- GENERAL. We will practice and develop all five language skills: speaking, listening, writing, reading and culture. Due to the nature of the course and the process of learning a second language, you will be expected to complete a significant amount of work on your own outside of class, and to treat in-class time as a precious commodity, focused principally on the first two skills. See the Course Objectives for what a successful student will be able to do with the language at the end of the course.
Textbook Package. Required: Plazas Textbook, Heinle & Heinle, 3rd Edition, 2008 (includes two textbook audio CD's) and one Quia book key pamphlet for the online Lab Manual & Workbook. The ISBN for the complete package is 9781428209923, and it can be purchased at the NCSU Bookstore, Packbackers, or via the Internet. Used textbooks are also available, but be sure they include the two audio CD's before you buy. If buying a used Plazas 3rd edition textbook, you can purchase the Quia book key for the Plazas 3rd edition Workbook/Lab Manual directly from http://books.quia.com/books/. The bookstores do not guarantee to have books in stock for all students for all courses at all times. Buy your books as early as feasible. If you do not have the book when the semester begins, be sure to work with someone who does have the book in order to be prepared for all class activities, including quizzes. Note: This book is used for FLS101, FLS102, FLS105, FLS110, FLS201, and FLS210.
- DAILY ASSIGNMENTS/PARTICIPATION/ATTENDANCE. You are expected to attend each class session during the semester and actively participate in the language learning process. To properly participate and earn a "4" for each day of class, you are expected to actively read each page of the textbook as indicated on
the syllabus, and prepare each textbook activity therein as needed (orally, written out, etc.) in order to complete the textbook activities during the class session.
Your daily grade reflects your preparation for class, as well as your active engagement with the instructors in the learning process during class. Each class session will include opportunities
for individual, pair, small and large group work. Your daily
participation is expected, evaluated and recorded through quizzes
and daily observation. See the participation rubric for additional details. All electronic devices are to be turned off for the duration of the class; failure to do so will result in your earning a "1" for the day.The three lowest daily participation scores will be dropped at the end of the semester. Except in exceptional cases, each
absence after 3 (excused or unexcused) will result in a 1% deduction from the overall final grade, regardless of when you begin attending the class. Documentation regarding absences must be provided within two days of the student's return to class in order for the documented absence to be considered for designation as an excused absence. Students not attending the first two days of class will be disenrolled.
- TESTING. Pop quizzes will be over material assigned for the day, week, etc. They are timed and simple. They are intended to facilitate your on-time arrival to each class, and to encourage you to actively engage in the process of preparing all the assigned activities prior to attending each class session. If you miss a daily quiz you earn a "0" for that quiz. The three lowest
quiz scores will be dropped at the end of the semester. Hourly tests will concentrate
on each current chapter, but of necessity include material from all
previous chapters. They will be administered in the classroom according to the course
schedule. An expectation sheet will be provided for each hourly exam and the final exam. The final
exam will
be comprehensive, and will be administered
on the date/time indicated on the course schedule.
- MAKE-UP WORK/LATE ASSIGNMENTS.
The daily participation grade reflects both your preparation for class, as well as your active participation in the many opportunities for individual, pair, small and large group language work during class. Therefore, the active FL classroom experience, represented by your daily participation grade, is problematic to make up. We do drop several low grades at the end of the course (see #3 and #4). Therefore, in general, late work is is not accepted. Attend and actively participate in each class, and complete each assignments
on the course schedule. Plan ahead for problems, assume that everything will not always go as planned (particularly with technology), and complete
assignments and homework ahead of time. Please visit with me if you have questions or concerns about this.
- QUIA: Lab Manual & Workbook. Your textbook package includes a Quia trifold (or you purchased the book key online). You find your Quia Book Key in the trifold. This gives you online access to both the Lab Manual (LM) and the Workbook (WB) exercises. View the Quia Account Instructions if you need help setting up your Quia account. The course code is NFTEA864. Complete the LM and WB exercises online according to the course schedule. Complete the Quia exercises in the CHASS Language Labs, or on any Internet-enabled computer with speakers. Your grade for these activities will be based on your completing them DAY BY DAY ACCORDING to the schedule, TIME SPENT in completing the exercises (the more time, the better the grade), and your earning at least an 80% for each activity, after resubmissions. Note: The Quia exercises default to the Workbook section; click on the chapter name (e.g. Capítulo P) in the breadcrumbs section of the page to choose the "Workbook" or "Lab Manual" activities. If you are having trouble finding the Quia exercises, see the Quia Help Page or contact your TA. Written stress marks, and other diacritics are integral to the written language. Set up up your computer to produce them as needed.
