1. Textbook Package and Purchases
Goodall, G. & Lear, D. Conéctate, 3rd edition, McGraw-Hill Education. The purchase package must include Connect (the online workbook).

• You are not required to buy a hard copy of the textbook and can use the ebook version instead if preferred. The access code includes ebook access.
• This course is enrolled in the First Day program with the UAB Barnes and Noble bookstore. Under the First Day program, the student is automatically charged for a one-semester access code, unless they opt out at the First Day Access menu item on the left-hand side in our Canvas course. Under the First Day program, the charge appears on the student's university bill. In general, it is not recommended for students to opt-out because the First Day program provides better pricing than buying directly from McGraw Hill. However, feel free to compare pricing for yourself if preferred.
• If you purchased a multi-semester access code for Conéctate in a previous course, then you must go to First Day Access on the left-hand side in our Canvas course and click on the button to opt out. Otherwise, you will be charged for a single-semester access code after the opt-out deadline.
• The deadline for opting out of the First Day program is the last day to add/drop classes.
• Enroll in our MH Connect course here: SPA 102 1C Connect Site
  • (Please disregard the information about the Barnes & Noble Yuzu platform in the First-Day email you received from the bookstore.)

LinguaMeeting (conversation lab component)

• Six 30-minute conversations
• Instructions
• You must register within the first two weeks of the semester in order for the department to pay for LinguaMeeting.

2. Course Information
All UAB World Languages instructors hold at least a Masters degree in Spanish or Spanish Education. They have studied or lived in Spanish-speaking countries and are trained in communicative techniques for optimal language learning in the classroom. Research shows that an interactive, target-language learning environment is optimal for language acquisition. Spanish will be primarily spoken and incorporated through listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Spanish 102 is the second course of a three course sequence (101, 102, 201). Chapters 5-8 of Conéctate will be completed in this course. This is a four credit hour course with three hours of regular course work per week and one hour for the conversation lab component (LinguaMeeting). The grade from the lab constitutes 25% of the overall grade for this course. At the end of the course, you will receive the same grade in BlazerNet for both the lab and main course.
The primary goal of this course is to aid students in achieving proficiency in the Spanish language. According to the ACTFL (American Council of the Teaching of Foreign Language) proficiency guidelines, students at the novice-mid and novice-high proficiency level are able to manage successfully a number of uncomplicated communicative tasks in straightforward social situations. Conversation is restricted to a few of the predictable topics necessary for survival in the target language culture, such as basic personal information, basic objects, and a limited number of activities, preferences and immediate needs. Novice High speakers respond to simple, direct questions or requests for information, and can ask a few formulaic questions. All the research shows that an interactive, Spanish-speaking learning environment is optimal for acquisition of the language. Thus, Spanish will be spoken 90% of the course time.

3. Student Learning Outcomes

In this course students will learn:

1. Interpersonal Communication: Students will initiate and sustain spoken or written communication with others.
   1. Participate in conversations (written or spoken) on familiar topics using simple sentences.
   2. Respond to questions (written or spoken) on a variety of familiar topics.
   3. Ask questions (written or spoken) on a variety of familiar topics.
2. Interpretive Communication: Students understand, interpret and analyze what is heard, viewed or read on a variety of topics.
   1. Explain the main idea in presentations, readings or videos on familiar topics.
3. Presentational Communication: Students present information, concepts or ideas on a variety of topics in written or spoken form.
   1. Make presentations on familiar topics using complete sentences.
   2. Write on familiar topics using complete sentences.
4. Culture: Gain knowledge of other cultures and interact with cultural competence when communicating.
   1. Explore the cultural products (tangible and intangible) of Spanish-speaking countries and its relationship to cultural perspectives
   2. Explore the cultural practices of Spanish-Speaking countries and its relationship to cultural perspectives
5. Connections: Connect with other disciplines and acquire information in order to use Spanish to function in a variety of situations.
   1. Use Spanish to further one’s knowledge about a topic
6. Comparisons: Make comparisons (cultural and linguistic) with other cultures in order to interact with cultural competence.
   1. Recognize similarities and differences in language patterns of Spanish and English
   2. Recognize similarities and differences in cultural interactions and how it should affect their behavior in the target culture
7. Communities: Participate in multilingual Communities at home and around the world
   1. Use Spanish to interact with their community and the globalized world.

