MATERIALS  
- Punto y Aparte: Spanish in Review-Moving Toward Fluency.  3rd edition by Sharon Foerster and  Anne Lambright
- Lecturas Literarias Moving Toward Linguistic and Cultural Fluency by Lambright, Marcano-Ogando and Foerster
- Manual que acompaña Punto y Aparte by Foerster and Lambright
- Some handouts will be distributed throughout the semester.  It is essential that you keep these organized in a notebook and with you as you will be tested on this material.

- Accompanying audio CD which can be accessed through the Language Resource Center *
- Punto y Aparte web site:  www.mhhe.com/puntoyaparte3
- Good Spanish/English dictionary or use of online dictionary such as wordreference.com
- Large size blue book for Diario de conversaciones (conversation journal)
- Folder or binder for saving returned assignments
- Correcting pen - another color from work done in workbook (red, green, etc)
- 3x5 notecards

*To listen to the audio files that accompany the oral section of the Lab Manual you must use Internet Explorer (Mac or Windows) and Real Player 8.0 or Real One (http://www.real.com).  Go to the LRC webpage (http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~lrc), click on Digital Media, select "Audio or Video files," then type user name and password (which  we will give you in class).   Be sure to turn on your computer's sound. Do not leave these assignments to the last minute. If you have trouble with the technology, leave time to do it in the LRC.

COURSE OBJECTIVES   Class time will be spent helping you to develop the ability to communicate in both spoken and written forms of Spanish.  In order to effectively communicate and interact in Spanish you must have the knowledge of vocabulary, certain grammatical structures, and some socio-cultural understanding of the Spanish-speaking world.  This course will offer students the opportunity to expand vocabulary, improve grammatical accuracy, write and speak with paragraph length discourse, and gain greater social, cultural, political, and historical understanding of the Spanish-speaking world.  To accomplish our vocabulary and grammar goals, we will focus on seven communicative functions and the key grammatical structures needed to perform these functions.  These are referred to as the seven  puntos clave in this textbook.  While we will review all of the gramatical structures of the puntos clave in the first two days of class and consciously practice them all throughout each chapter, Spanish 202 will take an in depth look the puntos in bold.

·         Describe (Agreement, Ser/estar, past participles as adjectives, use and omission of artlicles)
·         Compare and Contrast  (Comparisons of equality and inequality, irregular comparative forms, superlatives)
·         React and Recommend  (Present & past subjunctive in noun clauses, commands)
·         Narrate in the past  (Preterite and imperfect, the present perfect and pluperfect, hace...que)
·         Discuss likes and dislikes (Direct, indirect & double object pronouns, the personal a, gustar and similar verbs)
·         Make hypotheses (Past subjunctive and sequence of tenses, the conditional, hypothesizing)
·         Talk about the future (The future tense, the future of probability, subjunctive in adverbial clauses)

Other grammatical points (reflexive, por/para, relative pronouns, prepositions, etc.) will be reviewed as need arises.

Because it is critical to a good learning environment for all members of the class, all the students taking this class need to have taken Spanish 201 or need to have been placed at this level by the Spanish placement test (available online at http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~lrc/placement.html , through the Rice Language Resource Center, first floor of Rayzor Hall).

METHODOLOGY Students will be expected to actively participate in a variety of interactive pair and small group activities. This course is not based on lectures, but rather on active learner participation in multiple tasks that require students to use Spanish. The class will be conducted exclusively in Spanish.  Your participation grade will be lowered if you speak English during the class period without permission.

PARTICIPATION and ORAL WORK - participation does NOT mean attendance. It means ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT in class activities and interaction with the group. Although a perfect attendance will help your grade, it does NOT guarantee a perfect participation grade.   More than three (3) unexcused absences will drop your final grade by one letter (an A+ to A, A to A-, etc).  Excused absences are only allowed in the case of participation in university-sponsored activities, religious observance, or documented lengthy serious illness. Make sure to complete all the assignments before coming to class. Your lack of preparation will be reflected in your inability to actively participate in class and thus will affect your grade. A daily self-evaluation program in which you will take into account attendance, punctualness, preparation and active participation, and exclusive interaction in Spanish will be explained at the beginning of the third week of class.  Your honest self-evaluation will help determine the participation portion of the grade, however the instructor will determine the final percentage points based on observance throughout the semester.  If you are absent, please contact one of your classmates to find out what was covered, if there were any handouts, and if the homework was collected.  If you know you are going to be absent, it is always a good idea to ask someone to take notes and collect handouts for you.  Please refrain from chewing gum in class.