- PROJECTS & ORAL ASSESSMENT. There will be a series of projects assigned during the course of the semester, principally dealing with oral assessment, and will include a culminating oral assessment conducted during the final week of classes, as well as online textbook activities. These projects are assigned, accessible and due as indicated on the course schedule. Scores will be based on the
completeness and timeliness of each project and individual project rubrics.
- GRADES. Your grades are posted using a PIN assigned by the instructor. Your PIN appears on your quiz sheet. (You can scratch it out once you have it memorized.) Click on your corresponding section link at the top of this page to check your current standing in the course. Find your PIN on the web page in the "ID#" column (use CTLR+F to find it quickly); your corresponding grades
will be to the right of your PIN. Grades are generally updated each Monday morning. Download the FLS101 Grade Sheet to track your course scores.
- CREDIT ONLY/AUDIT/INCOMPLETE. Credit-only students must earn a 70% or higher to pass the course with an "S". Students auditing the course complete everything but the hourly and final exams, and must earn 70% or higher for a grade of "AU". A grade of "Incomplete" is only assigned per university policy. Note: If you plan to meet graduation requirements using Spanish courses, you must successfully complete this course for credit (letter grade or s/u) in order to take FLS102.
- HONOR CODE.
All instructors of foreign languages at NC State take very seriously the principle of academic integrity. (See sections 7-13 of the NCSU Code of Student Conduct, accessible from the web site of the Office of Student Conduct.) Regardless of discipline, honest and rigorous scholarship is at the foundation of a Research I institution. You are expected to have read the entire NCSU Code of Student Conduct. You and your instructor will follow both the spirit and letter of the code. You will have the opportunity to attest to this explicitly in writing on several occasions, however by turning in any assignment, you are attesting to that work being your own, and completed according to the honor code. Although you must complete and turn in your own work, you are encouraged to work with others in preparing and completing many of the course assignments (quizzes and tests being the principal exceptions). Your instructor will indicate which assignments should not be completed together. Note: The copying or sharing of answers, from another student or from an answer key, an online translator, an Instructor's Annotated edition of the textbook, etc., is not WORKING together and is in violation of the honor code. Also, during testing, looking at another student's test/quiz, the use of the Internet, etc., is in violation of the Code of Student Conduct for these courses.
- e-MAIL. Use e-mail judiciously. Try to find the answer to your question before emailing. If you email the instructor or the course TA's a question that is answered on this syllabus, in the FAQ, or the list of answered questions, you will lose participation/preparation points from your next class session. Include a meaningful subject in the subject line, and include FLS101 so that your work will be directed to the appropriate email folder and not to the Spam folder. Begin your email with "Ms. Kane", "Dr. Despain," etc. Be courteous. Use your first and last name to sign your email. Create an email folder in which to store, through the end of the semester, a copy of all correspondence for this course.
- DISABILITIES. Students with diagnosed disabilities
schedule an appointment with the professor at the beginning of
the semester to discuss academic accommodations. This student/professor
meeting occurs after the professor receives official documentation
from the DSS office. Students without official documentation need
to register in Suite 1900, Student Health Center. (See current NC State Policy, DSO site, or
call 5-7653, voice; 5-8830, tty.).
Students with particular learning styles/needs should inform
the instructor at the beginning of the course.
- ADVERSE WEATHER. From time to time adverse weather disrupts our lives. Read the complete adverse weather policy for more info. Check email, local news, the NCSU home page, or call 513-8888 for the latest information.
- FOREIGN CHARACTERS/ACCENTS. The written work you submit must include all the appropriate diacritics (tildes and stress marks), upside down question marks and exclamation marks. There are a number of options available to do this on your computer and they can be found by visiting the Foreign Characters page.
- TUTORING. Utilize the scheduled office hours of your instructors. We have the answers to your questions. Students who feel a need for additional tutoring can consult the FLL Tutoring page.
- LIBRARY USE. Studying in the library is a good thing. A reference
librarian is available by phone, email, and chat to help you with
searches. A vast array of electronic resources is available from off-campus
through the library's web site.
- MORE INFORMATION. There is more university-wide
course policy information available at the Provost's site.
- TUTORIALS & GRAMMAR PRIMERS
- Plazas Web Page - Heinle & Heinle Plazas Site
- Grammar Exercises Index - Matthew Stroud, PhD - Trinity University
- Spanish Language and Culture - Barbara Cuczun Nelson - Colby College
- CONJUGUEMOS Home Page - Alejandro Yegros (Maestro de español, Weston High School, MA)
- Spanish Language Exercises - Juan Ramón De Arana
- Anki - Flashcard program
- LAITS - Video clips of language tasks
