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Class Attendance. In a language course, attendance is crucial; there is no substitute for practicing the language actively and interactively. While there is no official attendance policy (i.e., no number of cuts after which your grade is automatically lowered), absences will be reflected automatically in your "Class grade" (see below) and your quiz average. If you become seriously ill, of course, every effort will be made to help you make up missed work, and no grade penalty will be assessed. If a student misses ten or more classes during the semester, I reserve the right to have the student withdrawn from the course.

Policy for the student athlete and others who represent the College. Students who represent Randolph College on athletic teams that have conflicts with our class should hand me a schedule in the first or second class of the term clearly showing the dates when they will have to be absent.  I do not distinguish between "excused" and "unexcused" absences (except in exceptional circumstances, such as a prolonged illness). A class missed because of an athletic event will be considered a "personal day." You are allowed a maximum of four such "personal days" without penalty during a semester, and you may choose to use or not to use them. If you do not use any or all such days, up to four of your lowest quiz grades will be dropped from your quiz average. If a student misses more than four classes, his or her quiz grade will normally be lowered automatically (see the "Quizzes" section below for more details). However, if a student athlete must miss more than four classes because of conflicts with athletic contests, and if these are the only classes missed during the semester, the student's class grade will not be lowered

This policy also holds for students who represent the College in other, non-athletic capacities, such as participation in the Model U.N.
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If a test is scheduled for a class that must be missed because of a college-ralated conflict, the student should arrange to take the test early if possible (see policy on taking tests), or should talk to me before the test date to make other arrangements to make up the test.

Students with a disability requiring special consideration: Please provide me with the appropriate letter from the Learning Resources Center indicating what accommodations you require, and I will make every effort to meet your needs completely.  Please consult with Tina Barnes in the LRC if you need more information.

How the course grade is determined:

***Every student is expected to complete the audio and video exercises assigned for each lesson.***
(1) The audio exercises and videos are available on the college network’s Media Files in the Spanish Audio and Video folders. Information on how to gain access to these files is available from our course main page.

(2) The audio exercises––for the textbook only––have been bundled with the text, so each of you should have them. They are also available on the college network, as media files.

(3)The audio exercises for the Workbook are only available on the RC network, as media files. You may access them from your own computer or from any computer on campus.

Policy on taking tests. A student may take a test early (any time after the class prior to the test date). Otherwise, all tests must be taken as scheduled, except in extenuating circumstances; unless it is an emergency, make arrangements with me in advance.

Policy concerning handheld devices. The use of handheld devices is strictly prohibited in this course. No student should ever have a handheld device out during classtime. If I see such a device during a quiz or exam, I will ask you to report yourself to the chair of the college judiciary committee for disciplinary action. If you have any questions at all regarding this policy please contact me immediately. If you see another student using a handheld device during a quiz or test, either report this to me as soon as possible and/or ask the student to report him/herself to the chair of the college judiciary committee.

Quizzes. There will be frequent short quizzes, perhaps one per class (or a Worksheet may be collected and counted as a quiz; only Worksheets from students present in the class will be graded, although all those handed in on time will be corrected). If you miss a quiz, a failing grade (25%) is entered into your computerized quiz average. Normally, missed quizzes may not be made up, but out of every ten quizzes the lowest quiz grade (including missed quizzes), will not be counted in your average. This works out to about four quiz grades per semester, usually two prior to the midterm and two after the midterm. If you are in class and take a quiz, your quiz grade will not be lower than 50%, so even when unprepared, you should come to class.

Work submitted for a grade. I accept all work submitted for a grade, whether tests or quizzes or Worksheets, as your work and your work alone. You are neither to give nor receive help (human or electronic) on specific responses submitted for a grade. While you are encouraged to study with friends, and to consult with on-line tutorials, as well as with the departmental tutors, to receive general help on grammar points if you so desire, specific responses submitted for a grade should reflect, exclusively, your own work. If you have questions about what is and is not permitted in the way of help on specific assignments, ask me.

