Spanish 101 04 – Elementary Spanish I Fall 2009

Dr. Kenneth Reeds Meeting Time: MWF

1.30-2.20pm
Office: Sullivan 203B1 Meeting Location:
Sullivan 207A
Phone: 978-542-7178 Email:
kreeds@salemstate.edu
Webpage: www.kennethreeds.com/spn101
Office Hours: M 9.00-11.00am / W 9.00-10.00am or by appointment

Required Textbooks
The following texts will be used extensively both during class and as
homework. They can be purchased at the Salem State Bookstore.

• Textbook: Blanco, José A., and Philip Redwine Donley, Late. Vistas:
introducción a la lengua española. Boston: Vista Higher Learning,
2008. (SPN 101 covers chapters 1-6; SPN 102 covers chapters 7-12,
and SPN201 covers chapters 13-18)
• Activities Manual: Blanco, Dellinger, Donley, García. Vistas:
introducción a la lengua española. Student's Activities Manual
(Workbook, Video Manual, and Laboratory Manual).
• Recommended: A good Spanish-English / English-Spanish dictionary
(e.g. Oxford, Larousse). One of the many verb-conjugation books.

Course Description
An introductory course in Spanish. Beginning skills are developed in the
areas of listening, speaking, reading, writing and culture. Three hours of
class work per week, supplemented by one hour of assigned work in the
Language Resource Center.

Course Goals
This course aims to provide the student with opportunities to develop
elementary competence in Spanish both in the receptive skills of listening
and reading as well as the productive abilities of writing and speaking.
Cultural knowledge will form part of the course as it is considered an
integral part of language learning and successful communication. The
class will cover the first six chapters of the textbook.

Students in this course will:

• Develop elementary competence in speaking, reading, listening, and
writing in the Spanish language.
• Incorporate cultural awareness of the countries, cultures, and
peoples of the Spanish-speaking world into communicative exercises
and activities.
• Interact with others in real-life situations within a Spanish-speaking
context.

Mobile Phones
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Our class only meets for two and a half hours a week. This is a short
period of time in which we need to do a large number of things. For this
reason, the student’s full attention is required and mobile phones are to
be turned off and put away during the entire duration of the class.

Evaluation
Students’ grades are drawn from four criteria; each consisting of a portion
of the final evaluation. Those four elements are:
• Attendance, preparation, and active class participation: 20% of the
grade
• Student Activities Manual: 20% of the grade (see below for
instructions)
• Tests: Six, one after each chapter: 50% of the grade
• Oral presentation: 10%

1. Participation, Attendance, and Class Preparation: It has been said

that a language cannot be taught, only learned. Your instructor, like
the textbook or workbooks, is no more than a tool through which
that learning is facilitated. In order for the learning to be
productive, the student must work hard. Hard work begins by first
attending classes and then continues with active participation.

Students who sit back and wait to be called on will not receive a
high participation grade. It is expected that you will not only
respond to the instructor’s questions, but also ask questions of your
own – remember, if you have a doubt, then you are most likely not
the only one.

Attendance will be taken every day. Late arrivals and early

departures are not acceptable. Two late arrivals or early departures
count as one absence. If you arrive late you must inform the
teacher at the end of the class as it is not his responsibility to make
sure you are on the attendance list. The following scale will be used
to calculate your attendance grade:
A = 0 absences
A- = 1 absence
B+ = 2 absences
B = 3 absences
C = 4 absences
D = 5 absences
F = 6 absences or more

Nobody is perfect and absences do occur. If you are unable to

attend, you are still responsible for what took place that day in class
(including all homework).

Being prepared for class is important. The classroom is not

where you are exposed to material from the book for the first time.

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 Resist that temptation. The instructor will not slow down to make up
for your lack of preparation.

Classroom time is to:

• Clarify questions you may have about the material
• Do activities to practice the material with the class

Before coming to class you must prepare the material that will be
covered in class that day: study the vocabulary and the grammar,
do the readings, and prepare the textbook exercises that will be
gone over in class.

To succeed in this class you should spend on average one hour

between classes preparing for the next class, in addition to the time
you spend completing the Student Activities Manual (see below).

