials or in oral presentations; submitting work produced by an on-line translation service or the translation feature of an on-line dictionary as your own.

Misrepresentation. Any act or omission with intent to deceive a teacher for academic advantage. Misrepresentation includes lying to a teacher to increase your grade; lying or misrepresenting facts when confronted with an allegation of academic honesty.

On all work submitted for credit the following pledge is either required or implied: "On my honor I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment." Violations of this policy will result in disciplinary action according to the judicial process.  For more details and for policies specific to the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, please see: http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/glord/RLL_honor_code.html

Students with Special Needs: Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodation. It is the student’s responsibility to take the appropriate steps in informing the instructor of any special needs and for arranging any accommodations with ample time to administer them.

Disagreements and grade disputes: If you disagree with a grade or have problems in your class, please approach your instructor first and try to solve the disagreement together.  If it cannot be resolved contact Dr. Gillian Lord, the Director of the Intermediate Spanish Program, at glord@rll.ufl.edu or 392-2016 (x253).  She will ask you for written documentation of your version of the dispute.

Grading Criteria for Class Participation

A.(25pts):	The student: always greeted people and took leave using Spanish  always used Spanish in class ( i.e., with instructor and in small groups)  always listened attentively when others spoke and showed respect for her/his peers  always came prepared to class  always actively participated in all classroom activates  always made a positive impact on the class with her/his presence and positive attitude  helped peers with in-class activities
A- (23 pts):	The student:  sometimes greeted people and took leave using Spanish mostly used Spanish in class, but sometimes used English in group work usually listened and showed respect for her/his peers   occasionally came unprepared to class, but usually came prepared  participated in all classroom activities
B (21 pts):	The student: did not greet people and take leave in Spanish  frequently used English, especially during group and pair work  at times got distracted and was occasionally disrespectful to her/his peers  showed some preparation for class, but needed more preparation participated in classroom activities but was more passively attentive than active
C (19 pts):	The student: used more English than Spanish during class paid little attention during class (e.g., sometimes slept, read the newspaper, did other homework. etc.) and was disrespectful to her/his peers  showed little preparation for class  participated minimally in classroom activities
D (17 pts):	The student: used only English during class  paid no attention during class and was disrespectful to her/his peers  showed no preparation for class failed to contribute to the class with her/his presence and/or detracted from the class with her/his negative attitude
F (0 pts):	The student: did not attend enough classes or did not demonstrate sufficient participation for evaluation

Grading Criteria for Mid-term and Final Oral Exams

Nombre ________________________                        Tema ______________________________

Accuracy
HIGH: Showed mastery of the grammar presented in the chapter(s). Very few errors overall (i.e., subject-verb agreement, noun-adjective agreement, etc.). Appropriate use of register (i.e., tú/usted distinctions, appropriate formality level, etc.)	12           11
MEDIUM: Showed limited mastery of the grammar presented in the chapter(s). Some agreement errors were evident, but these generally did not interfere with communication of the message. Mostly appropriate use of register.	10             9
LOW: Demonstrated little mastery of the grammar presented in the chapter(s). Numerous agreement errors, including errors that interfered with communication of the message.  Inappropriate use of register.	8            7
UNSATISFACTORY: No mastery of the grammar presented in the chapter(s). Errors constantly interfered with communication of the message. Apparent unawareness of appropriate register	6
Fluency
HIGH: Connected ideas. Obviously comfortable speaking Spanish. Natural turn-taking.	12           11
MEDIUM: Choppy sequence. Reticent, and slightly longer pauses in turn-taking.	10             9
LOW: Disjointed sequence. The listener had to make a lot of effort to understand.	8            7
UNSATISFACTORY: Short answers with no sequence. The conversation was more dependent on the listener's coaching than on the speaker.	6
Complexity
HIGH: Ideas completely clear, well developed, to the point, and communicated in a logical sequence. Speaker used vocabulary covered in class with very few or no errors, and was able to create with it. Speaker maintained Spanish throughout the conversation without parroting the partner.	12           11
MEDIUM: Ideas mostly clear, developed and to the point, and for the most part speaker showed mastery of vocabulary covered in class, though at times the conversation lacked logical sequence and/or speaker struggled for needed vocabulary.	10            9
LOW: Little development or ordering of ideas is apparent; speaker had difficulty with and made errors with vocabulary covered in class.	8            7
UNSATISFACTORY: Ideas confusing, not well stated, and/or poorly communicated. Speaker made frequent errors with vocabulary covered in class and/or vocabulary was inadequate to the task. Communication broke down; speaker lapsed into English.	6
Task Completion
HIGH: Completed the communicative task with little or no problem. Student could have done the same task if alone in a Spanish-speaking country. The student asked and answered questions. Proactive attitude maintained during the whole task.	14           13
MEDIUM: Completed the communicative task satisfactorily. Would be understood by a sympathetic interlocutor in a Spanish-speaking country. Needed some vocabulary and information to complete the task. Somewhat proactive.	12           11
LOW: Completed the communicative task with some difficulty, but communicated the task and would be able to make him/herself understood by a sympathetic, native Spanish speaker accustomed to interacting with foreigners. Needed many vocabulary words and help from the partner to communicate own ideas. Somewhat passive during the task.	10             9
UNSATISFACTORY: Had problems completing the communicative task. Would probably not have succeeded if partner weren’t an English-speaker. Passive attitude. Student needed massive help from the partner.	8
OVERALL GRADE	____/ 50        .

