GENERAL INFORMATION SPN 1130 SPANISH I

PROFESSOR INFORMATION

Instructor:
Office Hours: By Appointment
E-mail: Canvas Inbox

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Spanish 1130 is the first course of a four-semester sequence which introduces the essential elements of
Spanish structure, vocabulary and cultural aspects of the Hispanic countries. Attention is paid to the
functional use of the structures presented in this on-line class. Spanish language knowledge and skills
are developed through varied learning activities. The student will act as the main agent of her/his own
learning with the instructor as the facilitator. This course has been designed for non-heritage students
only.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this course, students will be able to:

 Introduce oneself and others, greet people and say goodbye

 Spell
 Talk about people and things in the classroom
 Use numbers to express dates and tell the time
 Talk about the university and life as a university student
 Talk about daily routines at the university
 Describe people, animals, places and things
 Express likes and dislikes
 Make suggestions about future plans
 Use numbers 100 to 2.000.000 to talk about dates and prices
 Talk about eating habits
 Identify and describe family members
 Express preferences, desires and feelings
 Describe physical and emotional states
 Learn about the Hispanic cultures

By the end of the course, students should have developed a beginning level of communicative
competence, listening comprehension skills, grammatical and written capabilities, and culturally
appropriate language skills.
 PLACEMENT TEST

All students are required to take a placement test to ensure this is the appropriate language class for
them. The test should be taken before or on the first day of class by clicking on
www.webcape.org/nwcregister.php?acct=fiu (password: panther). Only those students that score below
270 will be allowed to stay in SPN 1130. Based on your score, you will know what course to register for.

HERITAGE STUDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO STAY IN THIS COURSE. THEY WILL ALSO NEED TO TAKE
THE PLACEMENT TEST TO ENROLL IN SPN 2340 OR ABOVE DEPENDING ON THE TEST RESULTS.

TEXTBOOK 

NO PHYSICAL TEXTBOOK IS REQUIRED FOR THIS COURSE; HOWEVER, STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO BUY
TWO REGISTRATIONS:

1. An access code for WileyPLus: In order to have access to the e-text (Dicho y hecho by Kim
Potoswski) and the homework assignments, you will have to buy a WileyPlus code inside your Canvas
course when you click on WP Chapter 1 Reading. If you cannot afford it right away, you will need to
choose the 14-day grace period option to have immediate access to the textbook and homework. If you
need to buy your textbooks at the FIU Bookstore, you can purchase the WileyPlus access code there, but
you will need to register ONLY through your Canvas course by clicking on WP Chapter 1 Reading, and
then, entering the code you have bought.

2. An access for Linguameeting: In order to participate in the mandatory oral sessions, you will
need to click on http://linguameeting.com/register to buy six-oral sessions. Once you buy your sessions
during the registration process, you will need to select the dates and times (Eastern Time) for the
semester. You can always change dates prior to your sessions if you need to. Only one (1) make-up is
allowed if you miss one session.

Registration and troubleshooting instructions for WileyPlus and Linguameeting are also located in
MODULES.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

POLICIES

Please review the FIU's Policies webpage. The policies webpage contains essential information regarding
guidelines relevant to all courses at FIU, as well as additional information about acceptable netiquette
for online courses.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS AND SKILLS

One of the greatest barriers to taking an online course is a lack of basic computer literacy. By computer
literacy we mean being able to manage and organize computer files efficiently and learning to use your
computer's operating system and software quickly and easily. Keep in mind that this is not a computer
literacy course; but students enrolled in online courses are expected to have moderate proficiency using
a computer. Please go to the "What's Required" webpage to find out more information on this subject.

This course uses:

 WileyPlus (Privacy Policy)

 Linguameeting (Privacy Policy)

Please visit our Technical Requirements webpage for additional information.

ACCESSIBILITY AND ACCOMMODATION

Please visit our ADA Compliance webpage for information about accessibility involving the tools used in
this course.

Please visit Accessibility within Canvas webpage for more information. 

For additional assistance please contact FIU's Disability Resource Center.

ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT STATEMENT

Florida International University is a community dedicated to generating and imparting knowledge

through excellent teaching and research, the rigorous and respectful exchange of ideas and community
service. All students should respect the right of others to have an equitable opportunity to learn and
honestly to demonstrate the quality of their learning. Therefore, all students are expected to adhere to
a standard of academic conduct, which demonstrates respect for themselves, their fellow students, and
the educational mission of the University. All students are deemed by the University to understand that
if they are found responsible for academic misconduct, they will be subject to the Academic Misconduct
procedures and sanctions, as outlined in the Student Handbook.

