The University of Chicago
Department of Romance Languages and Literatures
SPANISH 10100: BEGINNING ELEMENTARY SPANISH
Fall 2004

María Cecilia Lozada (sec. 01) and (sec. 02)

Email: mclozada@midway.uchicago.edu

Office: Gates Blake 501                                              PH: 702-7981

Office Hours: Friday 11:30-1:30

Marcela Brusa (sec. 03) and (sec. 04)

Email: medaly@midway.uchicago.edu

Office: Gates Blake  507

Office Hours: Wednesday 2:30-3:30, Friday 2:30-3:30 PH: 702-8021

Kate Thompson (sec. 05)

Email: kateth@uchicago.edu

Office: Gates Blake 501

Office Hours: Wednesday 11:30-1:30                          PH: 702-7981

Spanish 10100 introduces students to written and spoken Spanish. It focuses on general linguistic patterns and relationships between written and spoken language and their use in everyday communication. By the end of this sequence, you should be able to: a) pronounce Spanish according to standard pronunciation rules; b) talk and write about your world in Spanish; c) participate in communicative situations; d) comprehend native speakers conversing on everyday topics; e) understand written Spanish used in daily life activities.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Classes: In addition to the scheduled MWF meetings, students are required to attend a 50-minute lector session every week. Lector sessions start the second week of class. In the lector sessions students practice their aural and oral skills. Sign-up sheets for lector sessions will be posted on the Spanish board (Cobb 1st floor-across Cobb 102) during the first week of classes. Lector sessions are limited in size, so you must sign up for a lector session on that day. The earlier you sign up, the more choice you will have. Students are expected to participate in 5 cultural activities or fifth hour activities which will be evaluated by their lectors. NOTE: All lector sessions start during the second week of the quarter.

Absences: No unexcused absences permitted. The instructor will excuse an absence ONLY if you provide a note from the University Health Service or the Dean. Your final grade will be dropped by 10% after three unexcused absences. After six absences, you will may be asked to withdraw from the class.

It is not the instructor’s responsibility to ask for an excuse, but yours to provide one; therefore, the instructor should be informed of any foreseeable absence before the class, and of all unforeseeable absences before the next class: please leave a note in the instructor’s mailbox in Wieboldt 205 or send an e-mail.

Lector sessions are mandatory: If you miss one due to circumstances beyond your control, try to get in another session for that week. Make sure that you tell both lectors (i.e., your lector and the lector whose class you would like to attend that week) what is happening.

Makeup Work: You are responsible for all coursework. In case of sickness, homework is still due on time. Quizzes and graded class activities cannot be rescheduled.

Plagiarism – Please see general college guidelines on plagiarism.  Study groups are acceptable, but reading, listening and writing assignments should be done solely by the person claiming them as his/her own.  Students should not get help from other people or from the Web on these assignments (N.B. it’s obvious when you’ve used a translation program), and should not recycle materials, whether it be their own (from a previous course) or someone else.  Sanctions vary from getting an F for the assignment to getting an F for the whole course. Whenever a suspicion arises Advisors are contacted

Grammar and vocabulary quizzes: Almost-daily quizzes will cover grammar and vocabulary material from homework assignments. Grammar homework is not graded so you must complete the homework on time in order to be prepared for the quizzes.

Writing assignments: You will complete five writing assignments during the quarter. Writing assignments must be typed and double-spaced.

Reading assignments: You will be reading 8 short excerpts and will have to answer questions on each one. Vocabulary based on these readings will be included in the quizzes.

Class participation: You are expected to come to class prepared to participate in all activities.

Listening comprehension activities: There will be 9 listening comprehension checks, 5 in the language lab and 4 in the classroom. In preparation to the 4 in class listening comprehension checks, you will be asked to go to the language lab and watch a segment of Cara al mundo beforehand. The Language Lab is located in the basement of the Social Sciences Building (702-7045). Alternatively, you can watch these segments on Chalk.

Speaking evaluation: You need to schedule an appointment for a short interview (20% of midterm grade) in your instructor’s office. Your instructor will give more details about this activity in class. In addition, speaking checks may occur on any day during normal in-class activities. The instructor may not inform you when the checks will occur, but you may ask for your grades on them at any time. During the 7^th and 10^th week, you lector will administer a second and third speaking evaluation. The last one will count towards your final exam grade.

Midterm and Final Exam: Exams will cover material from all class activities, including assignments, compositions, discussions, videos, tapes, etc. The grading for the final exam will be based on the following criteria while the midterm will be equivalent to half the value of the final:

Course Grade: The final grade will be based on the following criteria:

COURSE TEXTBOOKS (available at bookstore):
Visión y Voz, Textbook and CD or Tape Program
Optional: Visión y Voz, Workbook and Laboratory Manual
501 Spanish Verbs
English Grammar for Students of Spanish

All textbooks are on reserve at Regenstein Library, please contact the instructor if you have any problems finding them.