You should come to class prepared to do the textbook exercises:

understand the instructions, know the vocabulary involved, ask
questions about what you don’t understand, etc.

2. Student Activities Manual (SAM): The SAM is divided into two

sections: the Workbook and the Lab Manuel. Both contain exercises
that correspond to and reinforce sections of each chapter. You are
expected to do these exercises on your own. Check the answers of
the Workbook and Lab Manuel against the answer keys at the lab,
and come to class prepared to ask questions about problems you
may be having. You may complete the Lab Manual exercises at the
Language Laboratory (see below). The Workbook exercises should
not be completed at the Lab.

You should attempt to complete each exercise in these sections

right after the topic in question has been covered in class. You
should not do it before nor leave it until the last minute (right before
the test).

The Lab Requirement is an important element of the class. The

place to do lab activities is in the Language Laboratory at the
Language Resource Center in Meier Hall 205.

A minimum of one hour of active lab attendance is required per

week. Some students will need more time to successfully complete
all the lab-based activities. Nobody should spend less than an hour
per week at the lab doing listening activities.

In addition to the listening and video activities in the SAM, there are
many other activities you can do there, if you have extra time or if
you need the practice (not included among these are workbook

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 exercises in the SAM or just studying from the textbook, for which
you cannot get voucher time).

Ideally you should go to the lab twice a week and no less than once
a week (in other words, you should not complete all your lab
activities for a particular chapter in one sitting, but rather three or
four).

You will get an attendance voucher from the lab attendant every
time you go to the lab. Turn in all of your vouchers on the day of the
test, along with your SAM pages. You must come to class prepared
to ask questions about problems you may be having with the SAM
exercises or any other issues you may have.

Homework Self Correction: After (and only after) doing each

exercise in the SAM you must check your answers against those in
the key that came with your book or is available at the Language
Laboratory and correct your mistakes clearly in a different color pen
and without erasing the original incorrect answer (this is so that you
may go back over your mistakes later on, such as before the test).
Failure to correct your homework will result in an F grade (50%
credit) and failure to turn it in (on time) will result in a Missing Grade
(=0%) (both of these grades will bring down significantly whatever
grade you obtain in the course).

Late homework is only accepted under very special circumstances

and if accepted will receive a lower grade than homework turned in
on time.

Answers to open-ended exercises are not in the answer key. Write

SC (sin clave = no key) next to those exercises, which are the ones I
will concentrate on when I grade your homework.

3. Chapter Exams: There will be an exam at the end of each chapter

which will consist of exercises similar to those in the Workbook as
well as open-ended activities including evaluation of reading,
listening, and writing skills.

4. Oral Presentation: An oral presentation with PowerPoint slides will

be required for every student. The presentation must last 3-5
minutes, not less. The content, grammar, vocabulary, and
pronunciation will be evaluated. The subject matter will be chosen
by the student from a provided list or one may be suggested by the
student for approval.
Guidelines:
• The presentation should be a learning experience for
everybody in the class
• Speak loudly, slowly, and clearly so that all are able to follow
you
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 • Any new vocabulary should be presented to the class in
writing before or during the presentation.
• The presentation must not be read. You can use a simple
written outline, which you must show to the professor at least
one day before the presentation for approval
• You should have a couple of questions prepared, in order to
test your fellow students at the end of the presentation
• You should be prepared to answer questions the students
might ask after the presentation
• Every word you use must be in Spanish. Do not use English
• This should be a fun experience that you prepare for some
time. Think of interesting ways to present your material. Be
creative!
• The presentation should be three to five minutes long

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Course Calendar
The following is a good idea of the schedule we will try to follow.
However, learning is an unpredictable process and there always exists a
possibility that adjustments will have to be made.

