The Two-Year Basic Spanish Program at Stanford

  Instructores

  Programa de
  estudios

  Calendario,
  tarjeta de
  progreso

  Práctica:
  gramática
  y vocabulario

  Enlaces
  culturales

| Introduction | Goals | Course Details | Grading |

Spanish 1•2•3 / Spanish 1A•2A
Stanford University

Welcome to the study of the Spanish language! Read this syllabus carefully. It will give you important information about the Spanish Language Program at Stanford and the course you have enrolled in.

The Spanish Department at Stanford University has organized a beginning two-year program of study based on current research on second language acquisition and on an understanding of the extraordinary talents and abilities that Stanford students bring to the study of language. The primary focus of the two-year program is to develop students’ abilities to:

• engage in interactions with speakers of Spanish for a variety of purposes and in a variety of contexts using socially and culturally appropriate forms for participating in conversations, establishing relationships with others, providing and obtaining information, expressing feelings and emotions, and expressing opinions.
  
  
• understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics and manifest growing awareness of the social and cultural influences shaping the production and use of knowledge in the Spanish- and English-speaking worlds.
  
  
• present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of academic topics.
  
  
• develop strategies that will allow students to continue to acquire and develop their Spanish outside of the classroom and throughout their lifetimes.

As you may notice, the objectives of the Spanish language program are ambitious. It is our goal to help you develop your proficiency in the language so that at the end of two years of study--should you wish to--you will be able to enroll in courses taught in Spanish for native speakers in Stanford’s programs in Mexico, Argentina, and Chile! You will, of course, also be able to continue developing your Spanish proficiency in upper level Spanish courses here at Stanford including courses in translation and interpretation, in Spanish and Latin American culture, in Spanish for the professions, and courses in Spanish literature.

Each of the quarters of the two-year program has a specific set of objectives that we expect our students to meet. The "Progress Card" with objectives for your course is available on line. Click here to locate the progress card for the course you are taking. You will be expected to assess your own progress on these objectives.

Students who have a disability that may necessitate an academic accommodation or the use of auxiliary aids and services in a class must first request assistance with the Disability Resource Center (DRC). The DRC will evaluate the request with required documentation, recommend appropriate accommodations, and prepare a verification letter dated in the current academic term in which the request is made. Please contact the DRC as soon as possible; timely notice is needed to arrange for appropriate accommodations.

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The Approach to Teaching Spanish at Stanford

The approach used in this program takes the position that much classroom time must be spent in helping you to develop abilities to communicate and interact in Spanish. We must emphasize, however, that communication and interaction involve two important processes: the ability to produce language to say what you mean and the ability to understand language when others speak to you. In our program, we will attend to developing your ability to carry out a number of functions in Spanish (e.g., introduce yourself, apologize, suggest, express opinions). We will also spend much time giving you the opportunity to understand what others say when they introduce themselves, refuse invitations, describe others, suggest and express opinions.

We believe it is equally important to develop your academic skills in Spanish. We will thus spend classroom time in helping you to comprehend written texts in Spanish, to understand academic presentations in Spanish, and to present information on academic topics in which you have a special interest.

Finally, we will attend to structure and to form as well. Linguistic knowledge is important. It is not, however, the principal subject matter of language classes in the Stanford Spanish Language Program. We have found that because Stanford students are very competent academically, they have little trouble understanding and learning key grammatical rules. Much study of formal grammar is, therefore, assigned to be done outside of class. Clarification and practice of structures and form typically take up less than 20% of the class period.

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How This Class Will Work

1. Required texts:

¡A conocernos! textbook and audio tape, Diario de actividades and Answer Key

2. Class format:

This class will meet 5 days a week. Typically, you will spend up to 15 minutes per day listening to spoken Spanish. Sometimes, your instructor will use an overhead with drawings or illustrations and talk about them, pointing to different items, repeating, and starting the description again, essentially providing you with long segments of Spanish all spoken at normal speed. Your job when listening will be to focus on deriving meaning from what is said using all all of the cues at your disposal (the picture, your instructor’s intonation, what you already know about the topic, etc.). All of the materials used in these presentations are directly connected to the topics we are covering in the text. You will be amazed at how quickly you learn to understand more and more Spanish!

In class, we will also spend a great deal of time learning and practicing key phrases that you can use to interact with other people. Some are in the book and others will be on handouts. Typically you will work with partners or in groups when working on phrases. When visitors come to class, you will use phrases you have learned to interview them and find out more about them.

