An introductory course for students who possess a spoken knowledge of Southwestern U.S. Spanish and who wish to develop competency in reading and writing standard Spanish. Through readings and written assignments the student will be introduced to the conventions of Spanish grammar and spelling. Through discussion and reading students will come to appreciate the place of the Mexican American dialect of Spanish within the context of the Hispanic community. Lec 3, Cr 3

Successful completion of Spanish 1373, Basic Spanish for Bilingual Students I, or Departmental Approval. Fluency in Spanish (absolute or with minimal code switching and hesitancy). Basic Knowledge of reading and writing Spanish very helpful, but not required.

Return to Menu at Top

• Mundo 21, Third Edition by Samaniego, Rojas, Ohara a nd Alarcón .  ISBN: 0-618-41312-X
• Dictionary: Either a Spanish/Spanish dictionary (e.g. Larouse Usual by Ramón García-Pelayo) or a Spanish/English dictionary (e.g. Vox)
   

Return to Menu at Top

  Through exposure to good models of standard Spanish, practice, together with good personal study habits, effort and participation, the student will….

• develop the use of critical thinking skills in reading and writing.
• develop reading skills in Spanish by applying general and specific strategies of analysis and interpretation to a variety of reading assignments.
• gain mastery of the Spanish orthographic code.
• develop the ability to structure sentences and short compositions in Spanish that are clear, cohesive, and logical.
• review the basic grammar of the Spanish language and integrate and/or reconcile it with the student’s existing Grammar as a native speaker of the language.
• gain in appreciation of the diversity of Hispanic cultures.
• gain knowledge about Hispanics involved in politics, the arts, entertainment, and other professions in today’s world.
• understand and perform communicative tasks based on historical and social events and/or issues related to Hispanics in Latin America.
• develop knowledge and understanding of the interrelationships of disciplines, particularly the arts, geography, history, and literature as they relate to the study of the Spanish language and culture.

Return to Menu at Top

Units 3-4 of the book will be covered during the semester.

Unit 3: Entre el conflicto y la paz: Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador y Guatemala

• Lesson #1: Nicaragua
• Lesson #2: Honduras
• Lesson #3: El Salvador
• Lesson #4: Guatemala

Unit 4: La modernidad en desafío: Costa Rica, Panamá, Colombia y Venezuela

• Lesson #1: Costa Rica
• Lesson #2: Panamá
• Lesson #3: Colombia
• Lesson #4: Venezuela

Assignments

• Practice Exercises to review Grammar covered in Units 3 and 4
• Short compositions to show knowledge of History and Culture parts of the course for each of the countries covered in Units 3 and 4
• Discussion Boards to interact with professor and other classmates and discuss readings from different topics related to the material covered in Units 3 and 4

Turning In Assignments

Practice Exercises will be turned in through the Blackboard Learning System; other assignments must be turned in via e-mail at Ana.Pena@utb.edu or faxed at (956) 350-9600 by the due date indicated in the course calendar. Written work should always be done in Spanish and in complete sentences , unless otherwise instructed by professor. It must be typed; font size #14; double spaced and must include name, date, course and section number in the top right corner. Textbook exercises must also include the title of the exercise and the page number.

Return to Menu at Top

  The final grade for the course will be determined as follows:

• 40% of the grade will be determined by the average of two exams— Units 3 and 4.
• 20% of the grade will be determined by the average of all quizzes (online quizzes)
• 30% of the grade: homework, compositions and other assignments.
• 10% of the grade: class participation—participation in Discussion Boards.

Return to Menu at Top

Students with disabilities, including learning disabilities, who wish to request academic adjustments in this class should notify the Disability Services Office in the semester so that the appropriate accomodations may be made. In accordance with federal law, a student requesting academic adjustments must provide documentation of his/her disability to the Disability Services Counselor. For more information, call or visit the Counseling Center at Tandy 205, (956) 544-8292.

Return to Menu at Top

  Netiquette describes the code of conduct for an online environment. It ensures respect for others and prevents misunderstandings or unintentional offenses to others. The netiquette described here is ammended to ensure your success in this course.

• When you are typing or submitting a response, do not use all capital letters (caps). Caps is equal to SHOUTING YOUR MESSAGE. Although it is customary to use acronyms (ex. ROFL - rolling on floor laughing, BTW - by the way, or FYI -for your information) for chatting online, try to avoid using these. There may be those in this course who are not as experienced as you and may miss out on understanding.
• Although you are encouraged to participate and ask questions, it is asked that you do not spam other users (SPAM refers to unwanted or excessive email). Before sending mass emails, consider using the discussion board to post general inquiries or requesting assistance from your instructor.

Return to Menu at Top