Spanish 3

Advanced Beginner to Low Intermediate Spanish

Fall 2024
Class Meetings: Monday - Friday in Room 106

Instructor Name: Ryan Bergman

Phone: 1-970-109-8765
E-mail: rbergman@psdschools.org
Office: World Languages Department Room 102

Course Description
¡Hola! Welcome to Spanish 3. Soy Sr. Bergman. I am excited to be the instructor for this class
and I hope you are looking forward to a fun semester. My hope is to make you proficient at the
intermediate low level of ACTFL’s proficiency chart in reading, writing, and listening by the end
of this class. The level of output we can shoot for is between novice high and intermediate low.
To reach our goal, our class will take in comprehensible input. This will be done by reading
books at the intermediate low level and using the content of the books to build our vocabulary,
discuss grammar structures and compare those structures to English, and last but not least
learn about different cultures.

For the intermediate low level we can expect our spoken output in Spanish to look
something like this for a topic such as tacos: My family eats tacos a lot, often, because we all
love the tacos. My mom makes amazing the tacos. She finds recipes on some web site and
makes best tacos with different ingredients. Do you want you come to my house to try my
mom’s tacos (Cotrell, 2015)?
Course Assignments and Grading
The only assignments we will have in this class will be quizzes and tests. Don’t worry, you have
unlimited retakes until a week before the end of the class because I will need time to grade
missing work. Each book we read will have four tests: reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
There will also be four quizzes per book to help check for comprehension. All our preparation for
quizzes and tests will be done in class. If you have to miss a class you can look on Google
Classroom to see what you missed. No homework will be given, but you are encouraged to take
in input that is interesting to you during your free time. Let me know if you have any questions
about the input you are engaging with because I can help you with understanding it and share it
with the rest of the class for inspiration.

Quizzes will be based on comprehension of a chapter we read or of other content

we learn in the class.

Tests are worth 100 points and include three sections. Section 1 includes eight comprehension
questions. Section 2 includes 2 questions about literary devices and style. Section 3 includes
four questions that could involve giving your opinion, comparing or contrasting, or making
connections. The questions get progressively harder by section.

Evaluation and Grading Scale

All grades will be posted on Google Classroom within a week of completing an
Assignment. A final letter grade will be assigned based on percentages.

Assignment Weights Percent

4 Reading Tests 20%
4 Writing Tests 20%
4 Listening Tests 20%
4 Speaking Tests 20%
16 Quizzes 20%
Total 100%

Tests
4 Reading Tests (4 @ 25 points each) - 100 points
4 Writing Tests (4 @ 25 points each) - 100 points
4 Listening Tests (4 @ 25 points each) - 100 points
4 Speaking Tests (4 @ 25 points each) - 100 points

Quizzes
(16 @ 10 points each) - 160 points

Total Points - 1000 points

90-100% = 504 – 560 points = A
80-89% = 448 – 498.4 points = B
70-79% = 392 – 442.4 points = C
60-69% = 336 – 386.4 points = D
Between 50% & 60% = 280 – 330.4 points = F

Course Policies and Procedures

An important goal we have for this class is to build a supportive language learning
community.

It’s important that you are

● here in class
● here by the late bell
● listening to me and your peers
● trying your best to use Spanish 90% of the time
● not making fun of others in the class

You are allowed to

● eat food and drink beverages other than water as long as you clean up after
yourself
● use the restroom or drink from the water fountain whenever you need to as
long as
○ you take the hallpass
○ fill out your name and the time you left on the whiteboard

We will
● take a daily walk or play a game if it’s raining (about 7 minutes)
○ therefore I might ask if you can wait for the restroom until our walk
break
● strive to use Spanish 90% of the time in class

Disability Services
If you would like to hear about accommodations that can help you succeed, I can
point you to someone on the student support team who will start working with you.

Mental Health
I am a mandatory reporter. That doesn’t mean you can’t share personal things with
me, but I legally have to tell a mental health professional if you are a danger to
yourself or others or if you are in danger. Everyone struggles with mental health
whether it’s stress or going through a low moment. I can put you in touch with a
social worker if you feel more comfortable telling me you’re looking for someone to
talk to first.
Late Work & Extra Credit

You can turn in assignments late. The deadline is up until the week before the end of the
quarter. Please understand that I do not have enough time to grade fairly if they are turned in
past the deadline. Get your assignments in by the deadline because there is no extra credit.

References

Cotrell, Sarah-Elizabeth. taco_talk. 2015.

http://www.iyasensei.com/uploads/5/9/0/6/59068983/taco_talk.pdf

Syllabus Templates - Center for Teaching Excellence | University of South Carolina. (n.d.).
https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/cte/teaching_resources/syllabus_templates/

Syllabus Agreement

I, ___________________________________ confirm that I have read and

understood the syllabus.

Student signature __________________________________________________

Guardian/Homeroom teacher signature _________________________________