SPANISH 1002--Elementary Spanish

 

Dr. K. Guffey                                                                         If you are in Learning Support Reading

Academic Building, Office D                                                            or English, you are not allowed to take

Phone: 678-359-5232                                                              Spanish until you have completed that/

            k_guffey@gdn.edu                                                    those course(s).

Office hours: TR  10:45-12:30; 2:50-3:30; 4:45-6:20

Textbook: Arriba (not required; search for a used copy if you’d like to have a hardcopy for reference)

 

Objectives: By the end of the course, the student will be able to greet someone in Spanish and convey basic concrete information about topics such as studies, hobbies, and food.  He will be able to participate in simple exchanges with educated native speakers of Spanish.  The methods include formal study of vocabulary and grammar with daily application to all four areas of language use: reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

 

Absences: THREE absences, excused or unexcused, are allowed.  That is, the student's first three absences need not be explained to the instructor.  Every absence after the first three, however, must be excused.  That means that if, for example, you are in the hospital and miss three classes, your fourth absence, as well as all subsequent absences, must be excused.  In case of illness, the student must present a doctor's excuse.  Besides illness, only emergency situations, such as a death in the family, will be considered excused absences, and the student must present written proof of the emergency.  An absence due to your job is NOT an excused absence.  An absence due to a lack of a ride to school/a need to leave early to catch a ride is NOT an excused absence.  If you are a parent, only an excuse from your child’s doctor will be accepted for an absence involving your child.  Inability to find a babysitter is NOT an acceptable excuse.  Any absence due to participation in any official Gordon College activity is, of course, an excused absence. 

 

Every unexcused absence after the third absence will result in a 5% lowering of the student's final grade.  That is, a fourth absence will lower the grade 5%, a fifth will lower it an additional 5%, a sixth an additional 5%, etc.  If, for example, a student with a 93% average has six absences, the last three of which were unexcused, his grade will drop from 93% to 78%.  IT IS THE STUDENT’S RESPONSIBILITY TO PRESENT A WRITTEN EXCUSE.  If the instructor is required to return the excuse to the student, he must watch her record the excuse before taking the excuse back.  Absences count from the day that the student’s name appears on the instructor’s roll. 

 

Tardiness: Three tardies count as one absence.  If a student arrives 15 minutes late, he is considered absent.  Students may not leave class early without the instructor’s permission.  If you do leave class without the instructor’s permission, even if it is only a few seconds early, you will be marked absent.

 

Failure to attend class: Any student who ceases to attend class should go to the registrar’s office to take the appropriate steps to withdraw.  If he fails to officially drop the class, he will receive a WF in the course.  THE FINAL DATE TO DROP A COURSE WITHOUT A PENALTY IS Oct. 8.  If you drop the course after that date, you will receive a WF in the course.

 

Tests and Quizzes: The student may miss one quiz, one test, and one dialogue.  Because you are allowed to miss them, NO MAKE-UP TESTS OR QUIZZES WILL BE GIVEN, even if your absence is excused.  If you miss one quiz and/or one test and/or one dialogue, you will not have any zeros recorded.  However, any additional tests, quizzes, or dialogues missed FOR ANY REASON will be recorded as zeros.  If the student does not miss any tests, quizzes, or dialogues, the lowest of each will be dropped.  THE SCHEDULE MAY CHANGE AT ANY MOMENT, AND YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR FINDING OUT ANY CHANGES IN THE SCHEDULE.  If you are absent on Monday, for example, and a quiz or test or presentation not on the schedule is assigned for Wed., you will be required to take it on Wednesday.  It is YOUR responsibility to find out what you miss in class.

 

 

Oral tests and presentations are exceptions to the “no make-ups” rule.  However, all oral tests and presentations must be made up by Nov. 24.  It is your responsibility to arrange a time for the make-up and then remind the instructor the day of the presentation if it is done in class.  The instructor will not remind you that you have missed an oral test or presentation.  Also, if you are hospitalized or diagnosed with a contagious ailment, you may receive special consideration.  All such illnesses must be well documented, however.

 

Sports:  If you are absent due to participation in an official Gordon College game, you may take quizzes and tests BEFORE the day they are scheduled to be given.  You may not make up a quiz or test AFTER an absence due to a game.  The only exception is if the coach schedules a game with less than 24 hours’ notice. 

