Spanish 105 MW  
Spring 1999 

Department of Modern and Classical Languages 
George Mason University 

Instructor ____________________________________ 
Phone _______________________________________ 

Office hours ___________________________________________ 
E-mail address _________________________________________ 

Course Description

Spanish 105, a refresher elementary course for students with 2 or more years of previous Spanish study, prepares you for the work that you will be required to do in Spanish 201 or Spanish 209. In this course you will be reacquainted with the Spanish language and you will also work to develop all language skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing. Your final grade will be determined as follows:

Class Preparation and Participation 5% or 15%
Graded Assignments 20%
Exams 45%
Oral Presentation 20%
Final Written Exam 10% or 0%

IMPORTANT: Be aware of the fact that learning a foreign language requires your regular class attendance, your undivided attention in class, and at least the same amount of hours of homework per week that you spend in class.

Textbook

1. VanPatten, B., Marks, M. A., and Teschner, R. V. Destinos. Alternate Edition. McGraw-Hill: New York, 1997.

2. VanPatten, B. Destinos. Workbook/Study Guide I and II. McGraw-Hill: New York, 1997

3. Spinelli, E. English Grammar for Students of Spanish. The Olivia and Hill Press: Ann Arbor, 1998.

4. Highly recommended: A good Spanish - English dictionary.

5. Additional materials can be found at http://mason.gmu.edu/~eromanme/destinos.htm

Attendance

You must be exposed to Spanish and use Spanish in order to learn it, so you really want to be in class and benefit from it. Class attendance provides the kind of interaction in Spanish that you cannot do at home. For this reason, there is no real substitution for attendance. In addition, you will have to take a final written exam if you miss more than two classes during the semester.

Irregular attendance will severely affect your learning process and, consequently, your final grade in this course.

In case of non-attendance

Although there is no way to make up for non-participation, starting at your fourth absence you will be required to submit for each absence either a 5 minute tape recorded dialogue with any other person, or a 10 sentence paragraph in Spanish on the subject discussed during the class you missed. These tasks will not be graded, but you will receive an Incomplete if this is not completed.

Class Preparation

In order for you to actively participate in class, you have to read the material assigned for each class and prepare the activities assigned by your instructor. These activities can include workbook and textbook activities, and the viewing of videotapes in the lab.

Class Participation

In order to participate, you must be present. You will be graded for this component of the course. It will be based on the quality and quantity of what you say in Spanish in class. The participation grade includes your active contribution in Spanish in regular class sessions, pair work, and small group activities.

Graded Assignments

These assignments include written compositions, class quizzes, and book exercises. Your instructor will inform you about the specific contents and dates of these assignments.

Exams

There will be 4 exams. All exams are comprehensive and will include all the material covered in class up to the date of the exam. Exams will include listening, grammar, reading, writing and culture sections. There are NO MAKE-UPS for missed tests. Consult your instructor if your absence is fully justified.

Oral Assignments

Your oral performance in Spanish will be evaluated by means of a five-minute oral class presentation and a ten-minute oral interview with your teacher during the exam week. This presentation will last approximately 10 minutes. The class presentation might include a variety of tasks, such as role-plays, description of pictures, answering personal questions, responding to a situation, asking questions, etc. The interview is comprehensive and will include all the material covered in class. More details will be given in class by your instructor.

Final Written Exam

Whether or not you will be required to take the final written exam will depend on your attendance as mentioned above. If you miss more than three classes you will have to sit for the written final to be counted as 10% of your grade, reducing your preparation/participation grade to 5%.

Schedule

A detailed schedule can be found on the WWW at:

http://www.gmu.edu/departments/fld/SPANISH/s99/105mwb.htm

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

All written assignments, quizzes and examinations must be done independently. Please read the university catalogue for information regarding the GMU Honor Code.

 

Last day to drop this class: February 26, 1999


SPANISH 105 – Spring 1999 – MW TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

Fecha

Lección

Contenido

Gramática

Lunes 25/1

Introducción al curso. Entremeses I – Lección I

 

 

Miércoles 27/1

Repaso 2-5

Saludos, presentaciones y despedidas; los números del 0 al 20

Ser; presente; posesión; descripción

Lunes 1/2

Lecciones 7-8

Los números del 21 al 99; agradecimientos; afirmaciones

Saber; presente Verbos reflexivos

Miércoles 3/2

Lección 8-9

Los meses; las estaciones del año; los colores

Presente; verbos reflexivos

Lunes 8/2

Lecciones 10-11

Adjetivos descriptivos

 

Miércoles 10/2

Examen I

 

 

Lunes 15/2

Lecciones 12-13

Los números del 100 al 1000 Comestibles

Pretérito

Miércoles 17/2

Lección 13-14

Más comestibles

 

Lunes 22/2

Lecciones 15-16

En una tienda; las legumbres

Pretérito

Miércoles 24/2

Lecciones 16-17. Repaso

Los medios de comunicación; saludos y despedidas

Pretérito

Lunes 1/3

Examen II

 

 

Miércoles 3/3

Lección 19

Las instrucciones

Imperfecto

Lunes 8/3

Lecciones 19-20

Los parientes

Imperfecto

Miércoles 10/3

Lección 20

 

 

15/3-19/3

Vacaciones de primavera

Lunes 22/3

Lección 21

El tiempo

Imperfecto

Miércoles 24/3

Lecciones 21-22

Cambios de estado

Imperfecto

Lunes 29/3

Lección 22

 

 

Miércoles 31/3

Lección 23

Partes de la casa

Imperfecto

Lunes 5/4

Lecciones 23-24

Las reacciones; la personalidad

Usos del pasado

Miércoles 7/4

Examen III

 

 

Lunes 12/4

Lección 27

 

Futuro

Miércoles 14/4

Lecciones 27-28

Partes del cuerpo

Futuro

Lunes 19/4

Lección 28

 

 

Miércoles 21/4

Lección 29

Los exámenes médicos

Introd. al subjuntivo

Lunes 26/4

Lecciones 29-30

En una ciudad

Introd. al subjuntivo

Miércoles 28/4

Lecciones 30- 31

En las tiendas y comercios

Futuro

Lunes 3/5

Repaso 27-31

 

 

Miércoles 5/5

Examen IV

 

 

Exam Week

Examen Oral

Consult schedule of classes for appropriate date and time.


©1999 E. Román