Class time will also be spent working on vocabulary, as will a great deal of your home study time as well. You can expect that vocabulary will be a very important part of this course. Often the key to figuring out what someone is talking about is catching a word or two that you already know.

In general, we will follow the assigned textbook. However, because we are primarily guided by the final objectives for the course, you will also be assigned supplementary materials. Sometimes we will cover structure in class; most of the time, however, it will be assigned for home study. Your instructor will make very clear what you are supposed to be able to say using the structure you have studied.

3. Requirements

Class attendance

Class attendance is essential. Unless you are in class to hear spoken Spanish geared to your level of acquisition, you will not acquire the ability to understand the spoken language. You can memorize vocabulary, study grammar, and learn key phrases on your own, but it is unlikely that you will develop the skills and strategies needed to comprehend rapid oral Spanish. As you know, it will do you very little good if you can say a great deal in Spanish but can’t understand what anyone says to you. With this in mind, the Spanish Language Program has a strict attendance policy (see "Grading" below).

Spanish-speaking informant.

You will be asked to identify and get to know someone in the Stanford community who is a native speaker of Spanish. Ideally, you will get to meet with him or her frequently, every week if possible. Your instructor may include this activity in your Portfolio (see below). Take care to use politeness in seeking a Spanish-speaker. You can start by asking your friends if they know anyone on campus or in the area who speaks Spanish. Remember that speakers of Spanish, just like speakers of English, come from a variety of backgrounds, so don’t assume that someone is a native Spanish-speaker based solely on his or her background or appearance. Remember, too, to be considerate and give your informant plenty of notice when you’d like to arrange for a visit. Also, be prepared to return a favor for one extended. For example, your informant might be looking for a jogging partner, or he or she might appreciate a ride to the airport or the grocery store. In addition, many informants are graduate students from outside the U.S. and have appreciated it when students in the Spanish program have offered to proofread academic papers. In this way, many students have developed lasting friendships with their informants.

You will be asked to keep a portfolio of your contact with Spanish during the quarter. This may include, for example, reflections on your attempts to watch the news, tapes of your conversations (or attempted conversations) with your informant, attempts to read magazines in Spanish, etc. See your instructor for more details about the Portfolio work expected in your course.

At the end of each week, you will be expected to assess your own progress using your progress card. Your instructor or informant will either concur with your assessment or suggest that you need more work.

There will be a quiz as we complete each chapter. These quizzes will focus on testing your learning of key phrases, vocabulary, and the like, as well as your ability to understand the spoken language.

At the end of the quarter, you will schedule a conversation with your instructor. Alternatively, your section may participate in the Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview (SOPI) administered at Stanford each quarter. You will have a great deal of choice in how you want to demonstrate what you have learned to do in Spanish.

Class assignments

Daily language activity is essential to mastering a language. You will be assigned various activities from your Diario de actividades to help you master the vocabulary and other material we are studying. You will turn these in at the end of each chapter. Be sure to correct your work using a different color pen and your Answer Key. (You may turn in the actual sheets from your manual or write on a separate piece of paper.) Your Diario de actividades will require you to use audio files, available in cassette form at the Green Library Media Desk as well as on line at http://www.stanford.edu/group/ll/spanish/acono/Spanish1Audio.htm. If you use cassettes, for convenience’ sake you may make your own copies of the laboratory tapes using the high speed dubber at the Media Center in the basement of Green Library.

You will also be assigned three compositions to help you practice writing and synthesizing many of your language skills. You will type a first draft (double-spaced!) of your essay and receive comments from your classmates on the content and structure of the essay. Your instructor will likely require a second draft to make spelling and grammar corrections. Then you will type a final draft to submit for a grade. Please remember to include your name, assignment number or page numbers, and the date in the upper right-hand corner of all your assignments. You may find it useful to consult the following site to help you type accents on the computer: http://www.stanford.edu/group/ll/lldocs/accents.html

4. Grades: Grading will take into account the following factors.

• Class participation: 20%
  • Homework (exercises, Internet activities, etc.) 10%
  • Attendance 10%
• Oral component: 20%
  • Oral presentation 5%
  • Final interview with instructor 15%
• Writing Component: 15%
  • Each of 3 compositions 5%
• Portfolio (minimum): 15%
  • Progress Card 5%
  • Work with native informant 5%
  • Other Portfolio entries 5%
• Exams: 30%
  • Quizzes/Midterms 10%
  • Final Exam 20%

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Departmental Grading Scale:

Attendance Grading:

*Ten percentage points off for each successive absence.

**Note also that 3 tardies = 1 absence

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