Course Information

Course Description:

Spanish 1010 is a beginning level course covering elementary grammar, pronunciation, and conversation.   Material is presented through the use of videotape, online presentations, online exercises, online practice quizzes, and online exams.  Students demonstrate pronunciation and conversational skills by preparing an audiotape documenting their progress through the course.  The course includes audio and video components that allow the student to hear vocabulary and pronunciation and exams include both written questions as well as listening/audio questions requiring the student to translate spoken statements.

Course Objectives:

Spanish 1010 Web Course is designed to develop communicative proficiency in listening-comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing skills. The course combines content language learning with interactive tasks to help students understand basic Spanish dialogue.

Prerequisites and Co requisites:

None, but the student should be able to use a computer and browse the Internet.

Course Topics:

Capítulo Preliminar 
Chapter One - En la universidad (At the University)
Chapter Two - La familia (Family Life)
Chapter Three - De compras (Shopping)
Chapter Four - En casa (At Home)
Chapter Five - Las estaciones, el tiempo y un poco de geografía (Seasons of the Year, Weather and A Little Bit Of Geography)

Specific Course Requirements:

Knowledge of RealPlayer, PowerPoint and using an Internet browser.  Student computers must be able to play sound recordings (audio files such as RealAudio).

Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements

Required Textbooks:

Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course:

 http://rodp.bkstr.com

Supplementary Materials:

Audio tape recorder  and regular size (c-type) blank cassette tape
 

Hardware Requirements:

Pentium 133 MHZ or higher highly recommended

32Mb ram (64 Mb recommended)

56K Modem, sound and video capabilities 

CD-ROM Drive

Browser: One of the following: Netscape version 4.0 or higher, Netscape Communicator version 4.5 or higher, or Internet Explorer (IE) version 5.0 or higher.

Software Requirements:

Microsoft PowerPoint and RealPlayer plug in

Instructor Information

Instructor Response Time:

The instructor will make every attempt to respond to course e-mail within 24 hours during the workweek.

Assessment and Grading

Testing Procedures:

There will be two exams for each chapter covered except for Capítulo Preliminar.  One exam will contain  vocabulary, grammar, reading, and writing. A  listening exam will also be taken at the end of each chapter.   An Audiotape containing a description of a family will be graded.

                                     Grading Procedure:

The ten exams taken (two for each chapter) will be 90% of the course grade.  Each chapter is 18% of the total.
The audio tape prepared by the student containing oral assignments from each chapter along the assigned oral description of a family will be 10% of the course grade.

Grading Scale:

100-90=A
89-80=B
79-70=C
69-60=D 

Assignments and Participation

Assignments and Projects:

For each chapter covered there are vocabulary assignments, grammar assignments, exercises, an oral presentation (vocabulary pronunciation) assignment, and practice exams that are to be completed by the student.  Students will also record a onne and a half to two minute recording of the description of a family based on a picture from a magazine..

Class Participation:

Class participation is expected and required.  The WebCT System allows the instructor to check  students'  class activity  by monitoring dates and times that each student logs in.   It is important that students log in frequently to achieve the greatest benefit from the course activities, exercises, and practice exams.  This will also contribute to success in the course.

The following dates are suggested by the instructor to give the students an idea how to organize this course. 

Note: MEETINGS WITH THE INSTRUCTOR, EXAMS, AND THE ORAL PRESENTATION HAVE ASSIGNED DATES.  

Punctuality:

The exams and the oral presentation MUST be submitted on or before the specified deadlines.  No late assignments will be accepted.

Course Ground Rules

                                               Honor Code:

Students must abide by the following Honor Code: 

Exams must be taken without any help from people, textbooks, notes, videotapes, audiotapes, dictionaries, information found on the Internet, etc.

Each exam must be taken only once..

Recording on the audio tape must be done by the student in their own voice.

REMEMBER: STUDENTS ARE OBLIGATED  BY THE HONOR CODE TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN BEHAVIOR. THEY WILL TAKE EXAMS BOUND BY A PREVIOUSLY ESTABLISHED LENGTH OF TIME AND WITHOUT ANY OUTSIDE HELP.  BE AWARE OF THE FACT THAT THE INSTRUCTOR IS ABLE TO MONITOR THE TIME WHEN EACH STUDENT OPENS THE EXAMS AND when HE/SHE SENDS HIS/HER ANSWERS. THE INSTRUCTOR CAN ALSO CHECK THE NUMBER OF TIMES THE EXAMS ARE ATTEMPTED.

Learn how to navigate in WebCT 
Keep abreast of course announcements/e-mail.
Use WebCT e-mail as opposed to a personal e-mail address. 
Address technical problems immediately 
Observe course etiquette at all times. 

Study Tips

·         Study the information given by the textbook.

·         Compare the information given by the textbook with the information given by the instructor by playing the respective videotape.

·         Make a chart with a summary of the main topics presented by each chapter.

·         Compare your summary of grammar topics presented by the chapter with the grammar review for the chapter prepared by the instructor

·         Do the exercises for the chapter. Compare your answers against the answer keys.

·         Take the Grammar, Vocabulary, and Listening Practice Quizzes for each chapter.   Compare your answers against the answer key.

·         Listen to the Vocabulary.

·         For additional preparation do the exercises that are included in  your textbook and compare your answers against the answer keys.

Note: Although, the information presented by the videotapes is in Spanish, it is very easy to follow.  These tapes are used to familiarize students  with the Spanish pronunciation.

Guidelines for Communications

 Email:

Always include a subject line and use this icon to talk privately with the instructor.

Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emotions might be helpful in some cases.

Use standard fonts.

Do not send large attachments without permission.

Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.

Respect the privacy of other class members.

                 Discussions:

Use this icon to talk with the instructor. Students with the same availability should get together to study and to discuss issues related to this course

Introduce yourself to the other learners in the chat session and give the days and time you are available to be in a Discussion-room

Be polite. Choose your words carefully.  Do not use derogatory statements.

Be concise in responding to others in the chat session.

Be prepared to open the chat session at the scheduled time.

Be constructive in your comments and suggestions.

Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a lurker then a discussant

Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting a new topic.

Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of other's ideas.

Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks. 

Be positive and constructive in group discussions.

Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner

Web Resources

WWW Disclaimer: The following WWW addresses are given by the instructor believing the information is coming from trusted sources: McGraw-Hill and USA Embassies. Any other WWW connection that may come from the noted addresses is not the instructor's responsibility.  

For exercises: http://www.mhcollege.com/foreign/spanish.html  

For Spanish speaking countries information:  

Library

The TBR Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading must be included in all courses.

Students With Disabilities

Students with special needs such as voice recognition software or special hardware should contact the their home institution at the beginning of the course.

Syllabus Changes

Changes to the course syllabus will be sent to the students by e-mail and posted as an announcement in the discussion area.

Technical Support

Telephone Support:

Technical support is available 24 hours per day, seven days per week by calling toll-free 1-866-550-7637.  Click here for more information.