Northern Virginia Community College
Spanish 202.002W- Intermediate Spanish II
Course syllabus
Spring 2005

Instructor Silvana R. McGillis
Office: 402
Telephone: (703) 878-5715
Fax: (703) 878-5678
E-mail: [email protected]
Office hours: M 6:30- 7 p.m., W 6:30-7:00 p.m. and by appointment.
Websites:         http://www.geocities.com/natesil76 

REQUIRED TEXT AND MATERIALS
1. McVey Gill, Mary, Brenda Wegmann, Teresa Méndez-Faith. En Contacto: Gramática en acción (7^th edition)
2. En Contacto: Lecturas intermedias (7th edition)
3. Portfolio.
4. Dictionary from English/Spanish and Spanish/English (Highly recommended).

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Intermediate Spanish II continues to develop understanding, speaking, reading and writing skills. The purpose of Intermediate Spanish is to enable students to become proficient in speaking and understanding Spanish in a greater variety of situations. They will learn complex structures of the Spanish language. They will learn to read and write without recourse to translations. The prerequisite for this course is SPA 201 or equivalent.
 
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Upon successful completion of this course students will be expected to master the following language skills:
            Listening: Students sustains understanding over long stretches of speech. They will understand a variety of topics pertaining to different times and places; (however, understanding may be incomplete).
            Speaking: Students can initiate, sustain, and close a general conversation (although errors are evident). They will be able to use circumlocution to compensate for limited vocabulary. They begin to use connected discourse, particularly for simple narration or description. The speaker can generally be understood even by natives not accustomed to dealing with speakers at this level (although repetition may still be required).
           Reading: Students will grasp main ideas and information from texts featuring descriptions and narration. They begin to understand authentic material such as newspapers or magazines articles upon reading it more than once.
            Writing: Students can take notes in some detail on familiar topics and respond in writing to personal questions. They can write simple letters, brief synopses and paraphrases, summaries of biographical data, work and school experiences. They begin to describe and narrate in coherent paragraphs. Student’s writing, though faulty, is generally comprehensible to narratives used to the writing of non-natives. 

Grading:

Participation:                       12%
Attendance:                         3%
Homework and Quizzes:     10%
Oral Presentations:             10%
Written assignments:           15%
Exams:                                30%
Final Exam:                         20% 

Participation: (12%) includes your 1) use of Spanish, 2) preparation for each class, 3) active involvement, 4) cooperation and effort in small group work, and 5) attitude and respect toward the class, instructor, and your peers. Students are expected to complete all homework and written assignments, and/or projects.

Attendance: (3%) You must be exposed to Spanish and use it in order to learn it, therefore you must attend class. However, it is understood that periodically things happen that prevent your attendance. Thus, from the first date of your enrollment in the course, you will be allowed no more than two absences throughout the entire course. If the student arrives late to class or leaves early from class twice, those tardy days or early dismissals will translate into one absent.
            Grades for attendance, homework, quizzes, and participation given during the first two absences will be registered as exemptions. In other words, you will neither be credited nor penalized for any grades given during those first two absences. You are responsible for requesting assignments given during your absence, however, and for submitting them to your instructor on time.
            If you must be absent on the day of an exam and this absence falls within the first two absences, you should arrange with your instructor to take the test ahead of time. If it is not possible to make prior arrangements due to emergency circumstances, make up exams will be at the discretion of the instructor. Students must notify the instructor beforehand if he/she will miss a quiz or an exam. The final exam is mandatory.
            Any absence beyond the two absences allowed will result in a grade of zero for any assignments, participation, homework, quizzes, exams, or other activities included in the grades for the class that are not submitted by the due date. Consequently, it is wise to attend class regularly. Absences are intended for emergencies, illnesses, and other unavoidable obligations. 

Homework and Quizzes: (20%) are in part listed on the syllabus, and in part planned and assigned by your instructor. Homework assignments listed on the syllabus should be prepared before the next class day. You should write all the exercises that are in the syllabus in your portfolio. No late work will be accepted.

Written Assignments: (10%) You will have four (4) compositions that you will write at home. See deadline in syllabus.  All compositions assigned must be typed and double spaced. I will not accept late compositions.

Oral Presentations: (10%) You will have two (2) oral presentations during the semester. See schedule for the dates. For your presentation you must bring a hard copy to turn in that same day. It must be typed and double spaced. I will only accept them at the time of the presentation.

Cheating/Plagiarism: Students will be responsible for submitting their own work on all class activities. If a student cheats or plagiarizes, they will receive a grade of zero (0) for that assignment or exam, and they will be subject to any action taken by the College.

Classroom Behavior: See 2003-2005 Student Handbook, pp. 55-62, “Section II: Student Conduct.” 

PLAN DE ESTUDIO (sujeto a cambios)
Día                                          En clase                                  Tarea

Abbreveations used in the schedule: G= Gramática en acción, L= Lecturas intermedias