Español 301.003: Español avanzado                                                 Oficina: PH 2325
Otoño 2005                                                                                         Teléfono: 650-2146
Dra. Kathleen Bueno                                                                         Horas de consulta: los lunes y
TBA                                                                                                     jueves de 3:30-4:30;
<kbueno@siue.edu>                                                                           martes de 10:00-11:00; también
                                                                                                             se aceptan citas.

Descripción del curso: This course is the one of the most advanced language skill development courses required for Spanish majors and minors. The course provides experiences to promote the development of the advanced reading, writing, listening and speaking skills needed to effectively participate in all other advanced courses. One-two class sessions per week will be devoted to practicing communicative functions, such as narration in the past, detailed description, talking about possibilities for the future, making comparisons, and stating hypotheses about topics of current interest. Some weekly sessions will be dedicated to the discussion of the novel El cuarto de atrás by the contemporary Spanish author Carmen Martín Gaite. In addition, students will be required to spend 100 minutes each week of laboratory time. The lab assignments provide students opportunities to further develop reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. At the end of the course, all students will take the Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview.  This is a required, recorded interview that assesses the student’s oral proficiency level. Since the course focuses on developing advanced level proficiency in all four language skills and includes the study of a novel, students are advised of the intense nature of the course and of the time, dedication and effort it will require. While a grade of C is the minimum grade accepted for a major or minor, past experience has demonstrated that students earning a grade of B or higher are more successful in completing the requirements for the major or minor.

Libros de texto: The following books must be purchased for this course:

Iglesias, Mario and Walter Meiden. Spanish For Oral and Written Review. Holt Rinehart and Winston-Harcourt Brace College Publishers, Fort Worth, TX, 1995.

Martín Gaite, Carmen.  El cuarto de atrás  Edición

Classes devoted to language proficiency development: Students will be expected to complete the written grammar exercises before the class. These exercises should be legible, written in blue ink, black ink, pencil or word processed. In addition, students should leave a blank line between sentences to allow for corrections and/or notes to be added. For students who choose to word process these assignments, regular double space is sufficient.  The pages should be stapled or joined by a paper clip. The exercises will be collected periodically. Papers not adhering to these specifications may be deemed unacceptable.

Literature Classes: For class sessions devoted to the discussion of the novel, students will be expected to compose three questions in Spanish over the assigned pages of the novel. I will collect the questions at the beginning of the class. The questions may address issues regarding the plot, but they should elicit discussion not merely a yes or no confirmation. Consider the examples below:

"Bad" question: ¿Es simbólico el título de la novela?

"Good" question:  ¿Cuál será el simbolismo del título de la novela?
 
Students are expected to participate actively in class discussions in Spanish. Keep in mind that this will be much easier to do if the readings are prepared in advance.

Metas del curso: The goal of this course is to provide students experiences that facilitate the development of advanced level skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Attainment of advance level proficiency skills depends on a variety of factors including the student's current proficiency level, the number of hours devoted to language practice a week, motivation and language aptitude. The following objectives serve as a framework for the design of the course:

1. Students will demonstrate the ability to understand most face-to-face speech in a standard Spanish dialect at normal rate of speech with some repetition by participating in classroom discussions and in conversations during "tertulia."

2. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the main ideas and most supporting details of Spanish discourse dealing with factual materials relating to everyday topics, with abstract topics in familiar contexts and with descriptions and narrations of factual material and nontechnical prose y viewing videos and completing a one page written summary in Spanish of each video viewed.

3. Students will demonstrate the ability to give simple oral reports that include narrating and describing in present, past and future time by preparing through readings on the Internet, writing "fichas" and delivering a eight to ten minute report on a topic of the student's interest on video tape or on CD.

4. Students will demonstrate the ability to participate in casual conversations in Spanish employing accurate elementary grammar and a good general vocabulary by participating in classroom discussions and in videotaped conversations based on conversation cards assignments.

5. Students will demonstrate the ability to write cohesive summaries in Spanish employing sufficient vocabulary for self-expression with good control of basic grammar by writing summaries of videos and by writing journal entries.

6. Students will demonstrate the ability to write compositions of several relatively cohesive paragraphs and that feature detailed descriptions and narrations in past, present and future by completing drafts and final copies of two 2-3 page papers in Spanish over the novel studied in class.

7. Students will demonstrate the ability to understand the main ideas and supporting details of short narratives in Spanish by preparing on videotape or CD an oral report based on newspaper, magazine and other print media in Spanish available on the Internet.

8. Students will demonstrate the ability to understand the basic plot of a novel by 1) identifying most details relating to who what, when, where and why, b) by generally guessing unknown vocabulary from context and 3) by increasingly identifying correctly additional details regarding characterization and subplots in class discussions, exams and in compositions.

Criterios evaluativos: The final grade for the course will be determined by the completion of the following course requirements. These requirements will be weighted as indicated below.
 

Compositions (2)                                             20%

Midterm Exam                                                 20%

Class attendance, grammar
exercises, and class participation                      15%

Lab work and attendance                                25%

Final exam                                                      20%

Make-ups: No make-ups will be given for in-class activities or quizzes. Make-up exams will be given only for absences excused by me prior to the scheduled exam time. Excused absences include illness or emergencies only. The instructor may require a doctor's excuse or other written documentation. Please note that work or oversleeping are not excused absences. (Please plan your schedule carefully so that you can meet the requirements of the course.)

Absences: Attendance is required. For your own benefit and as a courtesy to your classmates, please come to class on time. (Chronic tardiness will be reflected in the portion of the grade labeled "attendance.")

Incompletes: "I" will only be given in extreme emergencies. (See SlUE's policy in Undergrad. Cataloq.)

Academic Honesty: Any form of cheating, plagiarism, copying homework, or answers on tests will cause the student to receive a grade of zero for the particular assignment or examination. Further appropriate actions for student academic misconduct may be taken in accordance with the guidelines included in SlUE's Student Conduct & Student Grievances: Rights and Responsibilities.

Cell Phones:  If you carry a cell phone with you, it should be turned off before entering class.  If you need to be contacted during class time for urgent calls (sick child, elderly parent, or other emergencies), please set the phone on vibrate and take the call outside the classroom. 
 

Lab Requirement		Course Outline