Spanish 315: Spanish for Heritage Speakers Prof.

Roman-Mendoza
Fall 2008 (703) 993-1232
Thompson Hall 112 - TR 10:30-11:45 eromanme@gmu.edu
Office Hours: TR 9:30-10:15 and by appointment Skype: e.roman.mendoza

Description
This course is designed for students who have some communicative ability in Spanish, normally acquired in the
home, who want to improve their reading and writing abilities while developing a critical understanding of
Latin American and Latino histories and cultures. Course components include: orthography and vocabulary
activities, grammar review and practice, assigned readings in a variety of genres, critical cultural analysis, in-
class, written essays, and the viewing of films.

Before taking the course, most students will have had some experience studying Spanish in high school of
college. If you have never taken a Spanish course, please contact your instructor to determine whether this is the
best course for you. Similarly, if you have attended high school (or the equivalent) in a Spanish-speaking
country, you should contact the instructor to discuss whether this is the best course for you.

Objectives of this course

The goal of this course is for students some communicative ability in Spanish to further develop their reading
and writing abilities in Spanish while acquiring a critical understanding of Latin American and Latino histories
and cultures. In particular, the course is designed to
- familiarize students with the norms of Spanish orthography
- promote students' accuracy in written Spanish
- help students' improve their writing ability
- build students' academic vocabulary
- promote students' ability to carry out critical cultural analysis
- help students develop a critical understanding of Latin American and Latino cultures
- help students reflect on their Latino identity and their role in their community

Required readings
Roca, A. (2005). Nuevos Mundos. Wiley. ISBN:9780471269250
Batcherlor, R. E. (2005). Using Spanish. Cambridge University Press. ISBN:9780521004817

Grading
The final grade will be computed as follows:
Attendance and Participation 10%
Weekly Written Assignments 25%
Personal Project 20%
Group Project and Final Presentation 20%
Final Exam 25%

General Rules for Assignments

All (required for submission) written assignments must be in Spanish, and typed in 12-point black New Times
Roman font, double-spaced and margins of 1 inch. All written assignments need to include punctuation and
spelling in Spanish. Both hard and electronic copies in MS Word must be submitted by the proposed deadline.
Electronic copies will be submitted via Blackboard CE6 and written copies will be brought to class.

Any assignment that does not follow these guidelines will be returned and counted as a late assignment. Late
assignments will cause a reduction of 5% on the total grade of the assignment per day up to 3 days. No
assignments will be accepted after the third day they are late.

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Technology: It is important to have and use an e-mail account, to access periodically Blackboard CE for updates
and materials. According to guidelines established by the University, each student is to access and use her/his
GMU e-mail account when corresponding with the professor and with other students in a given course. This
class also requires the use of Pageflakes. More details in class.

Attendance and Participation

Attendance is essential for this class. Each absence will result in a zero grade for participation for that day, and
0.5% will be deducted from the total grade for the class. Participation includes on-time attendance to all
sessions (except for officially justified or extraordinary circumstances), active engagement with class readings
and discussions, and a positive, respectful attitude towards classmates, instructor and materials. Please, do not
eat while the class is in session.

Weekly Written Assignments

For every textbook unit students will submit a written assignment as explained in the textbook. The first draft
will be marked with codes, which will help students focus on their specific challenges with the written
language. A second version of the draft will be due one day after drafts have been returned by the teacher.
Assignments will follow the General Rules for Assignments (see above).

Personal Project
Students will work during the whole semester on an individual project about their Latino identity. To this
purpose student will work with a web-based service called Pageflakes, which allow for easy creation of start
pages that can be shared with a group or with the whole world. More details in class.

Group Project and Final Presentation

Students will work in groups of 4 or 5 students during the semester on a topic related to the Latino Community.
This project will be also carried out with the help of Pageflakes so students can collectively prepare a pagecast
of their work throughout the semester. A final oral presentation is also required. More details in class.

Final Exam
The final exam will be based on the topics covered during the course and the discussions about the group
projects. The day of the final, students will also submit their individual projects.

Cheating and Plagiarism

Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated in this class. Sources and materials need to be properly cited and
acknowledged. All written work, including exams and outside of class assignments, must be done
independently. There is no exception to this policy in this class. Please note that you are expected to work on
your assignments on your own, and you should not have them written, reviewed or corrected by anybody else.
Assignments may be sent to a plagiarism identification service.

Students are expected to be familiar with and abide by the GMU Honor Code. Please consult the Honor code
online for definitions and policies:
http://jiju.gmu.edu/catalog/apolicies/honor.html).

Any students who are not sure of any of the policies regarding independent work are responsible for requesting
clarification from their instructor.

Disability Support Services

Any student with documented learning disabilities or other conditions that may affect academic performance
should make sure this documentation is on file with the Office of Disability Support (SUB I, second floor; 993-
2474) . You might need and should talk with the professor to discuss reasonable accommodations.

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 CLASS CALENDAR (Subject to modification)
DATES CLASS WORK HOMEWORK
Aug. 26 Class presentation
Introductions
Background
Technological skills
Aug. 28 La presencia hispana en Estados Conversación y cultura, p. 1
Unidos
Sep. 2 La presencia hispana en Estados Lectura
Unidos
Sep. 4 La presencia hispana en Estados Mundos hispanos
Unidos
Sep. 9 La presencia hispana en Estados Written Assignment 1: El arte de ser bilingüe
Unidos
Sep. 11 In class movie (TBA) Conversación y cultura, p. 41
Sep. 16 Los mexicanoamericanos Lectura
Sep. 18 Los mexicanoamericanos Mundos hispanos
Sep. 23 Los mexicanoamericanos Written Assignment 2: El arte de ser bilingüe
Sep. 25 Los puertorriqueños Lectura
Sep. 30 Los puertorriqueños Mundos hispanos
Oct. 2 Los puertorriqueños Written Assignment 3: El arte de ser bilingüe
Oct. 7 Los cubanos y los Lectura
cubanoamericanos
Oct. 9 Los cubanos y los Mundos hispanos
cubanoamericanos
Oct. 14 NO HAY CLASE
Oct. 16 Los cubanos y los Written Assignment 4: El arte de ser bilingüe
cubanoamericanos
Oct. 21 La herencia multicultural de España Mundos hispanos
Oct. 23 La herencia multicultural de España Primera revisión proyectos individual y final
Oct. 28 Los derechos humanos Lectura
Oct. 30 Los derechos humanos Mundos hispanos
Nov. 4 Los derechos humanos Written Assignment 5: El arte de ser bilingüe
Nov. 6 La mujer y la cultura Lectura
Nov. 11 La mujer y la cultura Mundos hispanos
Nov. 13 La mujer y la cultura Written Assignment 6: El arte de ser bilingüe
Nov. 18 El poder de la palabra, la imagen y Lectura
la música
Nov. 20 El poder de la palabra, la imagen y Mundos hispanos
la música
Nov. 25 El poder de la palabra, la imagen y Written Assignment 7: El arte de ser bilingüe
la música
Nov. 27 THANKSGIVING
Dec. 2 Group presentations
Dec. 4 Group presentations
Dec. 11 Final Exam – Final version of 10:30AM to 1:15PM
individual semester project