Academic Misconduct includes: Cheating – The unauthorized use of books, notes, aids, electronic
sources; or assistance from another person with respect to examinations, course assignments, field
service reports, class recitations; or the unauthorized possession of examination papers or course
materials, whether originally authorized or not. Plagiarism – The use and appropriation of another’s
work without any indication of the source and the representation of such work as the student’s own.
Any student who fails to give credit for ideas, expressions or materials taken from another source,
including Internet sources, is responsible for plagiarism.

Learn more about the academic integrity policies and procedures as well as student resources that can
help you prepare for a successful semester.

COURSE PREREQUISITES

There are no prerequisites for this course.

EXPECTATIONS OF THIS COURSE

Students are expected to:

 Review the syllabus, course content, and course work

 Do a browser and software checkup
 Interact online with instructor/s and peers
 Review and follow the course calendar
 Log in to the course on a daily basis
 Respond to messages within 1 day
 Submit the assignments by the deadlines

TUTORING

Students can take advantage of the language labs below if they are encountering issues with the course
content. Please call the centers for the hours.

Labs are located at:

 MMC: SIPA 240 – (305) 348-5743

 BBC: AC II 214 – (305) 919-5872

COURSE WORK

Video Project (5%):

At the end of the semester, students will do 1 -2 min video in Spanish focusing on these questions.

 ¿Cómo te llamas?
 ¿De dónde eres?
 ¿Qué estudias en FIU?
 ¿Te gustan tus clases? ¿Cuál es tu clase favorita y por qué?
 ¿Trabajas?
 ¿Qué te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre?
 ¿Cómo es tu rutina diaria?

The video will be graded based on pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary, and grammar for this Spanish
level. No reading in front of the camera is allowed. Technical instructions are in Modules.

The criteria used to evaluate the video are the following:

1. SPONTANEOUS VERSUS MEMORIZED LANGUAGE USE (1 point)

(Note: it is ok to plan your linguistic output ahead and practice, but speak naturally
as you would in real life. Do not memorize what you will say.)
2. MESSAGE OF THE VIDEO / SUCCESSFUL DELIVERY OF TASK (1 point)
(I.e., Was the video authentic?)

3. CREATIVITY (1 point)
(How creative was the video? Did the student think outside of the box in the video
creation?)

4. GRAMMATICAL ACCURACY (1 point)

(How well does the student produce the grammar that he/she has learned?)

5. PRONUNCIATION AND STRATEGIC COMPETENCE (1 point)

(Is the student’s pronunciation target-like? When a natural conversational breakdown
occurs, does he/she compensate for that in Spanish? E.g., este, eeem, vale, etc.,
instead of English fillers such as like, but, anyway)

Discussion Boards (10%):

Interaction among students will be achieved through the Discussion Board on a given topic. You can find
the topics for each of the five discussion boards in Modules. All postings must be in Spanish. Discussion
Board grades will be assigned based on the number of postings per student per topic, as well as how
interesting, appropriate, and relevant the comment is. Grammar accuracy will not be as important in
terms of participation grade as long as posting is understandable. Students who post more entries will
receive a better grade. Entries such as "Sí", "No", "Yo también" or "Estoy de acuerdo" are not acceptable
and will count as not having posted anything. In order to get a full credit, students need to post a first
entry of 5 or 6 sentences long, and then reply to at least two students' comments with 2 or 3 sentences.
Google Translator or any other type of digital aid is not acceptable. It is very easy for the instructor to
realize when cheating has occurred. If so, the student will get a zero.

The grading criteria for the discussion boards are the following:

0 points
1 point per 1.5 points per 2 points per 2.5 points per
Category per
category category category category
category
More than five
One or two Three sentences, Four sentences,
Delivery of Does not sentences, some
sentences, many some errors in some errors in
Post post errors or very few in
errors in spelling spelling. spelling
spelling
Occasionally posts Posts are related Posts are related to
Posts do not relate off topic; and to the discussion the discussion topic;
Relevance of Does not
to the discussion offer no further topic; prompts provides additional
Post post
topic insight into the further discussion information related
topic of topic to topic
Contribution Does not Does not make Occasionally Frequently Consistently
to the topic post effort to makes effort to attempts to attempts to
participate in the become involved contribute to the motivate the group
group discussion in group group posting, discussion and
 as it develops; contributes very
interacts freely
seems indifferent often
More than five
Four sentences
Participants' One or two sentences and two
Does not Three sentences and one short
Quantity of sentences and no or more replies of
post and no replies. reply (one or two
Posts replies. three or four
sentences)
sentences each

Compositions (10%):

Students will need to submit a total of 2 compositions during the semester. Both compositions must be
at least 100 words long and written in Spanish. Please note that if your instructor suspects that you
have used the aid of a digital translator, or of another person to write your composition, you will
receive a zero.