 

Following is the makeup of the oral exam grades:

 

Dialogue presentations:

 

You will be graded on your pronunciation, phrasing, and how well you have the dialogue memorized.

 

Individual exam:

 

10 points for each of the following categories: how well you understand the question, how well I understand your response, grammar, variety of vocabulary

 

36-40 points    A

31-35 points   B

26-30 points    C

21-25 points    D

Fewer than 21 points       F

 

Show and tell:

 

10 point for each of the following categories: comprehensibility, pronunciation, grammar, variety of vocabulary.  Up to 10 points will be deducted if you read or partially read your presentation.  You may have a 3” x 5” card with FIVE key words at which you may GLANCE.  YOU MAY NOT ASK THE INSTRUCTOR FOR HELP (including “how do you say . . .”) IN CLASS THE DAY OF THE PRESENTATION.

 

36-40 points    A

31-35 points   B

26-30 points    C

21-25 points    D

Fewer than 21 points       F

 

Quizzes:  You will be required to use a sheet of your own paper for each quiz.  You may have only one sheet of paper on your desk.  If you have more than one, even if they are blank, they will be confiscated during the quiz.

 

Cheating: If you copy an answer onto your test or quiz from another student, a cheat sheet, a book, a cell phone, the palm of your hand, or anywhere else, you will receive a 0 on that quiz or test.  If there is any object with any material on the test or quiz within your reach during the test, you will receive a 0 on that test or quiz.  For example, if you are sitting on a paper with test/quiz material on it, you will receive a 0 even if you protest that you did not know that it was there and certainly were not using it.  If you commit any other action that constitutes cheating, you will receive a 0.  You may also be expelled from the course or receive an F in the course, actions that are at the discretion of the instructor and the division head.  If you cheat on a mid-term or final exam, you will receive an F in the course.

 

 

 

 

Math Section: If the instructor ever refers you to the math section on the syllabus, this is it:

 

Rarely are there 100 points on any test.  Therefore, the number at the top of your test is your PERCENTAGE, not the actual number that are correct.  If you have -6 at the top of your paper but a 90%, don’t go to the instructor and say, “Shouldn’t this be a 94, since I only missed 6?”  You missed 6 out of 60, not 6 out of 100.  That’s 10%.  To find percentages, you multiply the number missed by 100 and divide by the number of total points on the test.  That is, if you missed six out of 60 points, you multiply 6 by 100 (=600) and then divide 600 by 60 (=10) and deduct that from 100 (=90%) to get your score. 

 

Homework:  Virtually all homework is on my website (www.gdn.edu/faculty/k_guffey).  The exercises have due dates that correlate to when the material is taught and are interactive.  (For example, a homework exercise over the regular present tense will be due the day after the grammar lesson on the regular present tense.)  “My computer/printer/mouse/electricity isn’t working” is not an acceptable excuse for not completing homework on time.  Students will receive no credit for handwritten work.  You must type answers in the blanks and then click “check.”  You receive credit for having done the homework, not for how many you have correct.  Therefore, it is ridiculous to lose points (homework counts 10% of your grade) for not having homework completed.  It should be evident that that anyone wanting a good grade in the class should ALWAYS have his homework done.

 

Besides losing points if he does not have his homework on a day it is collected, the student will find that he is unable to master the material if he waits until the night before a test to do his homework rather than doing it on a DAILY BASIS.  

 

Group assignments: Sometimes you will be told to converse with another person in Spanish.  If you fail to do so, you will have a 0 averaged into your homework grade that day.

 

Classroom behavior:  You may not eat in class.  This includes sandwiches, chips, candy, and all other types of food.  Failure to schedule a lunch period is not an excuse for eating in class.

 

You are not allowed to use the classroom printer without permission from the instructor.

 

Turn your cell phone off before entering class.  The instructor may confiscate your phone and hold it until the next class day if it rings in class and may answer it.  Do not answer your cell phone.  If you answer it, check your messages, or do text messaging, you will lose FIVE points off your final average.

 

If you are caught defacing/destroying property (e.g., writing on desks), you will be sent IMMEDIATELY to the Student Affairs office.  You will be marked absent for that day, and if you are working on a test or quiz, you will not be allowed to finish it.

 

Students are not allowed to use offensive language in class.  This includes “four-letter words” as well as words that may offend others because of religious beliefs.