Capit TAREA (T= texto;

Fecha CLASE (texbook pages)
ulo W=workbook)
Septiembre
2 Introducción T: 2-3; 6-7
4 1 1-9 W: 1-2; T: 12-14
7 No hay clase – Día del trabajador
9 1 12-15 W: 3; T: 16
11 1 16-18 W: 4; T: 19-21
14 1 19-23 W: 5-6; T: 24-25
16 1 24-27; repaso W: 7-8; estudiar
18 1 Primera prueba – entregar tarea T: 40-42, 44-45
21 2 39-46 W: 11-12; T: 50-52
23 2 50-54 W: 13-14; T: 55-56
25 2 55-58 W: 15-16; T: 59-60
28 2 59-62 W: 17-18; T: 63-64
30 2 63-65; repaso W: 19-20; estudiar
Octubre
2 2 Segunda prueba – entregar tarea T: 78-79; 82-83
5 3 77-84 W: 23-24; T: 88-90
7 3 88-92 W: 25-26; T: 93
9 3 93-95 T:96-97; W: 27-28
12 No hay clase – Día de la hispanidad
14 3 96-99 W:29-30 ; T: 100-101
16 3 100-103; repaso W: 31-32; estudiar
19 3 Tercera prueba – entregar tarea T: 116-118; 120-121
21 4 115-122 W: 37-38; T: 126
23 4 126-128 W: 39-40; T: 129-130
26 4 129-132 W: 41-42; T: 133
28 4 133-135 W: 43-44; T: 136-137
30 4 136-139; repaso W: 45-46; estudiar
Noviembre
2 4 Cuarta prueba – entregar tarea T: 152-155, 158-159
4 5 151-160 W: 49-50; T: 164
6 5 164-165 W: 51-52; T: 166-167
9 5 166-169 W: 53; T: 170-171
11 No hay clase – Día de los veteranos
13 5 170-173 W:54-55; T: 174-175
16 5 174-177; repaso W: 56; estudiar
18 5 Quinta prueba – entregar tarea T: 190-191, 194-195
20 6 189-196 W: 59-60; T: 200
23 6 200-201 W:61-62; T: 202-203
25 No hay clase – Acción de gracias
27 No hay clase – Acción de gracias
30 6 202-205 W: 62-63; T: 206-207
Diciembre
2 6 206-209 W: 64-65; T: 210-211
4 6 210-213; repaso W: 66-68; estudiar
7 Presentaciones orales
9 Presentaciones orales
11 Presentaciones orales; repaso para el final
Examen final (sexta prueba) – entregar tarea
16
(11am-1.00pm)

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Equal Access and Academic Honesty
Equal Access Statement: “Salem State College is committed to providing
equal access to the educational experience for all students in compliance
with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and The Americans with
Disabilities Act and to providing all reasonable academic accommodations,
aids or adjustments. Any student who has a documented disability
requiring accommodation, aid, or adjustment should speak to the
instructor immediately. Students with disabilities who have not previously
done so should provide documentation and schedule an appointment with
the Office for Students with Disabilities and obtain appropriate services.”

Academic Honesty: “Salem State College assumes that all students come
to the College with serious educational intent and expects them to be
mature, responsible individuals who will exhibit high standards of honesty
and personal conduct in their academic life. All forms of academic
dishonesty are considered to be serious offences against the College
community. The College will apply sanctions when student conduct
interferes with the College’s primary responsibility of ensuring its
educational objectives.” Consult the College catalog for further details on
Academic Integrity Regulations and, in particular, the College’s definition
of academic dishonesty. NOTE: THE USE OF ONLINE TRANSLATORS IS
DISHONEST AND WILL BE CONSIDERED CHEATING ON A FOREIGN
LANGUAGE ASSIGNMENT.

STAMP
The STAMP online proficiency test will be required of all graduating
Spanish or French minors, and of all students taking FRE 202, ITL 202 or
SPN 202. This test will not affect students' grades; the goal of the testing
is to provide the Department with assessment data about students'
proficiency levels in order to improve our programs. Students who are
required to take the test will receive a code number and will use that
number to log in and take the test online in the Language Lab during the
last two weeks of April. We appreciate your cooperation in this
departmental project!

In the event of a college declared critical emergency, Salem State College reserves the right to alter this
course plan. Students should refer to www.salemstate.edu for further information and updates. The course
attendance policy stays in effect until there is a college declared critical emergency.

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