SPANISH 001 (15580)                                                FALL 2020                  ELEMENTARY SPANISH I – 5 UNITS

Professor: Kirsten A. Thorne, PhD                                                                 Email: thorneka@piercecollege.edu

Class: Online                                                               VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS: MONDAYS from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Available by ZOOM! Send request for code. 

   

COURSE INFORMATION

 

Students learn the basics of authentic language in communicative contexts and develop their listening, speaking, reading, and writing proficiency at the Novice to Low Intermediate levels. No knowledge of Spanish is expected or required for Spanish 1. IF YOU SPEAK SPANISH AT HOME or have taken Spanish courses in high school or college, please take either Spanish 35 (for Heritage speakers of Spanish) or Spanish 2 or 3 (depending upon your proficiency and the courses that you have taken before). HIGHER LEVEL COURSES COUNT FOR TRANSFER. YOU DO NOT NEED TO TAKE SPANISH 1 if you already speak Spanish or have some knowledge of the language based upon your prior education in the language. 

Upon successful completion of this course students are able to use basic grammar--present and present progressive tenses, preterit in past narration, as well as express intentions for future actions-- in conversation and writing, and understand spoken Spanish at the Novice High level. Students expand their awareness of the cultural diversity of the Spanish-speaking world. The course is conducted in Spanish and sometimes English, when required at the beginning and for comprehension of grammar points. Students are encouraged and expected to use Spanish as much as possible in their class interactions.

Prerequisite: None

Placement Advisory

Fluent Spanish speakers who have not had formal instruction in Spanish should enroll in Spanish 35. Students who have completed Spanish 35 should enroll in Spanish 36. Student who have completed four years of high-school Spanish should enroll in Spanish 3 or Spanish 36. Advanced or native Spanish speakers should enroll in Spanish 4 or Spanish 37.

For additional placement information, consult with the Modern Languages Department (818) 719-6452

 

About Online Courses

Some students have the misconception that it is better to take an online course if you are too busy and don’t have the time to dedicate to a college class. This could not be further from the truth! If you make the commitment to take a college course, you should be honest and ask yourself if you really have the time it requires to be successful. If you don’t, this does not mean that an online course is the solution to your problem; you should enroll at another time.

Another misconception is that when you take an online course, you go at your own pace. This is not true. This course follows a detailed course calendar with due dates to which students must adhere.

This online Spanish course requires you to watch videos, record and upload videos for the class to see and respond to, make voice recordings and many other things that require an updated computer. The last thing I want is for you to be frustrated by technology, so please make sure to do the following before beginning this course:

 

Make sure your email address is updated in Canvas so that you will get all of my emails.

About Computer Readiness Click HERE (Links to an external site.) to update your browser and plug ins required to fully participate in class.

COURSE MATERIALS

• Computer (desktop or laptop)
• Webcam, microphone, and speakers or earphones/pods
• Blanco, José, et al. Vistas 6th Ed. Boston: Vista Higher Learning, 2020.
• Things to keep in mind when purchasing course materials:
• Do not buy a used book from an outside source; you will still be required to buy a code to access the online activities and these codes can only be used once by one student.
• For special pricing options, use this link to purchase your materials: https://vistahigherlearning.com/school/lapiercecollege (Links to an external site.)
• You will be prompted to create an account, be sure to remember your user name and password as you will need these to access all of the course materials.
• ONLINE HOMEWORK CODE IS REQUIRED FOR THE COURSE. 

 

• Here are the pricing options: CHOOSE THE DIGITAL FORMAT CODE ONLY IF YOU’RE ONLY TAKING SPANISH 1

 

1. Spanish 1/2/3/4 CODE-ONLY, Supersite Plus/webSAM access for 6 months, $95.00 to student

 

• Spanish 1/2/3/4: Vistas 6e Full book, loose-leaf format with Supersite Plus/webSAM access for 36 months $144. 

 

 

SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS

 

If you need special accommodations in this class, please contact Special Services in order to coordinate the help you need. The office is located on the first floor of the Student Services Building. Please follow this link for more information on available services: http://www.piercecollege.edu/offices/special_services/ (Links to an external site.) Phone:(818) 719-6430 / VP Number: (818) 436-0467

 

SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES

At the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Express themselves with greater confidence in various every day practical situations
• Ask and answer questions, express and discuss concepts using present and past tenses
• Use appropriate vocabulary for such topics as school, vacations, travel, sports, and family relationships
• Communicate orally and in writing at a novice high to intermediate low level.