 

Computer exercises: Frequently in class we will do computer exercises.  Your user name is the following:

 

First initial    last initial      DAY of birth (2 digits)   MONTH of birth (2 digits)   6th & 7th digits of SS#

                                                                                                                                      123-45-6789

 

Your password is the last six digits on the BACK of your student ID.  At some point you will be prompted to change your password.  Change it to a word you can remember, because after that, only YOU will know what your password is.

 

Any day that we do work on the computer and you can’t get logged in, YOU WILL HAVE A ZERO AVERAGED INTO YOUR HOMEWORK GRADE.  The reason for your failure is unimportant; if you can’t get logged into a computer and the instructor CAN get logged into the computer, you get a zero.

 

Warning:  Students may open only applications assigned by the teacher.  If work on the internet is assigned, they may go only to internet sites assigned by the instructor.  If the instructor finds other applications open finds the student opening a web page not assigned, that student will lose 5 points off his final average in the class.  He will lose five points each time he is caught opening non-assigned applications or web sites on the computer.

 

Special assignments: The instructor may assign you exercises while she is out of town.  “I couldn’t figure it out” is not an acceptable excuse; figure it out ahead of time.  If you are assigned an exercise to turn in the day that the instructor is absent and you fail to do so, YOU WILL BE COUNTED ABSENT FOR THAT CLASS.

 

Grade notification:  Students always receive their graded tests back the class day after they take them, so do not e-mail or call the instructor asking for the grade any earlier.  Going to her office to ask for the information is fine.  Instructors are not permitted to e-mail final exam grades or final grades, to give out that information over the phone, or to post the grades, so please do not ask.  Grades are posted on Banner very soon after exams are over.

 

DO NOT CALL THE INSTRUCTOR AT HOME.  If you have a problem or question about the class, please see the instructor on campus.  You may come by during office hours, make an appointment, send an e-mail message, or leave a message on the office door.  You will lose 5 points from your final average if you call the instructor at home.

 


Grading:                                                         

 

Homework                                          10%    

Quizzes and/or compositions              20%    

Oral presentations and/or exams         10%    

Tests                                                    20%

Mid-term exam                                   20%    

Final exam                                           20%

 

   Scale:

 

  A  90-100

  B  80-89.99

  C  70-79.99

  D  60-69.99

  F  below 60


 

 

Final Exam—Thurs., Dec. 10, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Spanish 1002—Fall 2009

Assignments are due on the day beneath which they fall.


 

Tuesday, Aug. 18

 

Thurs., Aug. 20

 

Tues., Aug. 25

Due: dar/decir; iindir. obj. pron.

 

Thurs., Aug. 27

Quiz 6a

Due: Gustar etc.

 

Tues., Sept. 1

Dialogue

Quiz 6b

Due: Negation

 

Thurs., Sept. 3

TEST

 

Tues., Sept. 8

Yes, we have class

 

Thurs., Sept. 10

Quiz 7

Due: preterit 1

Hmwk: dialogue 7; prêt. 2

 

Tues., Sept. 15

Dialogue

Due: preterit 2

 

Thurs., Sept. 17

Quiz—REGULAR preterit

Due: preterit 3

 

Tues., Sept. 22

TEST

 

Thurs., Sept. 24

MID-TERM

 

Tues., Sept. 29

Yes, we have class.

 

Thurs., Oct. 1

Quiz 8

Due: imperfect

 

Tues., Oct. 6

Due: Preterit and Imperfect

 

 

Thurs., Oct. 8

Dialogue

Due: Impersonal Se

 

Thurs., Oct. 15

TEST

 

Tues., Oct. 20

Yes, we have class.

 

Thurs., Oct. 22

Quiz 9

Due: subjunctive formation

 

Tues., Oct. 27

ORAL EXAM

 

Thurs., Oct. 29

Dialogue

Due: Use of Subjunctive

 

Tues., Nov. 3

Due: Use of Subjunctive 2, Use of Subj. 3

 

Thurs., Nov. 5

TEST

 

Tues., Nov. 10

Show and Tell

 

Thurs., Nov. 12

Due: Adverbs

 

Tues., Nov. 17

Quiz 10a

Due: Prepositional pronouns; Prepositional pronouns et al.

 

Thurs., Nov. 19

Quiz 10b

Due: Nosotros Commands

 

Tues., Nov. 24

TEST

 

Tues., Dec. 1

Show and Tell 2

 

Thurs., Dec. 3

Review