SPA 1A - Beginning Spanish
Instructor: Cristina Moon
Email Instructor cmoon@chabotcollege.edu
Instructor phone: 510-723-6600
Course Description
Beginning study and
practice in the basic foreign language learning skills: listening, speaking,
reading, composition, and culture in Spanish.
This class begins August 17th and ends December 19th
Spanish 1A satisfies several requirements (CSU/GE: Area C; AA/AS) and it is
UC and CSU transferable.
On-Campus Meetings
Students
will meet on campus Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:30 - 11:45 in Room 857.
Optional On-Campus Orientations
You can attend an OPTIONAL, on-campus
Orientation to Online Learning that
provides Blackboard log in instructions and help, an overview of the Blackboard
course management system, and tips on netiquette, time management, and study
skills for the online student. Attend any one of these sessions:
-
Monday, August 17th, 5:30-6:30 p.m., in Room 1602
-
Tuesday, August 18th, noon-1:00 p.m., in Room 1602
-
Wednesday, August 19th, 4:00-5:00 p.m., in Room 1618
-
Thursday, August 20th, noon-1:00 p.m., in Room 1602
-
Saturday, August 22nd, 10:00-11:00 a.m., in Room 1602
-
Monday, August 24th, 5:30-6:30 p.m., in Room 1602
Learn more about these
orientations,
which are NOT course-specific.
How This Class Operates
This is not a self-paced class; there are due dates throughout the semester that
you are expected to meet, just like in a traditional, face-to-face class.
The intent of a hybrid offering is to improve access for students and to
attract those that cannot meet the required 5 hours per week contact time of a
traditional face to face class. This hybrid format will enable more students to
take this course without loosing total contact with the instructor and other
students, but still offer a positive learning environment with a more flexible
schedule. Students will be required to attend on-campus meetings twice a week
for 2 1/2 hours and will be required to complete the assigned online material by
the due dates in order to receive full credit for the course. .
Course Objectives:
The objectives of this course are 1) to present an overview of the most
frequently used grammatical structures in Spanish; 2) to provide contexts and
situations in class that afford students the opportunity to practice these
structures; and 3) to offer an introduction to Hispanic culture. To accomplish
our objectives, the students are strongly encouraged to participate in all class
activities and to practice in the classroom as well as online to develop their
speaking, listening, writing and reading skills.
Description of methodology:
Although the textbook will have the grammar explanations in English, the class
will be conducted entirely in Spanish. All skills- speaking, understanding,
reading and writing - will be acquired through the use of Spanish.
This semester we will cover capítulo preliminar and capítulos 1-9 of the
textbook.
Students taken this hybrid course should be expected to:
--study even more than a fully on-campus course (Students who do well in
online/hybrid courses typically have very good study skills, are very
self-directed,
able to create and stick
to a firm study schedule. If you find it hard to learn on your own or without
attending lectures, this course might not be right for you)
--have access to a computer with Internet connection and speakers. Because of
the number of sound and video files, there might be some plug-ins that will
have to be installed in
the computer (in the “Online Learning trek” document you will find instructions
how to find these plug-ins)
--attend 2 sessions of 1 hour and 15 minutes each a week.
--have read and studied the assigned pages before coming to each session.
--come prepared to take a short quiz at the beginning of each session.
--complete all assigned material (homework, exams, online postings, etc) by due
dates.
--dedicate at least 10 hours a week outside of our on-campus meetings.
--converse at least 1 hour a week by attending group meetings with the TA or by
completing online assignments (bulletin board, chat room, etc).
There will not
be any MAKE-UPS. No credit for any late assignments.
Textbook Information
Contact the instructor for more
information regarding textbook.
How Students are Graded
I. Quizzes: at 10:30 am sharp there will be a 5 minutes quiz on the
assigned pages. There will not be any MAKE-UPS so please don't be late to class.
II. Compositions: the composition and the oral presentations have the same
topics and due dates. There will be 4 compositions that must follow the
instructions below. Each will be:
-1/2 page in length (about 100 words)
-double space.
-Each composition should be clearly labeled with: name, class, composition #,
and date.
- If a composition does not follow each one of these instructions, it will be
returned.
Late compositions: per 1 class late = penalty of one letter grade.
You will be graded as follows:
A. Content (20%): did you follow all the instructions and answer ALL the
questions?
B. Mastery of grammar (20%): did you use the correct grammar structure? (correct
verb, tense, mode, spelling, agreement)
C. Mastery of vocabulary (20%):: did you use the correct word? did you use only
Spanish? If you use English or words that do not exist, you will be penalized.