Para conversar is a conversation activity that will be completed at the very beginning of each class beginning in the second week. For each chapter, you will have a sheet of questions which you will ask of different classmates. You must obtain the signature of the person that answers your question. Bring the Para conversar sheet with you to class each day. It will be collected upon completion each chapter. Your enthusiastic participation in this activity and your initiative to find a partner and get started without being reminded are part of your participation grade. You will also be evaluated your oral progress and on presentations made in class.

UNIT EXAMS - There will be 3 exams during the semester. Exams will test listening comprehension, reading comprehension, and writing skills.  Content tested on the exams will draw from the vocabulary and grammar of the chapter, movies, readings, as well as information discussed in class.  Make-up exams will be available only to students who have made arrangements PRIOR to the day of the exam.  If you have an unforeseen emergency on the day of the exam, you must contact the instructor BEFORE you miss the scheduled time for the exam (by phone, e-mail, or in person)t o make other arrangements.  Make-ups will only be allowed if you contact me ahead of time, and truly have an emergency .

DIARIO DE CONVERSACIONES - You will spend 30 minutes to an hour speaking in Spanish with a classmate about an assigned topic outside of class.   You will then write a summary of what you discussed and relate what your partner said about the topic as well. Diarios should be 2 pages in length in an 8½ x 11 blue book. Diario assignments MUST all be in a blue book together, because part of the purpose of these assignments is to exhibit progress over the semester. Diario assignments turned in individually outside of a blue book will be penalized.  You will receive a handout explaining what is expected from a conversation journal entry. Please paste these instructions on the inside cover of your blue book and follow them care Though I am grading primarily on content, I will note some errors which I expect you to correct by the next time the Diario is due. Please take the time to make the corrections before the next Diario is due. If you do not, the subsequent Diario grade will be lowered.

HOMEWORK - There will be several types of homework assignments. You must read the assigned pages in the textbook prior to coming to class to discuss them. All other homework must also be prepared before coming to class according to the instructions detailed in the syllabus. You may work with a classmate, but it is expected that you do your own work.

Homework is due IN CLASS and will not be accepted late unless special arrangements have been made in advance or in the case of a serious emergency. The most common assignments will be:

• readings - grammar explanations, short stories, poetry, articles, etc.
• textbook and workbook assignments. An answer key is available at the back of the workbook, and you are expected to make the corrections in different color ink after you complete the assignment. Completion of these exercises will be valuable preparation for quizzes and tests.  
  
• viewing films and completing film handout

FILMS - You will be required to watch three full-length films outside of class:  Diarios de motocicleta, María llena eres de gracia and El norte  The dates for the discussion of these movies are noted in the syllabus.   You may rent them or watch them in the Language Resource Center.  You will not be able to see them from the computer in your dorm or apartment.  To view the movies go to www.ruf.rice.edu/~lrc and click on digital media.  Then click on Reserve Collection (accessible on campus, excluding colleges). Log-in using your Rice NetID & password. You will be given passwords in class to allow you to view movies.  Please plan your time wisely and check the hours that the LRC is open in order to have time to see the movies before the class discussion (for LRC hours go to www.ruf.rice.edu/~lrc ).

QUIZZES - - There will be several quizzes (pruebitas) covering topics such as vocabulary, grammar, readings, and movies.  Quizzes may be announced or pop and cannot be made-up.  The lowest quiz score will be dropped.

CULTURAL PRESENTATION
You will make an in-class presentation between the middle and the end of the semester. You will present a list of three possible cultural topics relating to the countries studied throughout the semester.  This presentation may be created and presented individually or in pairs.  More details will be provided as the semester progresses. Several informal presentations based on homework assignments throughout the summer session will help you to become comfortable presenting to the class.

 ASSESSMENT: Your final grade will be calculated as follows:

Participation & oral work	15%
Unit exams	30%
Diario & Homework	20%
Compositions	20%
Quizzes	10%
Final presentation	5%