Spanish 3223.001: Advanced Spanish Conversation
Fall 2007
Hamilton Hall 322
Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30 - 10:45am

Tito Aznar
Hamilton Hall 312
Phone: 580-349-1418
Email: taznar@opsu.edu
https://taznar.tripod.com/

Office Hours:
Monday and Wednesday: 10:00 - 10:55; 1:30 - 2:25
Tuesday and Thursday: 11:00 - 12:30

Prerequisites:
Students need to have passed SPAN 3113 (or equivalent) with a C or better to enroll in this course. Some students (depending on their knowledge of the language) may be allowed by the instructor to take this course as well.

Objectives:
This course is designed to improve students' oral communication in Spanish. Students will work mainly on improving two skills: listening and speaking. At the end of the semester, successful students will be able to converse in the target language about topics discussed in class, and they will also be able to find out information about topics unknown to them.

For students to succeed in this course, they need to be able to

a) Express their opinions and thoughts on various issues;
b) Ask for explanation, clarification, and examples;
c) Talk about hypothetical and factual issues;
d) Expand their vocabulary via self-promoted inquiry;
e) Carry out a (long,) fluent conversation;
f) Understand native speakers' speech (i.e. via recorded materials)

Textbook:
There is no textbook for this class; however, the instructor will provide students with reading materials and/or links to such materials. Although it is not required, a Spanish-only dictionary is highly recommended.

Assessment:
The instructor will use the following assessment tools to check students' progress.

a) In-class conversations
b) Listening comprehension exercises
c) Oral presentations
d) Exams

In-class conversations will consist of student-student and student-instructor interaction prompted by reading assignments, listening comprehension assignments; in-class movies, presentations, etc.

Listening comprehension exercises will consist of both in-class and at-home exercises that will prompt students to listen to a recording and answer specific questions in regards to content.

Oral presentations will be informal and low-key. The goal is for students to talk uninterruptedly for a certain amount of time. There will be one major presentation (longer than the others) on a topic chosen by the student from a list of possible topics. A question-answer session will follow major presentations.

Exams will take place twice in the semester: one at mid-term and one at finals time. Both exams will be formatted similarly with two sections each, an oral section and a listening comprehension section. The listening comprehension portion will consist of answering questions (fill-in-the gap, multiple-choice, short answer) after/while listening to recorded material. Students will listen to the recording three times. The oral portion of the exams will include a question/answer part and a conversation/role-playing part. The oral exams will include the material covered in class (readings, movies, research, presentations), but it is not limited to that material only.


The mid-term exam is scheduled for Tuesday, October 16 at 9:30am.

The final exam is scheduled for Tuesday, December 11 at 8:00am

Point Distribution:

Participation (this includes being prepared for class): 50%
Minor Presentations: 15%
Major Presentation: 10%
Mid-term: 10%
Final: 15%

Grading Scale:
A: 100-93%
B: 92-85%
C: 84-77%
D: 76-69%
F: 68-0%

Attendance and Participation:
This is a conversation class; therefore, students need to attend. I expect all students to be present every time the class meets. A student's final participation grade will drop ten (10) points per absence after the fourth time he/she missed class.

Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is defined as "Verbatim copying of an entire paper or other assigned work, not writing or composing your own work, submitting anyone else's (student, friend, professional, web) work, structure, or ideas, in whole or in part, without adequate acknowledgment of the sources used to construct a paper or other assigned work, giving or obtaining answers on a test."
Please refer to the OPSU Student Handbook to find a list of specific items that constitute plagiarism.
I will not tolerate plagiarism/cheating. If I find out you cheated, you will receive a zero (0) for that assignment.

Disabilities:
Requests for accommodation for disabilities should have been made prior to the start of the semester through the Vice President of Academic Affairs Office (academic, i.e. learning disabilities) or the Vice President for Student Affairs Office (physical, i.e. mobility, vision, hearing). However, if you think you have a disability and are in need of special accommodations, I will work with you to provide a reasonable accommodation to ensure that you have a fair opportunity to perform well in this class. Please advise me and the appropriate VP of such disability and the desired accommodation at some point before, during, or immediately after the first scheduled class period.

Important Dates:
August 17: Overload hours request due
August 21: Final day to change sections; enroll/add a class
August 28: No refunds on courses dropped after this date; final day to pay graduation fee and file application
October 18, 19: Fall break
November 2: Last day to change from credit to audit
November 5: Beginning "W/F" dropping period
November 19: Final day to drop a course
November 21-23: Thanksgiving break
December 10-13: Finals week

This is not a contract; hence, the instructor may make changes he sees fit. Students will be notified immediately should changes occur.