 

 

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

 

1. Demonstrate NOVICE HIGH oral proficiency as measured by the ACTFL rubric.
2. Satisfactory knowledge of culture appropriate to course content and objectives.

 

GRADING CRITERIA

 

The final grade is calculated by percentages and not by total points. This means that certain categories carry a heavier “weight” than others. Please see the pie graph below to understand how your grade will be calculated.

 

Overall, you will earn 

(40%) thirty percent for Homework and Practice Assignments

(50%) forty percent for ASSESSMENT (exams, quizzes, compositions, Discussions, or any other assigned work)

(10%) ten percent Final Oral Exam

 

The content of the quizzes--and Assessment in general--is directly correlated to homework and practice activities and information in each of the lessons from 1 to 6.  Therefore, your success in the Assessments is connected to your active participation and engagement in class activities.

 

The FINAL ASSESSMENT must be submitted no later than December 16th before midnight. Please mark your calendars and save the date. No changes can be made to this date and time. Any conflicts must be addressed well in advance of this date.

 

GRADING SCALE:

A=90-100            B=80-89             C=70-79              D=60-69             F=59 and below

 

About Homework and Practice Assignments (40% of Your Grade)

This is the bulk of the activities that will be completed as the term advances. These activities include vocabulary, grammar and cultural lessons, tutorials, and practice activities. Homework and practice activities vary in the number of attempts allowed—make sure to locate the grading criteria for any given particular assignment on the top right corner of the window where the assignment is to be completed. REMEMBER THAT YOUR OVERALL PERCENTAGE ON THE HOMEWORK THROUGH VHL COUNTS. It is not just a matter of completing the homework, but of scoring well.  

Assessment (50% of Your Grade)

Before you can communicate freely in Spanish, you must understand the structure and mechanics of the language. Each quiz, Discussion, or other assignment provides an opportunity to assess how well you understand the basic structure of the language. Assessment may include listening comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension and/or writing. If you don’t complete any Assessment by the deadline, you will receive a grade of 0. All written assessments will take place in Canvas. I do not allow students to make up exams.

Final Oral Evaluation

The final evaluation is a video upload. The Assignment will instruct you to open only when ready to complete your video by answering all questions in the prompt. You will not be able to prepare answers in advance or review the material. The purpose is to test your ability to ask/answer questions without prior preparation, as to simulate a more "real world" scenario. 

 

About Due Dates in VHL Central Supersite

Every week you will complete various activities in Canvas and the VHL Central Supersite. You will be responsible for the following:

 

• Mondays by 11:59pm: Activities due in Canvas and/or VHL Central Supersite EVERY WEEK!

 

About Late Work

My role as your instructor is to spend as much time engaging with every student. My time is valuable (as is yours), and I want to spend it teaching you Spanish and not fielding individual problems that often times can be avoided. I have spent a lot of time putting together your course calendar, record the dates on your own calendar and make it top priority to adhere to them. I do not accept late work because it is not only unfair to me, but it is unfair to the students who have been responsible and completed their assignments on time. As a student, you are preparing yourself for the real world, in the real world; employers do not give time extensions so, please do not ask!

IMPORTANT! It is very easy to tell when someone is cheating on camera. It is easy to see eyes moving across a screen or looking down or side to side to check your notes, so please don’t try it. There is a zero tolerance for cheating. Prepare for the exam and look directly into the camera during this exam. I do not want to have to go down an ugly road and give anyone a zero if I suspect that you are cheating.

About How I Provide Feedback to You

As I mentioned earlier, I encourage you to go into the VHL Supersite (Vistas) and view my updated grades and written and/or oral feedback. Since this is an online class, this is one of the few ways to receive instructor feedback. You do not have the advantage of being in class with me 5 hours a week to receive constant and immediate feedback. The best way to learn is from your own mistakes. I will provide feedback on VHL in the comments sections. VHL will notify you that there is feedback awaiting your review under “notifications” on your dashboard.

