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Span E-2 Intensive Elementary Spanish II
Harvard University Extension Spring 2015 Section 1 (20240)
Tuesdays and Thursdays
Web-Conference course
Douglas Morgenstern
[email protected]
Description. Spanish E-2, a continuation of Spanish E-1 from fall semester, is also open
to any students who are at a similar stage in their learning and are not ready for an
intermediate course. In Spanish E-2, in terms of verbs, we will review the present and
preterit, and introduce the imperfect, the future and other tenses, as well as the
subjunctive. If you would like me to try to determine your appropriate level, please email
me. As occurred during the first semester, conversation and listening comprehension will
be stressed.
Class meetings will be conducted entirely online, via Skype group video with from 4 to 8
students for each session. The tentative schedule is the same as for Span E-1:
Tuesdays, four sessions of 40 minutes each, beginning at 7 p.m. and ending at 10 p.m.
Thursdays, four sessions of 50 minutes each, beginning at 4:40 p.m. and ending at 10:25
p.m.
Technical Requirements. You need a computer and access to bandwidth that meet the
minimum requirements for video Skype. You also should have headphones or earphones,
and a microphone (or a headset that contains both). Information about obtaining a Skype
account (free) and technical requirements is available here: http://www.skype.com/en/ In
addition to the group video calls that I initiate, you can also work with one or more
classmates by setting up your own group video call: http://www.skype.com/en/groupvideo-call/ Skype provides extensive online support information. For example, to learn
about the bandwidth needed, simply input that term:
https://support.skype.com/en/search?q=bandwidth
It is necessary that you participate in all of our sessions in a quiet environment where you
can speak at an appropriate volume, and where your Internet connection is strong, fast
and stable. Otherwise dropped connections, extraneous ambient noise and poor quality
video will not permit an optimal experience for you or your classmates. It is also
recommended that you use a device with a keyboard so that you can input your text
responses in real time.
Some of the assigned exercises that you submit through the iLrn microsite require you to
record your voice. You can record with a separate microphone or the microphone
integrated into the camera used for our Skype sessions. Again, a quiet environment will
permit a better recording.
Course Materials. The publisher (Cengage / Heinle) of the ¿Cómo se dice? textbook
(10th edition) has arranged with Harvard Extension to offer the textbook and
accompanying exercises online. Information and instructions are available on the course
website. Span E-1 students from last semester can access Span E-2 lessons 10 through 18
with the new course code. Note that you are to submit only the activities marked as
"Assigned." I have not indicated due dates for your responses to individual exercises,
since they are always due by the Tuesday evening session listed for that particular lesson.
Most of the exercises give you immediate feedback with the correct answers and a grade.
Other more open-ended exercises are sent directly to me and I will email you feedback.
In addition to videos created for learners of Spanish, you will be viewing music videos,
feature films and documentaries. Since these materials are not created specifically for
language learners, they constitute a source of authentic cultural information and language
usage from various Spanish-speaking countries
New students joining Span E-2 will need an individual shared folder in Dropbox. You
will receive videos via this shared folder, and we will also use the folder for written
exams. More information will be provided via email messages. Span E-1 students will
continue to use the same shared folder.
Focus and activities. This course will include group work, role-plays, cultural readings
and short compositions. Throughout the semester I will speak mostly in Spanish, but
some of the written work we do in class will involve translation from English to Spanish.
You are encouraged to try and take chances in expressing yourself in Spanish; errors are
a natural part of the learning process and my own approach, based on several decades of
teaching, is to be supportive of these efforts. The Spanish dialect I use is generic South
American. I lived in Colombia many years ago, visit that country periodically, have
visited Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Spain, and speak Spanish at home with my wife,
who is from Bogotá. You are free to concentrate on a dialect that suits your needs or
adopt an amalgam of several dialects.
Recommendations and evaluation. Attendance is paramount. Students taking the course
for a grade should not miss more than four classes to receive credit; contact me if you
think you might have a problem with this policy due to travel, work obligations or other
reasons, and we will set up a way for you to recover some of what you missed. If you are
unprepared on a particular day, it is still better to attend because at the very least, you will
receive some benefit in listening comprehension. However, be aware that language
learning is cumulative and progress depends on systematic practice.
Daily class participation comprises 30% of the grade, and your iLrn exercises, 20%. Your
two compositions and four written tests (Pruebas/Exámenes Parciales), make up another
20%. The two oral exams (March 24 and April 21) count for a total of 20%. The format
of each Oral Exam is the same. You begin with a 2-minute memorized presentation,
delivered without notes, related to the lessons covered (use vocabulary and structures
from the textbook; the content is based on a topic of your choosing). Then you create
sentences with vocabulary items I supply and modify or complete sentences to
demonstrate your command of the grammar structures. The entire Oral Exam lasts about
5 minutes. The Examen Escrito, a written test given the last day of classes covering
vocabulary and grammar from lessons 10 through 18, has a format based on fill-in-the-
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blank items and translation from English to Spanish. It is worth 10%. For non-credit
students, regular attendance, use of the iLrn exercises, and other requirements are
optional but recommended.
Extra help and contact information. [email protected] I plan to continue offering a
virtual office hour via Skype Mondays 9-10 p.m., and will schedule practice sessions
with individual students as needed.
Assignments. You should study the textbook lesson and complete and submit the
assigned ILrn exercises that correspond to that lesson as indicated below, in anticipation
of each class. In order to give you more time, the assigned ILrn exercises are always due
on Tuesdays rather than Thursdays. The short composition (composición breve) should
be emailed to me by the date specified.
Tareas
martes, 27 enero (no hay tarea); repaso, actividades, conversación
jueves, 29 Lec. 10, p. 282-293
martes, 3 febrero Lec. 10, p. 294-301; ILrn
jueves, 5 Lec. 11, p. 310-320
martes, 10 Lec. 11, p. 321-327; ILrn
jueves, 12 Lec. 12, p. 336-347
martes, 17 Lec. 12, p. 348-353; ILrn
jueves, 19 Repaso, ejercicios y actividades.
martes, 24 Prueba/Examen Parcial, Lecciones 10, 11 y 12; actividades
jueves, 26 Lec. 13, p. 362-372
martes, 3 marzo Lec. 13, 373-377; ILrn
jueves, 5 Lec. 14, p. 388-397
martes, 10 Lec. 14, 398-407; ILrn
jueves, 12 Repaso; conversación y actividades.
(Vacaciones de primavera)
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martes, 24 Examen Oral; conversación y actividades
jueves, 26 Prueba/Examen Parcial, Lecciones 13 y 14; ejercicios y conversación
martes, 31 Lec. 15, p. 418-425
jueves, 2 abril Lec. 15, p. 426-429
martes, 7 Lec. 15, p. 430-435; ILrn
jueves, 9 Lec. 16, p. 444-455; entregar composición breve.
martes, 14 Lec. 16, p. 456-459; ILrn
jueves, 16 Prueba/Examen Parcial, Lecciones 15 y 16
martes, 21 Examen Oral; actividad
jueves, 23 Lec. 17, p. 470-481
martes, 28 Lec. 17, p. 482-487; ILrn
jueves, 30 Lec. 18, p. 498-513; repaso
martes, 5 mayo ILrn; discutir película; conversación
jueves, 7 Prueba/Examen Parcial, Lecciones 17 y 18; repaso; conversación. Entregar
composición breve sobre la película.
martes, 12 Repaso; ejercicios; conversación
jueves, 14 Examen Escrito
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