Spanish 130/140 Intermediate Spanish

What is Spanish 130 and 140? What is the difference?

Spanish 130/140 is designed for intermediate and advanced intermediate level students of Spanish. It is a course that moves away from pure instruction of grammar, and focuses more on how the Spanish language is used to narrate in the past, to talk about likes and comparisons, to reflect and react to topics, to talk about the future, and to hypothesize. 

This series is a continuation from Spanish 120, with Spanish 130 being the first course in the Intermediate series. Students can be placed higher based on skills and prior courses taken. Over the three semester series, students will expand their skills and prepare to take more advanced courses, such as culture and literature courses.

 Next Taught: Fall 2024

Class meetings: Tuesdays, 6:10-8pm, on-campus (13-234) or via Zoom (link in Canvas shell)

The Intermediate series is taught concurrently, meaning that Spanish 130 and 140 are taught at the same time. All students will do the same work, but with different expectations and outcomes. The different sections are:

• Spanish 130: in-person/hybrid or online synchronous

• Spanish 140: in-person/hybrid or online synchronous

The syllabus below is from Spring 2024; while it is for a slightly different sequence, it will give you an idea of what to expect. Once I have the Fall 2024 syllabus ready, I'll post it.

What Is a Hybrid Course? What is an Online Synchronous Course?

This course will be delivered in multiple modalities, which means there will be a combination of synchronous meetings (that students must attend either virtually or in-person) and asynchronous components. Students have 2 options: they can either sign up for hybrid/in-person or online synchronous. As these sections are cross-listed, students will be 'meeting' together for class and doing work together in the same Canvas shell.

• hybrid/in-person: this option is for students that will come to campus on Tuesday evenings

• online synchronous: this option is for students that will participate in the class via Zoom on Tuesday evenings

Students must attend the course in the modality that they signed up for; this is a requirement for the Department of Education.

Canvas will be the main platform for communication and engagement for all asynchronous components of the course, including grammar practice, discussions, writing assignments, and presentational videos. Additionally, course materials such as Acceso and Entrada Libre, as well as grammar videos, will be provided via Canvas. 

Please remember that completing online work is as important as participating in the synchronous meetings. Therefore, you are expected to review the course site regularly in order to check due dates and stay on top of course-related communications. These are some ways in which I will help make our Canvas site easy to navigate:

• There is an initial ‘Para empezar…’ module that has a variety of tools and explanations on how to do assignments;

• All assignments have clear descriptions with links to how-to guides and videos for more information on how to use the tools;

• At the beginning of the semester, I will pair ‘new’ students to those who have had me before in their courses, thus building in a buddy-system; and,

• I will have a Pronto ‘group chat’ for the class, where anyone can post questions to the entire class, and folks should help each other out with questions.

For those that come to campus for our classes, please bring your laptop or tablet. For those who are joining via Zoom, please be ready to work with your colleagues and join in. If you don't have a laptop or tablet to bring to class, then please sign up for our Library's Technology Loan Program.

 Course Outcomes and Topics Covered

Topics range from one semester to the next. In the series, students are expected to increase their skills in the following areas:

• Grammar

  • Narration in the past

  • Narration in the future

  • Description of people, places, and things

  • Discussion of likes and dislikes

  • Recommendations and reactions 

  • Comparisons of people, places, and things

  • Possible and impossible hypotheses

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

Course Materials

This course is a Zero Textbook Cost course, as we use two Open Educational Resources (OER). The main text is Acceso from the University of Kansas, with the supplemental resource being Entrada Libre on LibreTexts (we'll be using a new version that's still being worked on, but you can see the previous edition that we have used in the past) and its companion homework exercises via LibreTexts' ADAPT platform. All of these resources will be incorporated into the Canvas course shell for the course free of any cost to the students. That means that you won't pay anything to access your course materials! All materials can be printed off, if needed, but they are designed to work seamlessly on Canvas. We'll be focusing on the first 4 units of each OER in Fall 2024.

Honors Contracts Available

Students in Spanish 140 are eligible to do an honors contract for the course. You do not have to be a Cañada student; the honors contract can be used for any community college's honors program. If interested, you must sign up for this by the second week of class via the honors survey on Canvas.

Social Justice Themes

Throughout this course we will discuss aspects of social relevance in a variety of Spanish-speaking countries, including but not limited to social norms, political entities, socio-economic realities and social justice and injustice in Spanish-speaking countries. You will be asked questions during class discussions when applicable, as well as in various assignment topics; you can include these items in your cultural presentations throughout the semester. Due to the sensitivity of these topics, it is expected that you will conduct your discussions with respect and an open mind.

 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, try to work on the class in some way every day, or every-other day, for 1-2 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.

• Flip (formerly FlipGrid): This great app allows folks to create video responses to a prompt—and then respond to each other with videos. While assignments will be in our Canvas site, you can also use the FlipGrid on your smartphone.

• 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.

• 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.

COVID Rules and Expectations

While there are no mask mandates or other rules, there are certain precautions that are in place for all who take courses with us. As of December 2021, the following requirements are in place:

• The vaccination requirement has been suspended as of 26 October 2022.

• If you test positive for COVID-19, please stay home--do not come to campus.

• Please email me. I will send the information to Ray Hernández, the SMCCCD COVID-19 Health Officer. We must perform contact tracing by law; your information is protected by HIPPA.

• If you think you have been exposed to COVID-19, please let me know. Again, I will report this to Ray Hernández, as part of our contract tracing duties. You can also get free testing from the District.

More information can be found on the SMCCCD Return Information for Students site. Note that all SMCCCD employees will be following the same guidelines.

Masking Requirement Update 

In October 2022, the SMCCCD Board of Trustees modified the District’s face masking requirement, utilizing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID Community Level coding system. The updated masking requirements, as outlined below, are effective until further notice, and apply to all students, employees, and visitors, regardless of vaccination status.  To track the San Mateo County’s COVID Community Level, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. 

At levels where masking is required, the exemption of not wearing a mask while actively eating or drinking still applies. 

Additional CDC Guidance:

• Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines 

• Get tested if you have symptoms