4. Course Objectives
What can you do at the end of Spanish 102?

5. Is Spanish 102 the right level course for me?
If you have any doubt whether SPA 102 is the right level of Spanish for you, then please consider taking this placement test. Likewise, you can take the Examen de práctica, 101 to guage how well you remember Spanish 101 content before proceeding to 102 which builds upon Spanish 101. Please visit the course website, cochranb.com, and look over the content covered in this course. (The numbers at the top correspond to the chapters of our textbook, Conéctate. In SPA 102, chapters 5-8 will be covered.) If you look over chapters 1-4 (from SPA 101), and the content seems very new and unfamiliar, then you may want to consider taking SPA 101 instead. On the other hand, if you look over chapters 5-8, and the content seems very familiar and that you would not be learning much, then SPA 201 or higher may be the right course for you. The last day to add/drop is listed on the UAB Academic Calendar. If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to ask your instructor. He is glad to help.

6. Websites Used in This Course
Bookmark each of these sites in your web browser.

• uab.instructure.com (Canvas): grades, dynamic syllabus, tests, assignment submission, and class discussions
• connect.mheducation.com (McGraw-Hill Connect): Homework
• cochranb.com (course website): Course practice materials, instructional videos, additional practice links, and other reference information needed for the course
• linguameeting.com: LinguaMeeting conversation assignments (lab component)

7. Attendance and Participation
Your attendance, active class participation, contribution, and speaking in Spanish are fundamentally important for growing in your language capacity and succeeding in this class. You are expected to arrive on time. Be considerate of your classmates, and help your grade by not missing valuable class time. Any absence will greatly impact the student’s grade. Attendance will be taken and students will be called on in class every day. Each student is called on an equal amount and at random. Your instructor developed a system to ensure this. Click here if you are interested in learning the details. Students are responsible for keeping track of their own grades, assignments turned in, and absences. Please see our departmental attendance policy.
Over many years, your instructor has observed that students who do not attend regularly struggle with the class. If you are not attending regularly, then when you do attend, it is harder to understand current material because previous material was missed. The new material builds upon the old. Additionally, class is carried out most efficiently if everyone is on the same page with understanding content.

8. Class Policies

• Class begins promptly at the designated start time. Anyone who leaves early will be counted as absent, unless they inform the instructor ahead of time with a valid excuse.
• The ringer or vibrate on phones should be turned off.
• Listening to audio with earbuds or headphones during class is not permitted.
• Laptops, cellphones, and other technology are to be used strictly for class activities and nothing more.
• Your instructor recommends using dictionaries on your cell phone or laptop.
• The use of Google Translate, ChatGPT, or any tool which produces entire sentences is prohibited and considered cheating. Language competency is developed by using the language and not by a computer producing it for you. It is evident if Google Translate is used because many times, it gives words or grammatical structures not yet covered in the course or the text does not make sense. Your instructor recommends using wordreference.com instead.
• Extra credit is not given in this course. The instructor must provide the same opportunities for all students equally. Additional chances or credit cannot be provided for some students and not for others.
• No late work is accepted unless the instructor is presented with a valid excuse.
• Important dates: uab.edu/students/academics/academic-calendar (It is the student's responsibility to withdraw from the class if needed.)

9. Missed Exam / Assignment Policy
If a student misses an exam or an assignment, they must present appropriate documentation within two business days of the absence. If the student is hospitalized and unable to email, they must communicate this no later than two business days after being released from the hospital. If a valid excuse is presented, the instructor will arrange a time to make up the missed exam or assignment.

10. Class Preparation, Participation, and Group Work

• Your instructor has mild hearing loss. Please project your voice so that he and your classmates can hear you.
• This course involves a lot of in-class group activities. Working in groups is required.
• Come to class alert. You may bring coffee or other drinks to class to stay alert.
• Be well-prepared for participating in class and answering questions.
• You must watch the Video de explicación on the course website prior to when it is covered in the next class session. This will be communicated in class and on the lección for that day.
  • You may prefer to download the video before watching. To do so, right click on the link to the video and click Save Link As or you can type ctrl s with the video open. If you consume media on a faster or slower speed than 1x, then after downloading it, you can use VLC media player to increase or decrease the playback speed by typing, ] (speeds up video playback), [ (slows down video playback), = (normal video playback speed).
    It is also recommended to watch the grammar videos under each Estructura section in the Conéctate ebook.
• While in class, it is important to put away anything that could be distracting. Put your phone on Do Not Disturb (additionally with no on-screen notifications), turn off all notifications on your computer. Close any distracting websites or applications.
• Classroom materials are all paperless. If you learn better by writing, then you are welcome to print any class materials you would like before class.
• The lesson plan and other materials are posted to the course website by the evening before class the next day.
• Speak Spanish in the class as much as you can. Break through any timidity and give it a try! Using the language is the best way to learn. Everyone is in the process of learning. Here is a helpful video on this topic.
• Ask lots of questions. This helps the instructor to understand where you are in the learning process and makes the class more interesting.
• Be positive, upbeat, and even lighthearted about your language learning experience.