The grading criteria for the compositions are the following:

9-10 points
o Addresses the topic assigned.
o Uses a wide variety of the vocabulary covered in the lessons.
o Control of grammar is what would be considered typical for this level.

7-8 points
o Addresses the topic assigned.
o Uses a wide variety of the vocabulary covered in the lessons.
o Control of grammar is somewhat less than what would be considered typical for this level.

5-6 points
o Addresses the topic assigned,
o Uses some variety of the vocabulary covered in the lessons.
o Control of grammar is considerably less than what would be typical for this level.

3-4 points
o Addresses the topic assigned.
o Uses only minimal variety of the vocabulary covered in the lessons.
o Control of grammar is significantly below what would be considered typical for this level.

0 points
o Does not address the topic.
o Uses a translator or the aid of another person to write the composition.
o Cheating

WileyPlus Homework (25%):

WileyPlus is an online teaching and learning environment that provides learners with a variety of
grammar, vocabulary, listening, writing, and cultural activities. Students gain immediate feedback on
their strengths and weaknesses so that they can spend their study time effectively as well as enhancing
their language skills. Students will complete the WileyPlus assignments by the due date.

Linguameeting Oral Sessions (15%):

Through the Linguameeting platform, students will have the opportunity to practice Spanish with real-
time language coaches by participating in six -oral sessions total during the semester. Each virtual
session will last 30 minutes and will address one chapter, except the first one that is focused on get-to-
know each other. Students will have two weeks to complete each session. Check Linguameeting
availability on weekends. All students must sign up during the first week of class.

Partial Exams (15%):

There will be two partial exams on Canvas. The Partial Exam 1 covers chapters 1 and 2, Partial Exam 2
covers chapters 3 and 4. Exams are intended to help students review the material learned up to that
point. The partial exams can only be taken once. There will be no make-ups without a documented and
valid reason. The exam feedback will be available after the exam's due date. It is open book; therefore,
no need to use Honorlock. The exams are free of fees.

Final Exam (20%):

The Final Exam will be comprehensive and will be administered on-site at MMC. If a student cannot
come on the final exam date, s/he should take the exam with Honorlock. Students must notify their
professor if they will take the final exam with Honorlock.

The final exam will not be open book. Notes/dictionaries/ Internet search/ smartphones/ tablets/
electronic devices/ translator aid are not allowed; that is why a proctor is needed.

It is your responsibility to make sure your computer meets the minimum hardware requirements.
Assessments in this course are not compatible with mobile devices and should not be taken through a
mobile phone or a tablet. If you need further assistance please contact FIU Online Support Services.

 PROCTORED EXAM POLICY

This course requires a final proctored exam.

An on-campus exam will be held at MMC on the last day of the semester (time and room TBA). For those
students unable to come to campus, the exam will be available online via Honorlock paying a fee. If you
take it on campus, you will not need to pay any fees.

Honorlock is a virtual proctoring center recommended by FIU that allows students to take exams from
any comfortable and private location. Students do not need a password or an appointment since the
feature is already built-in inside the Canvas course.

Students who choose Honorlock will be responsible for:

  Paying a fee (Note: Exams over two hours will be allocated an extra charge unless the student
has other accommodation requests from the Disability Resource Center.)
 Complying with the Honorlock requirements, including but not limited to a functioning web cam
since the exam needs to be recorded.

