TR 12:00AM-1:15AM T17 and T227 Professor: Esperanza Román Mendoza Telephone: 993-1232 E-mail: eromanme@gmu.edu

Department of Modern and Classical Languages George Mason University Office: Thompson 235A Office hours: TR 2:00-3:00PM and by appointment

• Course Description
• Course Objectives
• Materials
• Assessment
• Grading scale
• Tentative program
• Course Website

Course description

Spanish 351 is a post-intermediate level course for non-Spanish speaking students. The main goal is the development of conversational skills through class discussions and oral and written reports based on topics of current interest. Native speakers of Spanish, including students who speak Spanish at home, are not eligible to take this course. Section 001 of SPAN 351 will make extensive use of technology to support oral and written activities. Your grade will be determined as follows:

Class participation and preparation: 15%
Oral Class Projects: 20%
Group Project: 25%
Forums and chatrooms: 20%
Portfolio and final oral interview: 20%

Objectives

The aim of this course is to enable you to acquire new vocabulary in order to improve your conversational skills. It is expected that you learn all the vocabulary contained in the chapters, and that you use them throughout the semester, at the end of which you should be able to carry on a basic conversation in Spanish on the topics covered in class.

Materials and Skills

• Brown & Martin Gaite. Conversaciones creadoras. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999.
• Highly recommended: A good Spanish-English dictionary (The Oxford Spanish Dictionary. New International Edition).
• E-mail account and WWW basic-user skills. If you are not familiarized with the Internet, UCIS and the university libraries offer free workshops on how to use PINE and other Internet-related applications.

Assessment

1. Class preparation and participation

This is primarily a conversation class and you must be present to participate. Attendance is crucial. No make-up work will be accepted for lost class time. Your grade will be determined by both quality and quantity of: 

1. your contribution in Spanish in regular class sessions, in group activities, and in electronic discussions;
2. the grades of the collected homework;
3. your cooperation and leadership in group and pair work, and
4. your respect and attitude towards your peers and the class. 

In order for you to actively participate in class, you need to read in advance the material assigned for each class and do the activities assigned by the instructor. Assignments will be collected every day. Late homework will not be graded but must be submitted with the portfolio.

2. Oral Class Projects

As part of Spanish 351 you will be carry out different oral assignments, which will include interviews, short presentations on TV commercials, role plays, etc.

3. Group Project

You will be required to choose a topic related to GMU university life and prepare a multimedia presentation on the chosen topic. We will be using WebCT as a means of communication and as a presentation tool for your projects. More details in class.

4. Forums and chatrooms

As part of this course, you will be required to participate in the on-line discussions and chatrooms that will be set up specifically for this course. Topics of discussion will be determined accordingly to the text book contents.

5. Portfolio and final oral interview

You are required to keep a portfolio that you will present on the last day of class and discuss with your instructor on the final exam day (Tuesday, December 14, 1999). All the homework assignments will have to be included in your portfolio. Details about specific content and format of the portfolio will be given in class.

Grading Scale

A 100-93
A- 92-90
B+ 89-87
B 86-83
B- 82-80
C+ 79-77
C 76-70
D 69-60
F 59-0

HONOR CODE: Collaboration is the best way to learn a language. You are encouraged to help each other and to make use of outside resources. Nevertheless, on assignments that are submitted for a grade, your work must be yours alone. Consult the GMU Honor Code for information.

Programa provisional SPAN 351 - Semestre de Otoño de 1999
Fecha	En clase	Tarea
Martes 31 agos.	Introducción al curso
Jueves 2 sept.	Lab. 232. Vamos a conocernos	Traer audiocasete
Martes 7 sept.	Cap. 3: Los restaurantes y la amistad	Preparar notas culturales. Práctica del vocabulario básico
Jueves 9 sept.	Cap. 3: Los restaurantes y la amistad	Foros y actividades creadoras
Martes 14 sept	Cap. 5: La familia y la televisión	Preparar notas culturales. Práctica del vocabulario básico
Jueves 16 sept.	Cap. 5: La familia y la televisión	Foros y actividades creadoras
Martes 21 sept.	Cap. 6: Los deportes	Preparar notas culturales. Práctica del vocabulario básico
Jueves 23 sept.	Cap. 6: Los deportes	Foros y actividades creadoras
Martes 28 sept.	Cap. 7: La universidad	Preparar notas culturales. Práctica del vocabulario básico
Jueves 30 sept.	Cap. 7: La universidad	Foros y actividades creadoras
Martes 5 oct.	Cap. 9: El entretenimiento	Preparar notas culturales. Práctica del vocabulario básico
Jueves 7 oct.	Cap. 9: El entretenimiento	Foros y actividades creadoras
Martes 12 oct.	Colombus Day
Jueves 14 oct.	Cap. 10: La vivienda	Preparar notas culturales. Práctica del vocabulario básico
Martes 19 oct.	Cap. 10: La vivienda	Foros y actividades creadoras
Jueves 21 oct.	Preparación de las presentaciones en grupo	Traer materiales sobre el tema elegido
Martes 26 oct.	Cap 1: El turismo y los hoteles	Preparar notas culturales. Práctica del vocabulario básico
Jueves 28 oct.	Cap 1: El turismo y los hoteles	Entrega del borrador del proyecto en grupo
Martes 2 nov.	Cap. 2: El transporte	Preparar notas culturales. Práctica del vocabulario básico
Jueves 4 nov.	Cap. 2: El transporte	Foros y actividades creadoras
Martes 9 nov.	Cap. 4: La compraventa	Preparar notas culturales. Práctica del vocabulario básico
Jueves 11 nov	Cap. 4: La compraventa	Foros y actividades creadoras
Martes 16 nov.	Cap. 8: La salud	Preparar notas culturales. Práctica del vocabulario básico
Jueves 18 nov.	Cap. 8: La salud	Foros y actividades creadoras
Martes 23 nov.	Cap. 11: Los automóviles y las indicaciones	Preparar notas culturales. Práctica del vocabulario básico
Jueves 24 nov.	Thanksgiving Recess
Martes 30 nov.	Cap. 11: Los automóviles y las indicaciones	Foros y actividades creadoras
Jueves 2 dic.	Vida universitaria I y II (Presentación en grupo)
Martes 7 dic.	Vida universitaria III y IV (Presentación en grupo)	Comentarios sobre las presentaciones
Jueves 10 dic.	Vida universitaria V y VI (Presentación en grupo)	Comentarios sobre las presentaciones
Martes 14 dic.	FINAL ORAL INTERVIEW WITH INSTRUCTOR (10:30 am -1:15 pm)

Up-dated: September 99
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