Charlas. In order to practice speaking Spanish for more than a sentence or two at a time (which is often what happens in class), each student is asked to participate in five "charlas" (5-10 minute chats) with the departmental tutors during the course of the semester. You may do these any time the tutors are available (times and sign-up sheets will be posted weekly outside the tutor room, Leggett 503). The charlas count for 7.5% of your course grade; your charla grade is determined exclusively on the basis of attendance (if you go to five, you receive 100%; for four you receive 80%, for three, 60%, etc.). *****You may not sign up for more than one charla per week; make an effort to spread them out over the entire term. By the mid-term, each student should have done at least two charlas.   Attendance at the Spanish Table may substitute for a charla.  You may substitute attendance at the Spanish Table for a charla up to two times in a given semester. Students who come to me for extra help, provided that their class attendance is good, may have some of the charlas waived.

Workbook Exercises and Worksheets. These should be done before each class when they are assigned. We shall use the Workbook in class, so you should bring it with you. The Workbook will be collected on test days. There are answers to many of the exercises in the back of the Workbook. There are no answers in the Workbook to "Worksheet" exercises, and you are not responsible for completing such exercises (but I'll be glad to correct these for you if you want to hand them in to me).When I refer to "Worksheets" in this course, I mean the documents available on Moodle, which I have created for this course. You should print out the Moodle Worksheet for each lesson and have it with you in class. This Worksheet provides practice for each grammar point we study, and you are asked, as part of your homework, to complete the Worksheet section that corresponds with the grammar under study for a given day. We will review the appropriate Worksheet section in class, before our quizzes.

Use of text and Workbooks. Both the Destinos text and the Workbook have answers to many of the exercises in the back . These are for you to use to check your work. If you use these answers wisely you will avoid repeating, and therefore reinforcing, mistakes (repeated mistakes are more difficult to correct). In exercises where you are repeating a pattern, try the first one and then immediately check your answer in the back of the book; correct any mistakes in a different color and continue with the exercise. Do not do the whole exercise before checking your work, or you may reinforce bad habits. If, after correcting your first answer, you make another mistake in the next sentence, go back and study the grammar point once more. Used in this way, the Workbook will allow you to build confidence and/or to pinpoint difficulties. Ask questions in class or of the tutors about what you do not understand.

Merely copying answers will not help you very much in learning Spanish, and it will help your grade only very marginally, because of how I evaluate these Workbook exercises. My method is to use a check, check plus and check minus system, where a check means you receive your average on tests and quizzes for the term for your Workbook exercises. Therefore, your performance on tests and quizzes is what will determine your grade on these Workbook exercises, and using your Workbook and Text exercises properly is the best way to do as well as you can on your graded work.

Tutoring. I am available during my posted office hours, and at other times by appointment. (While it is best to make an appointment, so that you will be sure I’ll be in my office, you are very welcome to ask me any questions you may have any time I am in). Departmental tutors are also available, usually every afternoon or evening before class days.  As soon as the schedules of the Spanish tutors for this semester are established, I shall let you know when tutorial assistance will be available. Leggett 504  is where the Spanish tutors will be set up to receive you for help with Spanish and also for the "charlas."

Arrangements can also be made for personal tutors, a service provided free through the LRC (Learning Resources Center). Please see me if you think you need such help.  

Also on the Randolph College Network. There is a Destinos based interactive grammar, with exercises and answers, on the College network.  I encourage you to practice actively with these exercises.  It is an excellent way to master the grammar material in the course.  There is a link to these exercises on our main page.  

Finally, if you are unprepared for a class, come anyway. You will learn more Spanish by attending the class, and even three or four such days over the course of the term will not affect your overall grade. (Of course, being unprepared regularly will have an adverse effect on your absorption of the language and also on your grade.) All missed work should be made up as soon as possible. And remember: if you fail a quiz you never receive a grade lower than 50%; if you miss a quiz you are assigned a grade of 25%.

How to Access Audio and Video materials

How to Access Audio and Video materials