General Education Summer Abroad 2012
Español 201
Syllabus
Instructor: Dr. Lily Anne Goetz
Office telephone: (434) 395-2158
E-mail:
[email protected]
Office: Grainger 320
Office hours: by appointment while in Spain
Course Description from catalog:
201. Intermediate I. A course designed to help students develop skills in speaking, listening comprehension, reading, and
writing in Spanish, and apply these skills in a context that recognizes and explores the particularities of Spanish and Latin
American cultures. Prerequisite: Spanish 102 or an appropriate placement test score. Followed by Spanish 202. 3
credits.
Introducción:
Overview/Introduction: Students in this study abroad course will cover the same material as SPAN 201 on campus, but
with the advantage of complete immersion in the Spanish culture. This course is “content-based,” meaning that students
will acquire the intermediate-level Spanish language skills through communicative use of the language while focusing, in
this case, on the history, art, literature, and culture of Valencia and Granada, Spain, including the ancient and medieval
periods, as well as contemporary Spain. There will be periodic guest lectures by native Spanish experts who will present
on different aspects of Spanish history, art or society.
Besides daily classes, students will have required class group activities most days, such as guided visits to
museums and sites of cultural, historic or artistic importance; or on-site student presentations related to various cultural
or current topics in Valencia and the other places we will be visiting. All of the information needed for these
presentations and activities will be available either in information students receive before the program begins or in
Valencia. The objective of these activities is to acquire a better knowledge about Spain and its historical context, and the
way of life of its people, including their customs and traditions, all of which will help students to communicate better in
Spanish. In addition, there will be weekend or day trips to other important sites; these will be accompanied by
professors, and are part of the class activities. Students will receive information about each place we will be visiting in the
days ahead of the trips, and students will be expected to listen to the professors at each site and in the bus on the way,
and to use the information in later class activities or assignments.
The total number of “contact hours,” comprised of class hours and activities accompanied and directed by
faculty, is 56 contact hours, in addition to other out-of-class student activities and homework.
Texts / Textos:
Hershberger, Robert, et.al. Plazas: Lugar de encuentros. 4ed. Boston: Heinle Cengage Learning, 2012.
And additional readings you will receive before and during the program.
Objetivos del curso / Course objectives:
SPAN 201: Students will demonstrate an ability to:
1.
Learn progressively and employ cumulatively certain grammatical, syntactical, and phonetic structures of the
language. (GE criteria 1, 6)
2.
Acquire a vocabulary appropriate for performing certain tasks in Spanish, such as asking or inviting someone to
do something, responding to an invitation, expressing a judgment about something (GE course criteria 3), expressing
agreement or disagreement, indicating personal preference, asking someone's opinion, proposing to do something,
accepting or rejecting a suggestion. (GE criteria 1, 2, 3, 6, 9)
3.
Communicate in Spanish by speaking Spanish, understanding spoken Spanish, and writing in Spanish at the ACTFL
intermediate level (GE course criteria 6,7), view and comprehend videos that inform them of or represent the
perspectives, practices, and products of Spanish and/or Spanish American culture. (GE criteria 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9)
4.
Identify and describe various aspects of Spanish and/or Spanish American culture, such as food, music,
celebrations, social customs, landmarks, art, political and historical events. (GE course criteria 2, 5, 8)
6.
Identify and interpret, through extensive use of internet, satellite TV, videos, and other electronic means, the
connection of Spanish with other disciplines and as a means to acquire information. (GE course criteria 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9)
7.
Describe the nature of language and culture by making comparisons of Spanish with the students' native
language and by making comparisons of Spanish-speaking cultures with the students' own. (GE course criteria 1, 5, 9)
8.
Participate in Spanish-speaking communities at home and around the world, through the use of electronic
communication and attendance at planned college and local Hispanic cultural activities. (GE course criteria 1, 6, 8, 9)
Course Requirements / Requisitos del curso:
20%
Participación y asistencia en las clases y las actividades. You will need to be prepared for each day’s lessons, and
prepared for each cultural activity. You are expected to actively participate in all activities during the program. You will
be graded each day on this participation, whether in class or during group activities. Each day you will participate in visits
to cultural, historic or artistic sites of interest, and your participation and attention in these cultural visits and excursions
is of high importance. You will usually receive information about the sites, their importance, history, etc., ahead of time.