One more thing to keep in mind: if you want feedback/explanation/help with a particular activity on the VHL Supersite (Vistas), simply click on the “Ask your Instructor” link, highlight the exercise that is giving you trouble, and type in your question. I will respond quickly.

About How I communicate with You

There is a weekly overview page that explains what you need to do for the week. I will provide links to all information for easy access. I usually upload a video every week that explains what you need to do for the week and the skills we are working on. 

About Communicating with Me via E-mail

Please use the CANVAS email for all communications with me, unless you have a personal problem that you do not wish to share with other students in the class. In that case, you may e-mail me directly to thorneka@piercecollege.edu or via the Inbox option in Canvas. When you send e-mail, please put the title of this course and the topic you are writing about in the "Subject" line (for example: Online Spanish 101, Composition 2). I will respond to you within 24 hours.

 

Also, as e-mail names often do not describe the name of the student, please start all e-mail messages with your full name for easy identification and communication. It is highly recommended that you copy yourself (CC) when sending an e-mail in the rare event that your message gets lost in Cyberspace.

 

About Tutoring

Free Spanish tutoring is available; please contact me for more information. 

 

About Academic Honesty

There is a zero-tolerance policy for cheating at Pierce College. If it comes to the attention of the instructor that a student is part of an episode of cheating or has plagiarized any material she/he turns in for a grade, a recommendation for disciplinary action will be given to the Dean of Students.

Cheating is copying material from the work of another student.  Cheating is using concealed material during an exam.  Cheating is checking the Internet for answers to questions or prompts. Cheating is having someone else write material that does not have the author’s name on it. Cheating is having someone else complete online activities and exams in your place. Plagiarism includes using any material that you do not quote, or for which you do not give due credit to the original author in any work you turn in for a grade. If you include sources from the Internet in your work, it must be cited, as you would do for any book, magazine, journal or any other document. Any work you turn in that includes outside material not correctly cited will receive a zero and a recommendation for disciplinary action. 

About Netiquette

Online etiquette is extremely important. We must show respect to one another at all times. Rudeness and disrespect will not be tolerated in this course. Please recognize that communication is rather "flat" online where we cannot see and hear each other. So be cautious when using sarcasm or negative statements. Whenever possible, give constructive criticism and treat others the way you would like to be treated

 

About the Drop Policy

Students who are inactive will be dropped from the course. If an entire week goes by with no activity on your part either through email communication or submission of VHL activities, you will be dropped from the course. Therefore, it is imperative that you let me know if, for some reason, your contribution to the class will be interrupted.

¡OJO! During the first week of class, I will check to see that you have accessed the course in Canvas. If by the end of the first day of the semester you have not logged on to Canvas, I will send you an e-mail letting you know that you are in danger of being dropped from the course.

If you do not respond in some way, I will drop you from the course by the end of the first day. This may seem harsh, but there are always long wait lists for this course and I would like to give seats to students who are serious about successfully completing the course.

 

LEARNING SUPPORT at Pierce College

More information about these services can be found online at: http://www.piercecollege.edu/pierce_students.asp (Links to an external site.) and in print in the current Pierce College Schedule of Classes.

*************MORE INFORMATION (might be a bit repetitive, but just in case)*************

Time Allocation (for asynchronous classes)

This is a 5-unit class. The general recommendation is to budget approximately 12-15 hours per week. This allocation includes completing the vhlcentral.com homework, preparing and submitting assignments here on Canvas. 

You also need to budget additional time if you need to familiarize yourself with the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) and additional technical skills needed to complete assignments. You may need additional time depending on your level of comfort with technology. 

Webcam [and Microphone] 

Despite being an asynchronous class, the pedagogical approach to SUBJECT ### is a highly interactive and interpersonal. We will interact asynchronously using various Canvas tools and external tools, such as GoReact/VoiceThread. You should expect to use a webcam [and microphone] for a significant number of assignments. 

Accommodations for Special Needs 

For accommodations due to a special need, please contact Special Services to register for an Intake Interview and coordinate the help you need. All accommodations must be authorized by this office. 

During COVID-19 restrictions, all interactions are conducted via Cranium Café. 

There are some in-person services as well. If you are on campus, please see below: 

• Location: first floor of the Student Services Building 
• Phone: (818) 719-6430 / VP Number: (818) 436-0467