11. A Word of Encouragement
You may be in a very busy season of life or you may be in a season with much more free time than you may realize. Use the time to go beyond just getting good grades. To excel at learning, you must not view it as only a means unto an end, i.e. for getting good grades, for a degree, for a good job, and to then buy nice things. Let the means (learning) be an end in and of itself. Learning can be a huge area of enjoyment in life. Being a life-long learner will change every facet of your life. Your instructor encourages you to work hard and please be in touch if you need anything!

12. Expected Time Commitment
In general, a foreign language course in college goes at a much faster pace, covering more material in a shorter amount of time, than one in high school. Learning a foreign language requires a big time commitment. Some of your instructor's students have reported that his class took about the same amount of time as their more challenging science courses. Generally speaking, the maximum threshold for a student's schedule would be working no more than 25 hours per week in a job while taking no more than 15 hours total of classes. Students who take on more than this report being overwhelmed and not having time to properly learn the material.
When your instructor was an undergraduate student, each semester, he would take 12-14 hours of classes while working about 20 hours per week. This schedule worked fine. During this time, he did not watch TV programs or play video games. However, there was still ample time to spend with friends and family.

13. Strategy for preparing and studying
To be successful in this course, you must work on the content very regularly, i.e. four to seven days a week. It is better to study and learn in small chunks and at more frequent intervals than in large chunks and less frequently. In this class, we cover content in the following order for each chapter:

• Comunicación (days 1 to 2)
• Vocabulario (days 2 to 3)
• Estructura sections (day 3 to last day)

1. Look over a section carefully before it is covered in class the following day.
2. After you have already learned the following day's content to the best of your ability, come to class ready to participate and engage in the material. Engaging as much as possible in the material during class time is very important and will save you time studying outside of class.
3. Do the corresponding homework section the afternoon after it has been covered in class or the following day.
4. Focus and engage on the material if it is reviewed or covered more in the next class session. (A given section is often covered in more than one class session.) After class, complete any activities in the Archivos section which were not covered in class. Likewise, consider doing the extra practice, under the Enlaces section, on the course website to strengthen knowledge and understanding.

• By the day or two before the test, the student should be at a place of fine-tuning and perfecting their knowledge because they have already gone over it four times.
• At any point in the above process, ask questions in class, post any questions to Discussions in Canvas, or meet with the instructor if needed.

It is important to test yourself on the test before you take the test. Your instructor is the author of the tests. He is also the author of the practice in the Archivos section on the course website. Before the test, you need to be getting 100% consistently on every activity in that section. This includes getting 100% after taking a break from it for a day or two. On the other hand, your instructor is not the author of the activities on MH Connect. They are fine to use for practice and test preparation, but it is not recommended to use these as the final confirmation of how well you know the content. Please use the course website for this.

14. Calendar and Reminder System
It is important that you put all assignments and dates related to this class in a calendar with reminders. A suitable strategy would be to set a reminder a few days before a test to begin studying. Set another one the day before. Then set one on the day of the test at a time when you will be able to take it. Setting at least two reminders for each assignment is important in case you miss one. There are many options for calendar and reminder applications. Use the system that best suits your needs.

15. Assignments

LinguaMeeting (conversation lab)	25%
MH Connect	16%
Cultural Activities (3)	5%
Compositions (2)	8%
Chapter Exams (4)	36%
Cumulative Final Exam	10%

Letter Grade Distribution: A = 90-100; B = 80-89; C =70-79; D = 60-69; F = 0-59
Grades will be posted to Canvas.