Exam Option Start Date Start Time End Date End Time Exam Duration
HonorLock 04/20/2020 12:00 AM 04/25/2020 11:59 PM 120 minutes
 

04/25/2020 TBA 04/25/2020 TBA 120 minutes

On-Campus

GRADING

Course Requirements Number of Items Weight

Video Project 1 5%
Discussion Boards 5 10%
Compositions 2 10%
WileyPlus Homework 6 25%
Linguameeting Sessions 6 15%
Partial Exams 2 15%
Final Exam 1 20%
Total 22 100%

Letter Range Letter Range Letter Range

A Above 93 B 83 - 87.9 C 70 - 77.9
A- 90 - 92.9 B- 80 - 82.9 D 60 - 69.9
B+ 88 - 89.9 C+ 78 - 79.9 F 0 - 59.9

COURSE CALENDAR

WEEKLY SCHEDULE
 Date Lesson Assignments
 Read the syllabus thoroughly, focus on the course work
WEEK 1 ¡Bienvenidos a SPN  Sign up for WileyPlus and Linguameeting (two different
Jan 6 – 12 1130! registrations) by Jan. 12

WEEK 2
 Study Capítulo 1 Nuevos encuentros (e-book)
Jan 13 – 19
Lección 1  Study the PPT for the chapter 1
Nuevos encuentros  WileyPlus homework 1 is due on Sunday, Jan 19 @ 23:45 ET.

WEEK 3 Lección 1  Discussion Board 1 closes on Sunday, Jan 26 @ 23:55 ET.

Jan 20 – 26 Nuevos encuentros

 Study Capítulo 2 La vida universitaria (e-book)

WEEK 4
 Study the PPT for the chapter 2.
Jan 27 – Feb 2 Lección 2: La vida
 WileyPlus homework 2 is due on Sunday, Feb 2 @ 23:45 ET.
universitaria
 Linguameeting 1

 Discussion Board 2 closes on Sunday, Feb 9 @ 23:55 ET.

WEEK 5 Lección 2: La vida
 Linguameeting 1 to be completed.
Feb 3 – 9 universitaria

 Partial Exam 1 will include the chapters 1 & 2:  Sunday, Feb 16

WEEK 6
Partial Exam 1  Linguameeting 2
Feb 10 – 16

 Study Capítulo 3 Así es mi familia (e-book)

WEEK 7  Study the PPT for the chapter 3.
Lección 3: Así es mi
Feb 17 – 23  WileyPlus homework 3 is due on Sunday, Feb 23 @ 23:45 ET
familia
 Linguameeting 2 to be completed.

WEEK 8
Feb 24 – Mar  SPRING BREAK
1

WEEK 9
 Discussion Board 3 closes on Sunday, Mar 8 @ 23:55 ET
Mar 2 – 8
Lección 3: Así es mi  Composition 1 is due on Mar 8
familia  Linguameeting 3
 Date Lesson Assignments
 Study Capítulo 4 ¡A la mesa! (e-book)
 Study the PPT for the chapter 4
WEEK 10
Lección 4: ¡A la  WileyPlus homework 4 for this lesson is due on Sunday, Mar 15
Mar 9 – 15
mesa! 23:45 ET.
 Linguameeting 3 to be completed this week.

 Partial Exam 2 will include the chapters 3 & 4: Sunday, Mar 22.
WEEK 11
 Discussion Board 4 closes on Sunday, Mar 22 @ 23:55 ET
Mar 16 – 22 Partial Exam 2
 Linguameeting 4

 Study Capítulo 5 Recreaciones y pasatiempos (e-book)

 Study the PPT for the chapter 5.
WEEK 12 Lección 5:
 WileyPlus homework 5 for this lesson is due on Sunday, Mar 29
Mar 23 – 29 Recreaciones y
23:45 ET.
pasatiempos
 Linguameeting 4 to be completed.

WEEK 13
Lección 5:  Discussion Board 5 closes on Sunday, Apr 5 @ 23:55 ET
Mar 30 – Apr
Recreaciones y  Linguameeting 5
5
pasatiempos

 Study Capítulo 6A La rutina diaria (e-book)

WEEK 14  Study the PPT for the chapter 6A
Lección 6: La vida
Apr 6 – 12  WileyPlus homework 6A is due on Sunday, Apr 12 @ 23:45 ET.
diaria
 Linguameeting 5 to be completed

WEEK 15  Composition 2 is due on Sunday, Apr 19 @ 23:55 ET.

Lección 6: La vida
Apr 13 – 19  Linguameeting 6
diaria

 Last day to submit the video project: Wednesday, Apr 22.

Review the Study
WEEK 16  Linguameeting 6 to be completed by Friday, Apr 24.
Guides.
Apr 20 – 25  On-campus final exam on Saturday, Apr 25. Time and place TBA.
Online final exam with Honorlock from Apr 20 – 25.
FINAL EXAM