You must be prepared with the necessary supplies to take notes and participate during the visits; they are part of “class
time” and you will learn much about Spain during these events, and you will have a chance to practice your Spanish
conversation skills and listening comprehension skills. You will include commentaries on these visits in your Diario, with
your impressions and thoughts about each one. Please do not eat during cultural visits or in class (DO plan to snack in
between classes or between activities).
In addition, you are expected to speak ONLY Spanish during the entire program, except during the History and
English classes and activities. Points will be subtracted each time you are heard speaking English at all other times, unless
you ask permission. Permission will only be granted in cases of emergency or a grammar clarification during class. Your
willingness to make the effort to use Spanish earns many points.
15%
Deberes y Diarios
Diario. You will write daily (or almost daily) entries in a journal, in Spanish, consisting of discussions of your activities
(including the group excursions and visits, as well as your activities on your own) and your impressions.
Each day’s entry should be at least a page in length, and it will be important to include the following:
Qué hiciste, qué viste, qué aprendiste
Descripciones e impresiones
Diferencias culturales que has notado
Cosas que te impresionaron por alguna razón
Comentarios, sentimientos y opiniones
The objective is to contemplate the customs, events, artifacts or items, and to make connections between cultures or
between societies or between time periods, etc., and to contemplate the significance or importance or the “why” of these
aspects. To aid in this activity, each diario should include 3 sections, which should be clearly labeled: Report, React, and
Analyze. Here’s what these mean:
“Report”, descripción, narración: ¿Qué hiciste? ¿Qué pasó? ¿Qué viste? ¿Quiénes, qué, cuándo, dónde…?
“React”, reaccionar: Expresar tu reacción personal a los eventos, costumbres, cosas. Se puede incluir reacciones
emocionales y opiniones.
o React: express your personal reaction to the events, customs, things. You may include emotional
commentary and opinions in this phase.
“Analyze”, analizar: Interpretar, contemplar el elemento cultural que experimentaste. ¿Qué función o propósito
sirve? ¿Por qué existe así? ¿Cuál es la significancia? ¿Realmente experimentaste lo que crees que
experimentaste? NO se aceptan comentarios emocionales ni opiniones.
o
Analyze: Interpret, contémplate the cultural element that you experienced. What function or purpose
does it serve? Why does it exist that way? What is the significance? Did you really experience what
you thought you did? Emotional commentary and opinions are NOT accepted in this phase.
It is important not to include any words in English in your diarios. Use of English will result in a drastically reduced grade.
Each day you will turn in your Diario pages (not a whole notebook) to your professor during class. You will receive a
separate handout with the above details about this Diario assignment, how it is graded, and how to receive a grade higher
than a “C”.
You will also have some other “homework” (deberes) consisting of carrying out grammatical and communicative
tasks, some of which will be from the textbook. Many times these “tasks” will consist of activities such as purchasing
stamps for your post cards, and reporting back about where and how you accomplished it, what kinds of expressions you
needed, how much they cost, etc. Sometimes your homework will be written tasks, such as composing a letter to request
information about a historic site or cultural attraction. You may have an assignment to choose a magazine or newspaper
article of interest to you to tell the class about or to summarize. We will be using Valencia and the surrounding areas, as
well as various historical periods as the resources for these tasks.
15%
Preguntas del Día.
In addition to your daily “diario”, every day you will have a “Pregunta del día”; you will need to speak to
Spaniards, such as your host family, people in restaurants, at the beach, or on buses or the metro, in order to be able to
answer these questions. You should ask more than one person to get a complete answer, and you must provide their
names, and when and where you spoke to them. These will not be one-line answers. If one person can’t give you much
information, you must find other people until you can get a satisfactory explanation. You will write up your answers (at
least ½ page for each, not including the information identifying the people) to turn in with your diario and homework
each day.
The objective is to promote conversation with several different native speakers each day, to learn to ask followup questions, and engage in real discussions. You should take notes during and/or immediately after your conversations,
to assist you in writing up your information later. However, you should only take notes when talking to your sources; you
should not write down their exact sentences word for word, because then it is too easy to just replicate their lines in your
essay, many times without even understanding what they have said. So your write-up must be in YOUR own words, not in
the words and quotes from your sources. Your own words and those of your sources will be easily identifiable by your
prof.
Use of English will result in a drastically reduced grade. Each day you will turn in your Pregunta del Día pages
(not a whole notebook) to your professor during class. You will receive a separate handout with the above details about
this Pregunta del Día assignment, how it is graded, and how to receive a grade higher than a “C”.