15.1 LinguaMeeting (conversation lab)

• Before each session, you must study the topic to be covered and prepare yourself by learning how to express these things in Spanish. The topic can be found in our course in LinguaMeeting. It is recommended to practice saying these things to yourself or to a friend beforehand to get used to hearing yourself speaking Spanish.
• After the conversation session, you must take time to reflect on what you learned, what you wish you had known how to say during the conversation or knew better, and what you must work on before the next session. Please post to the class forum at any point with any questions.
• Six LinguaMeeting sessions will be completed in groups of two to three persons. There is no need for students to group themselves. The algorithm automatically does this for students. Students simply schedule at a day/time that is convenient for them with the coach of their choosing. You must make your appointment at least 12 hours in advance. However, it is recommended to schedule your sessions well in advance to ensure the availability you want. Please keep in mind that LinguaMeeting will likely have less availability during weekend hours. If you miss your session and it is still prior to the deadline, you can schedule a make-up session, but you would be required to pay for the make-up session.
• You will receive credit for each session based on having participated. You do not need to turn in anything written. The conversation is automatically saved to the LinguaMeeting site.
• Please be sure to click on the LinguaMeeting assignment that corresponds to the current assignment. There is a different topic for each conversation. The topics are posted in our course at the LinguaMeeting website. The topic does not have to be strictly followed, and if it shifts to something different, that is fine.
• Speaking Spanish is required. Information on getting started can be found in section one of this syllabus. Late work is not accepted.

15.2 McGraw-Hill Connect
This work should be completed on the same day or the next day from when it is covered by your professor. It is important that you communicate openly with your instructor about how these activities are going for you or any issues that may occur. Send all of the specifics, perhaps including a screenshot, of exactly where your question or issue is.
See the MH Connect grading policies. (Each section is shown for about five seconds. You will need to pause the video to properly read the policies.)
The due dates for these activities are posted on the McGraw-Hill website next to each assignment and to Canvas. The first half of each chapter's work will be due at the chapter mid-point. The second half will be due the night before the chapter test. Late work is not accepted. Connect Site.

15.3 Cultural Activities

Students will participate in three cultural activities related to Spanish/Latino culture (recommended) or other world cultures. Please check with your instructor to ensure that the event would be counted as valid. Your instructor may send periodic emails announcing events. Some activity options include:

• DWLL events posted to uab.edu/cas/languages
• Attending the UAB DWLL Spanish conversation table, La Mesa Española. All levels of Spanish are welcome. There are also regular conversation events at Hoover Library and Margarita Grill in Pelham.
• Watching a Spanish culture film (movie or documentary) from World Language Media Services. Before deciding on a film from the WLMS, be sure to research its content because many are not family-friendly. Feel free to email your instructor for particular recommendations.
• Attending an Hispanic church service. One option is to attend a Dawson service (located in Homewood). Your instructor would be glad to provide additional recommendations of Latino churches in the Birmingham area.
• If you have a friend from a Spanish-speaking country, you could write down about 10-15 questions to ask them about their home country. You could ask about things such as food, holidays, work, family, social life, etc. You could also ask about comparisons between here and there, for example what they like more in their home country compared to here and vice versa.
• It is acceptable to do the same type of activity for more than one submission. For example, three different interviews with three different people would be fine for all three cultural activities.

After you participate in a cultural activity, you must submit a short essay, 100 words minimum, that describes or summarizes the event. Your summary may be in English if you choose. However, should you choose to write it in Spanish, your instructor will correct the grammar for your benefit. These must be submitted on Canvas, one activity per submission.

15.4 Compositions

• It will be completed during class time.
• It must be a minimum of 150 words and must include recent grammar covered in the class.
• It must be written completely in Spanish. However, many proper names will not be translated. An exception to this would be the names of major cities and countries.
• The topic will be posted to the assignment in Canvas. At the beginning of class that day. A book, dictionary, and other materials may be used during the composition, and the instructor may be consulted. However, students may not work with other students during this assignment.
• The use of Google Translate, ChatGPT, or any tool which produces entire sentences is prohibited and considered cheating.
• The following are recommended resources to use during the composition:
  • wordreference.com (Spanish/English dictionary)
  • dle.rae.es (Spanish → Spanish dictionary)
  • wordreference.com/sinonimos (Spanish thesaurus)
  • thefreedictionary.com (English → English dictionary)
  • freethesaurus.com (English thesaurus)
  • cochranb.com (Course website)
  • connect.mheducation.com (McGraw-Hill Connect)
• (The English resources are there because it might help the writing process in Spanish to check the meaning of a word in English or see its synonym.)
• Tip: Look up a word or research the grammar in question even if you have the slightest doubt as to whether it is correct or not. Those who are most successful on the composition diligently look up any word when in doubt or consult with the instructor. This requires patience and thoroughness.

