Textbook:

STUDENT VIEWER'S HANDBOOK to accompany DESTINOS: Volume 1 Episodios 1 - 26,
Bill Van Patten et.al., McGraw-hill, 2002.

Recommended but not required:
BÚSCALO: A Quick Reference Guide to Spanish Grammar and Usage,
Clarkson & Campos, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1998.

Orientation:

Orientation is mandatory. Orientation Dates and Times
You will be dropped from the course if you fail to complete your orientation obligation.

E-mail in WebCt

This course has a Homepage with a Syllabus, Bulletin Board, and E-mail in WebCt that you will have to access through PALS (Personalized Access to Learning Services): PALS Login. You will enter your User Name and Password to get into PALS and then click on the tab that says "My Courses". Your current schedule will come up and if you click on Spanish 1300, you will find the course Homepage. I will expect you to use the e-mail option in WebCt (NOT THE PALS E-MAIL) to send me your homework and ask me any questions that you may have. You will need to check your WebCt e-mail several times a week. Important language notes, homework exercises, exam study guides, your exam grades and other important information will be sent to you via the WebCt e-mail and not the PALS or any other e-mail.

The Videos

This Spanish 1300 telecourse is based on EPISODIOS 1-26 of the McGraw-Hill Destinos Spanish language instruction program. These videos may be watched on Cable Channel 98 or KLRN Channel 9. See Broadcast Days and Times. The tapes may also be purchased in the bookstore, seen in the SLAC Lab (MLC 726) during regular lab hours or you can watch the episodes online if you go to the site which follows. After you click on the Episodes Online link, click on the VoD icon and complete the sign-up page that will appear. After that, you will be able to return to the site without having to complete the sign-in page again. You will just need to click on the icons and watch the episodes. View the Episodes Online.

The Destinos tapes are essentially a soap opera (novela) in which Raquel Rodríguez looks for lost family members of the Spanish expatriate don Fernando Castillo Saavedra, who, for years, has been living in Mexico. During her search, Raquel visits Spain, Argentina, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.

Each week you will view two thirty-minute tapes back to back. If you view the videos on Television, it is a good idea to videotape these EPISODIOS whenever possible so they may be used to review for the exams. If you do not feel confident that you have understood the videos satisfactorily, you may need to replay them until you feel more certain of your comprehension. It is not necessary to understand every word on the videos, but you should understand well the unfolding story. In order to get the most out of each episode, you need to do the following:

1. **VERY IMPORTANT**: Study the notes posted by the instructor on the WebCt Bulletin Board prior to viewing the episodes.
2. Do the PREPARACIÓN exercises in the Viewer's Handbook.
3. DO THE EXERCISES POSTED BY THE INSTRUCTOR ON THE BULLETIN BOARD.
4. Now watch the Episode.
5. Do the ¿TIENES BUENA MEMORIA? exercises in the Viewer's Handbook.
6. Do other activities for each episode in the Viewer's Handbook (read and study the Cultural Notes, do INTERCAMBIO exercise, read and study MÁS ALLÁ DEL EPISODIO, etc.)
7. Go through the instructor's notes and explanations again to see if you understand the material better after having watched the episodes.
8. Look over the Practice Exercises that you wrote out for the week, make corrections, and SEND THEM TO ME as a single attachment in the WebCT e-mail. Your homework needs to be saved and named as follows:  YOUR LAST NAME, followed by the FIRST LETTER OF YOUR FIRST NAME, FOLLOWED BY Hw02 if it is for week two, Hw03 for week three, etc.  DO NOT USE commas, dashes or spaces.  If you are not doing this correctly by the second week, you will lose points on your Homework grade.
9. Watch the episode again for better comprehension.Top

Course Objectives

Of the four basic language skills, this course emphasizes listening comprehension, ie. the ability to understand spoken Spanish. Students learn to recognize and comprehend basic vocabulary and grammatical structures. The videos are the principal vehicle for teaching aural comprehension and the textbook reinforces the videos. At the end of the course, students will be able to aurally comprehend (1) the present tense indicative of common regular verbs, (2) the present indicative of common irregular verbs, (3) the present tense indicative of common stem changing verbs, (4) the present tense indicative of common reflexive verbs, (5) the present progressive, (6) direct object pronouns, (7) indirect object pronouns used with the verb GUSTAR, (8) possessive forms, (9) common interrogative expressions, (10) idioms with tener, (11) telling time and (12) basic vocabulary items including greetings and courtesy expressions, family relationships, telling time, months, days of week, colors, foods, common descriptive adjectives and many common nouns. Students will also have a better understanding of Hispanic customs and culture. Top

