Spanish 110 Beginning Spanish

What is Spanish 110?

Next taught: Summer 2024

Course Outcomes and Topics Covered

• Grammar

  • Narration in the present tense with basic sentence structures

  • The difference between ser and estar and their use to describe people, places, and things

  • Usage of verbs like gustar to talk about likes and dislikes

  • Usage of reflexive verbs to talk about daily routines

  • Narration in the past tense with the preterite form

• Vocabulary

  • Family relationships

  • Classes, schedules, and academic endeavors

  • Activities and excursions

  • Daily routines

  • Food and nutrition

  • Weather and seasons

By the end of the course, students will be able to produce and interpret oral and written communication at approximately the Intermediate Low level, as defined by the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines.

 Accessibility and Students Who Need Accommodations

To the best of my ability, all course materials and documents are created with accessibility in mind. If there is an issue, please let me know as soon as you can, and I will happily work with you and our Disability Resource Center (DRC) to address your concerns.

Students with accommodations should email their DRC Accommodation Memo to me (harmons@smccd.edu) at their earliest convenience. Once I receive your memo, I will ask to meet with you to walk through any concerns that you may have. Communication is key!

If you do not yet have an accommodation letter, or if you think you may need an accommodation but do not know the next steps, please contact the DRC Office at (650) 306-3259, or go to the DRC website for more information. If you typically take your courses at CSM or Skyline, please make sure you register your information with the Cañada DRC; your accommodations won't automatically transfer over unless you go through the DRC Office first.

How Should I Prepare for This Course?

Because of the online nature of this course, much of the learning is done away from our class meetings—meaning that you have to put in much more time for this course than perhaps for in-person courses. Here are some strong suggestions to ensure your success in this course:

• To the best of your ability, work on the class in some way every day, for 2-3 hours per day. This includes reading the textbook, completing the exercises, and working on the other assignments on Canvas. 

• Make sure to come to class prepared. That means that you need to read the required sections of the textbook, do the assignments, and bring your questions to class. We have a limited amount of time together, so we need to make the most of it!

If you feel overwhelmed, please talk to the professor! Don’t just give up—distance education courses can be difficult under any circumstances. We have a full array of student services available to you online and over the phone, including tutoring, academic counseling, personal counseling, and much more. Check out the list on the Virtual Campus site for more links to these services.

What Technology Do I Need for This Course? 

All students are expected to have consistent access to a working laptop or desktop computer and good internet connections, along with a working webcam on their laptop/desktop. This is part of preparing for class, and it includes using Canvas, reading material online, and communicating with class colleagues and instructors. Another part is to regularly check your my.smccd.edu email—at least once a day. If you need help learning how to use these tools, please let me know, or let the folks in the Library and/or Learning Center know.

If you do not have a laptop or desktop computer, then please go to our Library's Technology Services page and sign up for the Technology Loan Program. It's free!

This course will be asking students to use many apps and software—some of these may be familiar to you, but others may not be. Canvas will be where you can access these apps, although some may be easier accessed through an app on your smartphone. Please be advised that we will be using the following sites, software, and apps on a regular basis:

•  Adobe Acrobat Reader: The other PDF programs—including Chrome and Preview—are not acceptable.

  • It may also be wise to have a PDF scanner app on your smartphone—such as Adobe Scan, smalPDF or camScanner—so that you can quickly scan paper documents and save them as PDFs. You can find these apps in your app store.

• Panopto: An enhanced video platform that works with the Zoom recordings to make them more dynamic and more accessible. We can also use Panopto to record videos for class assignments.

• Proctorio: This browser extension will be used to monitor progress during certain writing assignments. The settings are such that your desktop and video will be recorded, but not audio. Its use will be judicious and not meant to be a significant burden, rather it's to ensure that the student is doing their own work.

• Pronto: This instant messaging app is integrated through Canvas, meaning that you can send instant messages, group messages, and even set up video conferences to folks you are connected to through your courses. You can use the link in Canvas, or you can use the app on your smartphone.

• VoiceThread: This great app allows folks to create video responses to a prompt—and then respond to each other with videos.

• YouTube: Used for various videos on grammar; there are links in our Canvas shell

• Zoom: For those who are attending class meetings online, this is how we will do it. There are links in our Canvas shell. Office hours can also be done via Zoom, depending on the preference of the student.