Composition Feedback

You will receive the corrections and grade for the composition on Canvas. Students should go to 'Grades' and click on the assignment. It will be an attachment in both plain-text format (.txt) and in pdf, and it will be marked according to the guide below. Each error is worth one point. After the 150th word, no errors count against the student's grade. If the composition has fewer than 150 words, then .66 points is counted off for each word the student is short in addition to the marked errors. If one of the below marks is in parentheses instead of square brackets, it means points were not counted off for that correction because it is an error beyond the course content studied to that point in time. Students should look through the composition, figure out what errors they made based on the feedback, and learn from them. It is then recommended to revise the composition, email it to your instructor, and receive further, detailed feedback for the benefit of learning. Then the pdf you receive will show exactly what needs to be changed through the use of Track Changes. Your instructor will also send an audio recording explaining the corrections. If you decide to send your revision to the instructor, please ensure all grading marks are removed and paste it in the body of the email.

15.5 Chapter Exams
There will be four chapter exams that evaluate grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, and culture. Vocabulary, verbs, etc. need to be memorized including spelling and accent marks. Each exam will be taken on Canvas.

Tips for the test:

• Work very hard on your spelling. Correct spelling, including accents, counts.
• Memorize vocabulary, verbs, and verb conjugations. It is going to mainly test recall memory instead of recognition memory. The tests are mainly fill in the blank.
  • All vocabulary for the chapter is on the last page of the chapter and in the vocabulary practice on the course website.
• Each exam is a similar format. Therefore, after the first one, you will have a clearer picture of what the remaining exams will be like.
• Use the practice materials on the course website to test yourself beforehand. This is how you can confirm how well you know the content. See this video.
• Set your keyboard to type accents before starting the test.

15.6 Cumulative Final Exam
This exam will cover the Conéctate sections Vocabulario and Estructura (including Para saber más) for chapters five through eight. The exam tests for recall memory instead of recognition memory. Vocabulary, verbs, etc. need to be memorized including spelling and accent marks. This will be taken on Canvas.

Format:

• Multiple choice, Matching, Fill in the blank
• The final exam has 20 sections. Each is worth five points.
  • Five sections are multiple choice or matching.
  • Fifteen sections are fill in the blank.
• It is the same length as a chapter test.

16. Course Calendar
This course is organized by chapter and chapter sub-sections. You can see all assignments and calendar entries from the Calendar (left-side menu in Canvas) or from our syllabus/home page in Canvas. The syllabus page has dark lines separating each chapter.

• It is important to populate your personal calendar with all assignments and to create ample reminders so no assignment is missed.
• It is essential to work on content regularly. No subject is learned well by cramming, especially a language.
• In-class calendar (This calendar only covers what we do during class time.)
• See Canvas for the assignment calendar and assignment due dates.

17. UAB Early Alert System (EAS)
EAS is designed to help students be more successful academically at UAB. If you receive an email with EAS in the title, please open it, read it, and take advantage of the support that UAB offers to all students. UAB is committed to ensuring that students receive academic support and that they are aware of the resources available for their academic success.

18. The UAB Academic Honor Code
UAB expects all students to function according to the highest ethical and professional standards. Academic misconduct undermines the purpose of education. Unacceptable behaviors such as abetting, cheating, plagiarism, fabrication, and misrepresentation are serious violations of the UAB Academic Honor Code and are punishable by a range of penalties. For more information, please visit the UAB website at: uab.edu/one-stop/policies/academic-integrity-code

19. UAB Disability Support Services (DSS)
DSS provides a broad array of services and technologies to make the UAB campus and education accessible for everyone. UAB DSS website: uab.edu/dss

20. Notice of Nondiscrimination
In accordance with Title IX, the University of Alabama at Birmingham does not discriminate on the basis of gender in any of its programs or services. The University is committed to providing an environment free from discrimination based on gender and expects individuals who live, work, teach, and study within this community to contribute positively to the environment and to refrain from behaviors that threaten the freedom or respect that every member of our community deserves.

21. Title IX Statement
The University of Alabama at Birmingham is committed to providing an environment that is free from sexual misconduct, which includes gender-based assault, harassment, exploitation, dating and domestic violence, stalking, as well as discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. If you have experienced any of the aforementioned conduct we encourage you to report the incident. UAB provides several avenues for reporting. For more information about Title IX, policy, reporting, protections, resources and supports, please visit UAB Title IX webpage for UAB’s Title IX, UAB’s Equal Opportunity, Anti-Harassment, Duty to Report, and Non-Retaliation policies.

22. Student Record Privacy/FERPA
FERPA stands for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. It is a federal law governing the privacy and handling of educational records and giving specific rights to students. According to FERPA, students are the only ones who can speak with the professor about their grades. The instructor may not discuss student grades with parents or family unless the student requests said disclosure and signs a disclosure waiver.