The Review Sessions

There are four review sessions that correspond to the course's four exams. The review sessions are in MLC 726. Each review session is comprised of two parts. The first part consists of twenty-five taped sentences that the student listens to and attempts to determine whether they are true or false. The student must bring an 882 Scantron form to the reviews and mark A for sentences she/he considers true, and B for presumed false statements. The sentences on each tape deal with the events, characters, and plot development of the EPISODIOS. The correct answers are provided at the end of each review tape so the student can assess her/his comprehension progress. During the second part of the review, the instructor will answer questions and go over basic vocabulary and grammatical structures that will be tested on the exam. The tapes will be played at 10:10 at each review. If you arrive after 10:10, you will miss the tape part of the review.

The review sessions are optional but definitely recommended. A SAC Photo I.D., which may be obtained in LSC 260B, is required for all review sessions. Review Sessions Dates and Times
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The Exams

The course's four exams are in MLC 726. The first part of each exam follows the same format as the Review Tapes. YOU WILL BE PERMITTED TO LISTEN TO EACH EXAM TAPE ONLY ONE TIME. The tape will be played at 4:10, 5:10 and 6:10 during the 4:00 to 7:00 exam periods and at 10:10, 11:10 and 12:10 during 10:00 to 1:00 exam periods. Therefore, you will need to get to the lab ON THE HOUR so that you can sign in and be ready to take the exam at ten minutes after the hour. If you get there after the tape has started, you will have to wait until the next hour.

The second part of each exam will cover basic vocabulary, grammatical structures and cultural material taken from the notes posted on the Bulletin Board. The student must present each test at one of the scheduled testing times. Due to the liberal amount of time allotted for each testing period, make-up exams will be permitted only if the student contacts the instructor and has a compelling reason for having missed the exam at the scheduled time. Failure to follow this procedure will result in a grade of "zero" being recorded for any missed test unless other arrangements are made with the instructor.

A SAC Photo I.D., which may be obtained in LSC 260B is required for all tests. The student must also bring a Scantron 882 form, and a #2 pencil. The test/grades will be sent to the student through the E-MAIL IN WebCt and not PALS or any other e-mail. The test and videos they cover are: Test I (1-6), Test II (7-13), Test III (14-20), and Test IV / Final Exam (1-26). Exam Dates and Times
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Homework

The NOTES and EXERCISES for the entire semester are posted on the Bulletin Board in WebCt.  In order to access that material, go to the WebCt homepage, click on Bulletin Board, and then on ALL.  This will allow you to see everything that has been posted.  You will then click on the magnifying glass image that corresponds to whatever you want to see.  A message (usually with an attachment) will appear.  To see the attachment, click on SEE ATTACHED.  Then mark the radial button and click on Download.  You will then have the option of opening or saving the attachment.  I recommend that you save the notes to your computer and print them so that you can refer to them as you work through the exercises.  The EXERCISES need to be saved to your computer, but first you need to rename them as follows:  YOUR LAST NAME, followed by the FIRST LETTER OF YOUR FIRST NAME, FOLLOWED BY Hw02 if it is for week two, Hw03 for week three, etc.  DO NOT USE commas, dashes or spaces.  You will then complete the exercises on that same document, save your work, and send it to me as a single attachment in the WebCt e-mail weekly.

To send me the homework, go to the Homepage, click on the mail box (NOT THE BULLETIN BOARD) and then on compose message.  You will then click on the top browse button and select instructor.  Put the name of your homework in the Subject window and something in the Message box.  After that click on the bottom browse button to find your homework (that you named as I have instructed), double-click on it and it will pop into a little window.  You will then click on ATTACH FILE and you will be ready to send the e-mail.  After you have sent it, go to your outbox to make sure it is there with the attachment.  In order for you to get credit for the homework, I have to receive it no later than Friday of each week.  You may work ahead and send the homework early if you wish.  If you have problems, call me at 733-2628.

Grades

The Homework that you submit will count 18.75% of the grade, the same as each of the first three exams. The Final Exam will be comprehensive and will count 25% of the semester grade. The letter grades and their percentage equivalents are: 0-59 (F), 60-69 (D), 70-79 (C), 80-89 (B), and 90-100 (A). Top

Broadcast Days & Times

Cable Channel 98
Tuesdays 1:00pm - 2:00pm, Thursday 11:00am - 12:00pm

KLRN Channel 9 (Cable 10)
Friday 4:00am - 5:00am
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E-Mail in WebCt The Videos	Course Objectives
The Review Sessions	The Exams
Grades	Broadcast Days and Times
Homework
Back to my Homepage	Back to Spanish Division Faculty