D. Punctuation (20%):: did you put the accent where it should be?
E. Structure/organization (20%):: did the sentences connect as a coherent
paragraph? did it have an introduction and a conclusion?
III. Oral presentations: there will be 4 in-class oral presentations on the
dates listed below.
- Each should be at least 1 minute in length.
- There will be a 10% penalty for reading and for being less than 1 minute in
length.
- The presentations will only be done in class on the scheduled dates.
- There will be NO MAKE-UP for oral presentations.
Succeeding in an Online Course
Students who succeed in online courses tend to be independent, self-motivated
learners with good computer skills. If you are a procrastinator who relies
heavily on the instructor for motivation, or can't use a computer too well, you
should probably consider enrolling in a face-to-face course instead.
Or, you might consider enrolling in our
Introduction to Online Learning course (GNST-4910), which
provides an overview of online learning and equips you to succeed in your first
online class.
Don't enroll in this class if you believe the myth that learning
online requires less effort than learning face-to-face.
This course
covers the same content and has similar activities as the face-to-face version
of the course; only the method of delivery changes.
Blackboard
This course will use the Blackboard course management system as its virtual
classroom. To learn how to log in to Blackboard, go to the
How to Begin an Online Course page. Once you
enroll, you will not be able to log in until the first day of class.
Students are expected to become familiar with the use and operation of
Blackboard functions and are encouraged to attend an orientation session
provided by the Distance Education program at Chabot College. In addition, the
professor provides a general unit on "How to Navigate in Blackboard" for
students to understand how to use the major features the professor employs.
Assignments to be completed online: (Blackboard)
I. Online Chapter Exams: there will be 8 online exams. NO MAKE-UP exams will be
given.
Instructions for online exams:
**each exam may be taken once anytime within a 48 hour "window" (usually from
Monday at 10:00 pm until Wednesday at 10:00 pm) , depending on your own schedule
and preference. But once that "window" is closed, you will not be able to take
the exam. PLEASE mark your calendars. Missed exams cannot be made up. If you are
having technical difficulties please let me know ASAP.
**once you start the exam, you will only have 45 minutes to complete it. Please
time yourself because if you don't finish on-time, the exam will automatically
end. You will NOT be able to stop it and continue later. You MUST finish the
exam or it will be mark as incomplete and you will receive NO credit for the
incomplete portion.
**REMEMBER to click "save" and "submit" after you finish the exam or your
answers will be erased.
Each chapter exam may include oral comprehension, multiple choice, matching, and
fill-in the blanks questions as well as short essay questions.
II. Homework:
Quia electronic Student Activities Manual: homework will be assigned by chapters
and they will be due on the date you take the chapter exam. For example, you
must complete all the Quia homework for chapter 2 in order to take the exam # 2.
You will need to pace yourself to complete the homework because most chapters
have an average of 20 activities.
III. Final exam: will be comprehensive and will be online
Participation/Attendance:
I. In-class participation/attendance :
**only active participation counts (being in class physically does not
necessarily mean you are participating)
**2 lates = 1 absent (more than 15 minutes late will be considered an absent)
**if you have more than 5 unexcused absents, you could be dropped of the class.
II. Conversation: at least 1 hour a week outside of class time
Option A: Weekly Group Meetings with the TA or
Option B: Online participation
Option A: a 1 hour weekly meeting with the TA
**You will converse only in Spanish for one hour a week on different cultural
topics.
** You will receive a grade for attendance and the quality of participation
**Note: if you leave early, you will be only received credit for the time you
were present. If for any reason that particular week you can not attend your
group meeting, 1) you can go to another group meeting or 2) participate in the
virtual group. YOU MUST let us know in advance.
Option B: a 1 hour weekly online assignment.
You will be required to participate in Spanish on the online discussion board
and the online laboratory work at least one hour a week. After reading the
weekly assignment, you will have to post your comment on the online discussion
board and then, respond to at least one post from another student. You must
answer all the questions in complete sentences, in Spanish, and using correct
grammar (including accents).
Grade breakdown:
Online chapter exams 20%
In-class quizzes 15%
Compositions/Oral presentations 15% Online Homework 15%
In-class Participation/Attendance 10%
Conversational and cultural activities w/TA 10%
Final exam 15%
TOTAL 100%
A 100-90% CR C or better
B 89-80% NC D or F
C 79-70%
D 69-60%
F 59-below
