SPAN 101 Elementary Spanish I

Code:         SPAN 101                   Title:      Elementary Spanish I

Institute: Humanities                   Department: Languages/ESL

Course Description:

This course is designed for students with NO previous knowledge or limited knowledge of the Spanish language. Strong emphasis will be placed on acquiring conversational and comprehension skills, using practical and situational materials that will stress language and culture. Grammatical patterns and syntax will be introduced with the aim that students read and write what they have learned to say and understand.

Students who have had Spanish in high school or at home must take the Spanish Placement Test. See below for more information.

If you are planning to transfer to Rutgers:

•    Rutgers-New Brunswick will only accept SPAN 101 credits from students with two or more years of high school Spanish if the transferring student completes a Brookdale degree.

•    Students with two or more years of high school Spanish transferring without graduating from Brookdale will not receive transfer credit for SPAN 101 from Rutgers- New Brunswick. (See Rutgers Transfer Student Information)

•    It is advised that if you have previously studied Spanish and want to transfer a BCC SPAN 101 class to an institution other than Rutgers, you should consult with the Admissions Office of your transferring institution to learn about their policy.

Credits:            4 Lecture Hours: 4

REQUIRED MATERIALS

Tu Mundo e-book with Connect, 3rd edition (McGraw Hill) *

*Students will need to purchase a Connect Access Code. (Used copies will not include the required code.)

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Financial Aid students must purchase their access code from the college bookstore. For maximum savings, all other students should purchase Tu Mundo with  Connect by clicking on the first assignment in their Canvas course site which will bring them to  the McGraw Hill purchasing link.

SPANISH PLACEMENT TEST: If you have had ANY Spanish in school OR at home, you need to take the Spanish Placement Test before registering. You can complete it online at home or in person at one of our Testing Centers. Please ask your advisor or a member of the Languages and ESL Department for access.

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

•    understand written and spoken Spanish at the Novice-Mid level*

•    speak Spanish at the Novice-Mid level*

•    write Spanish at the Novice-Mid level*

•    demonstrate basic knowledge of the life and culture of Spanish -speaking countries

*The Novice-Mid level of the Proficiency Guidelines as established by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages

GRADING STANDARD - Your final grade will be based on the following criteria:

•     Chapter Exams:                                                           60%

•     Oral Interviews:                                                           15%

•     Homework, In-class Work, Participation                          25%

Total:                                                                              100%

IMPORTANT: CANVAS does NOT automatically determine your Final Grade

•     Your Final Grade will be based on the Grading Standard above. However, you must have accumulated a 70% average on the Chapter Exams Category before any other Grading Categories are considered to determine the Final Grade. In essence, if you pass the Chapter Exams, you pass the class.

•     Any student who averages 61-69% on the Chapter Exams Category will receive a “D”

grade for the course. In these cases, other Grading Categories will not be applied to raise the “D” grade.

•     Any student who averages 60% and lower on the Chapter Exams Category will receive a  Failing Grade of “F”. In these cases, other Grading Categories will not be applied to raise the “F” grade.

Notes on Participation:

•     Participation is evaluated based on the rubric in the Canvas Course Site.

•     Distance Education (fully online) sections will not include a participation grade.

Attendance Policy:

•     Students are required to attend all class meetings.

•     If your absences are unexcused, you will lose your participation points. More than three  unexcused absences (3 class sessions) will result in deductions from your Final Grade in the course.

•     An excused absence would consist of an instructor-approved reason for the absence (e.g., a medical or legal reason, etc.). Consult with your instructor if you have questions about   absences and legitimate reasons for being absent from class.

• After 3 unexcused absences, 3 percentage points will be deducted from the Final Grade for each additional unexcused absence.

•     This does not apply to Distance Education (fully online) sections.