15%
Pruebas (Quizzes), presentaciones orales. You will have several quizzes as well as oral presentations to the group
or to small groups. These will usually be announced. Some of your presentations may take place during the morning class
time, and some will take place on the sites of our visits to cultural monuments, or on excursions to historic sites.
15%
Actividades Culturales Personales. Besides the required group excursions and visits, you will have the
opportunity to choose three additional cultural visits of interest to you, which you will attend on your own time. Keep in
mind that some cultural sites such as some museums charge an entrance fee, but you may also choose sites or activities
that do not have a fee. You will turn in a description of these sites or events, what you did or learned, your impressions
and comments, suggestions for others, etc. Include the date and time you went, and other details. These activities will
double-count for the History classes, as long as you include a discussion of the historical considerations: Who made it?
Why? What function did/does it serve? What does it tell you about the society it pertains to? Why is it historically
significant? Your summary should be between two pages in length for each visit, and must be turned in within 2 days of
your visit to the site. You will receive a list of suggestions for sites and events, and you are welcome to make suggestions
for other activities. At least two of these cultural activities must be in the form of formal sites, such as museums or
historic sites or others from a list you will receive. Your third activity may also be from that list, or may be in the form of a
more informal activity with Spanish citizens or your host family, such as a family celebration that you attend (baptism,
wedding, first communion, visit to countryside with family, etc.). You must receive advance approval for this activity from
your professor. A trip to the beach does not constitute an activity for this assignment, although we are pleased that you
will enjoy the beach and you will meet and speak to Spaniards there.
20 %
Examen Final. You will receive detailed information about the exam and how to prepare for it. It will take place
on the last class day in Valencia. The exam will include an oral component in which you will converse spontaneously with
a partner, to carry out a role-play situation; you will not have the context of the situation ahead of time, but you will be
provided with sample scenarios to practice. It will also include a written essay component and other sections. You will
receive a study guide.
Other Requirements: In this program, it is essential that you comply with all rules and guidelines for comportment and
cooperation. Besides your use of Spanish and your complete attendance and attention, we ask that you act responsibly at
all times, that you show flexibility and understanding when necessary (schedules get changed, and we want to be able to
take advantage of all opportunities as they present themselves, so we will announce some changes in activities to
accommodate unexpected opportunities). We ask that you show restraint in your behavior and noise level in certain
places, including in the homestays, to show respect for others there who may like to sleep, etc. We demand that you
follow all safety procedures we give you, including those regarding excessive drinking. Please read carefully the
“Conditions of Participation” that you and your parents have signed. You WILL be sent home immediately at your
expense if you disregard the behavior and drinking policies, and will not be able to finish the course (grade of F). Zero
tolerance is the rule, not warnings or second or third chances.
Class Schedule / Horario de Clases:
See Itinerary.
Grading:
Calificaciones:
90-100 A
80-89
B
70-79
C
60-69
D
59
F
Attendance Policy:
Asistencia: The attendance policy for this course is the same as the policy in the Longwood University Catalog and the
Student Handbook. To clarify some of the points in the policy, please note:
There are 8 required pre-departure class meetings and 20 full class days abroad in this program, in addition to
required attendance at all activities. If a student misses all or part of 5 class days, whether excused or unexcused, he/she
will have missed 25% of the scheduled class time, and will receive an F in this course. If a student misses all or part of two
class days for unexcused reasons, his/her final course grade will be lowered one letter grade. This means that you really
can not miss classes without invoking a lowering of your grade. In addition, please note that if a student is not in class or
does not attend the activities, he/she can not “participate,” which will affect the "participation grade" in addition to the
consequences listed here. The tours, visits and group activities are part of the class time and attendance counts the same
as for the morning class times. Discourteous behavior during class or scheduled activities will result in an unexcused
absence.
Your best chance for success is through 100% attendance: ¡Por favor! ¡Asistid a clase y a las actividades!
Honor Code:
Código del Honor: Students are expected to live by the Longwood University Honor Code. All
work done for this class must be pledged: "Yo, ___________________, juro que no he dado ni
recibido ayuda en este trabajo ni he notado ninguna infracción del Código del Honor." If you
would like to abbreviate this, you may write, "Juramento," and sign your name.
Contact Hours
Pre-Departure: 6 contact hours
Class meetings in Valencia: 30 contact hours
Faculty-led on-site lectures and activities: 20+ contact hours
TOTAL contact hours: 56, in addition to other out-of-class student activities and homework.