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SPA
204 Course Description
Spanish
102 Credit
Application
Package for Students
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Earn Professsional Training Credits
for Teachers
Passport
Information
Study
Abroad Article
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Testimonials
Photo
Album
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Semester
Credit Hours:
4.0
Course
Description: This course is a study of
the Spanish language taught in the context
of a comparison of cultures across Spanish-speaking
countries. This course will be an immersion
in the Spanish language and Hispanic culture
through a study abroad experience.
Prerequisites:
Spanish 101 Beginning Spanish I and Spanish
102 Beginning Spanish II
Co-requisites: None.
Contact
hours: (92.5 hrs total)
4.5 hrs pre-departure meetings (1 hr 30 min
x 3)
50 hrs of classes in Mexico (5 hrs/day x 10
days)
20 hrs evening cultural and bilingual exchange
programs (2 hrs/evening x 10)
10 hrs Saturday excursion in the State of
Morelos
4 hrs museum tours of El muro and Palacio
de Cortés
4 hrs de-briefing upon return (2 hrs x 2)
Course
Competencies: Course competencies are
based on the Standards for Foreign Language
Learning.
- Students
should be able to engage in conversations,
provide and obtain information, express
feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.
- Students
should be able to understand and interpret
written and spoken language on a variety
of topics.
- Students
should be able to present information, concepts,
and ideas to an audience of listeners or
readers on a variety of topics.
- Students
should be able to demonstrate an understanding
of the relationship between the practices
and perspectives of the culture studied.
- Students
should be able to reinforce and further
their knowledge of other disciplines through
the foreign language (history, art, etc.).
- Students
should acquire information and recognize
the distinctive viewpoints that are only
available through the foreign language and
its cultures.
- Students
demonstrate understanding of the concept
of culture through comparisons of the cultures
studied and their own.
- Students
use the language both within and beyond
the school setting.
- Students
show evidence of becoming life-long learners
by using the language for personal enjoyment
and enrichment.
Topics to be covered in course:
- Preparing
for the trip
- Travel
vocabulary and filling out documents
- Geography
and climate (Celsius system and weather
vocabulary)
- Mexican
currency (numbers)
- Grammar:
Present subjunctive
- Grammar:
Present subjunctive and future tense
- Cultural
differences
- To
be addressed before and after study
abroad (in Cuernavaca, Mexico, this
year)
- Mexican
culture
- Daily
Life
- Vocabulary
for daily life: social situations,
leisure activities and scenes in
a restaurant
- Grammar:
Present and future tenses
- Art
- Frida
Kahlo and Diego Rivera
- Visit
El muro museum
- Religion
- Overview
of religion in Mexico
- Visit
St. Prisca Church
- Visit
Cathedral
- History
- Legend
of La llorona
- Visit
to the pyramids at Xochicalco (on
summer solstice)
- Conquest
of Mexico: Doña Marina, Hernán
Cortés
- Visit
to Cortés's palace
- Grammar:
preterite and imperfect tenses
- De-briefing
upon return
- Cultural
experiences
- Differences
- Insights
into American culture
- Grammar:
imperfect subjunctive and conditional
tense with "If" phrases
- Presentations
Assessment
and Evaluation:
- Portfolio
25%
At the end of the semester students will
turn in and present a portfolio that includes
various writing assignments given throughout
the semester. (Further description of each
writing activity and the grading criteria
will be distributed later in the semester).
Their portfolios should include selected
journal entries with photos and/or special
items collected during the summer abroad
trip.
- Journal
& quizzes 25%
Students will keep a journal during the
semester. Various writing assignments, such
as pre-departure questionnaires, reactions
to experiences and short dialogues, must
be included. Quizzes will consist of any
of the following: new vocabulary words,
grammar lessons, listening comprehension,
reading comprehension, sentence completion,
short answer and multiple choice questions.
- Oral
interview and presentation 25%
At a scheduled point in the semester, each
student will participate in an interview
with the instructor, in which the student
both answers and asks questions. In addition,
students will participate in group presentations
throughout the semester. More detailed information
and grading criteria will be provided later
in the semester.
- Participation
25%
Participation includes attendance, readiness
to participate with classmates (role play,
answer questions, etc.), attitude, preparedness
for class (homework such as reading assignments),
and readiness to participate in oral activities,
such as short dialogues, etc.
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