Grading Criteria for In-class Cultural Report

Nombre ______________________________               Tema ______________________________

Grading Criteria Used to Evaluate Compositions

Nombre ______________________________    

Pre-Writing (10%)
Thoroughly completed all required pre-writing tasks. Demonstrated good thought investment.  Original and creative.	10     9     8
Completed all required pre-writing tasks.  Demonstrated some thought investment. Somewhat creative.	7     6     5
Minimally completed pre-writing tasks.  No thought investment	4     3
No evidence of pre-writing.	2     1
Written product (60%):
Content:
Very complete information.  Broad, effective use of vocabulary covered in the chapter.	15     14     13
Adequate information.  Some development of ideas, but lacks detail or support. Few errors with vocabulary.	12     11     10
Limited information.  Ideas present, but underdeveloped.  Occasional errors with vocabulary.	9     8     7
Minimal information.  Frequent errors with vocabulary.  Presence of English.	6     5    4
Organization:
Ideas connected.  Logically ordered from beginning to end.  Fluent.	15     14     13
Order apparent, but somewhat choppy.  Loosely organized.	12     11     10
Limited order to the content.  Disjointed and/or choppy.	9     8     7
Basically a series of separate sentences.  No transitions.  No apparent order.	6     5     4
Language:
Well-edited for the grammar covered in the course lessons to date.  Very few errors overall.	30     29     28     27
Occasional grammatical errors with the grammar covered in the course lessons to date.	26     25     24     23
Frequent errors that would probably impede comprehensibility for a native speaker not accustomed to communicating with language learners.	22     21     20     19
Abundance of errors.  Mostly incomprehensible.	18     17     16     15
Excessive errors, evidence of carelessness. Incomprehensible.	14    13     12    11
FIRST DRAFT GRADE	______ / 70
post-writing (30%):
Carefully and thoroughly made indicated corrections for content, style and organization.	30     29     28     27
Completed all editing steps, shows considerable improvement.	26     25     24     23
Some editing completed, but overall quality of composition similar to first draft.	21     19     17     15
Minor changes made, but lack of effort.	13    11    10     9
No evidence of the revisions.	0
POST-WRITING GRADE	______ / 30
FIINAL GRADE (1st  draft plus Post-writing)	______ / 100

Correction Code for Marking Errors in Compositions

Your instructor will return your compositions having underlined words/phrases/sentences that need to be corrected. Above each underlined section there will be a symbol from the list below, which will indicate to you how to revise that portion of the composition.

SYMBOL	ERROR TYPE	EXAMPLE (INCORRECT)	EXAMPLE (CORRECTED)
a	Acento que falta o está mal puesto	dia arból	día árbol
a-p	Se requiere (o no) la "a" personal	Amo mis padres	Amo a mis padres
o	Ortografía (spelling)	huego	juego
c	Concordancia (agreement)	Ella estudian Casa blanco La día	Ella estudia Casa blanca El día
fv	Forma verbal	Me gusta nadando	Me gusta nadar
cv	Conjugación  verbal	Yo sabo eso	Yo sé eso
tv	Tiempo verbal	Ayer estudia	Ayer estudió
i/s	Indicativo vs. subjuntivo	Quiero que estudias más	Quiero que estudies más
p/i	Pretérito vs. imperfecto	Cuando tuve 14 años . . .	Cuando tenía 14 años . . .
s/e	Ser v. estar	Somos cansados	Estamos cansados
v	Vocabulario/Mal uso del diccionario	Hay una tabla	Hay una mesa
ing	Palabra o construcción inglesa	Tengo un buen tiempo	Me divierto
p/p	Confusión entre POR y PARA	Pagó diez dólares para este libro	Pagó diez dólares por este libro
p	Preposición	Trabajo a la tienda	Trabajo en la tienda
pron	Pronombre equivocado u  omitido	Las son mis amigas Gusta bailar a él	Ellas son mis amigas A él le gusta bailar
pr	Pronombre relativo equivocado u omitido (Que, quien, quienes, el/la/lo cual, los/las cuales, el /la/lo/los/las que, cuyo, cuya, cuyos, cuyas)	Los estudiante quienes viven en la  Florida Los estudiantes sus padres no viven en la Florida	Los estudiantes que viven en la Florida Los estudiantes, cuyos padres no viven . . .
X	Omitir
^	Insertar	Veo ^ Juan	Veo a Juan
g	Cualquier otro tipo de error gramatical
[ . . . ]	Reescribir completamente la sección entre [corchetes] porque no se entiende o no se expresa así en español
?	Oración o párrafo ininteligible
+	Se escribe entre símbolos cuando una palabra tiene más de un error	Ejemplo: s/e + o

¡OJO!

Ø Always consult this list of symbols when making corrections to your written work.

Ø Corrections should be made with a dictionary, verb book, textbook, class notes, etc. Don’t just guess!

Ø Do not simply assume that the errors are of one type before checking to see what the symbol means.

Ø If there are any symbols or errors you do not understand, check with your instructor.

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