Spanish 1

 

This course provides a solid introduction to Spanish language and culture. Students will focus first on talking about themselves (their characteristics, their interests, their activities, etc.), and will then expand that to talk about other people. They will learn and practice basic vocabulary and grammar, with an emphasis on understanding and being understood.

The course is built around the ACTFL World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages, which have the following standards at their base:

• Communicate effectively in more than one language in order to function in a variety of situations and for multiple purposes.
• Interact with cultural competence and understanding.
• Connect with other disciplines and acquire information and diverse perspectives in order to use the language to function in academic and career-related situations.
• Develop insight into the nature of language and culture in order to interact with cultural competence.
• Communicate and interact with cultural competence in order to participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world.

Language learning is a long and slow process, and this course is just the beginning of that process. However, students who put in the required effort will see sustained progress throughout the year.

Course Structure

Instructional materials and graded assignments will be built into the online course. Weekly live class sessions will give students the opportunity to practice speaking, ask questions about what they have been studying, and explore various aspects of the language and its associated cultures.

Throughout each semester, there will be graded assignments and projects, and each semester will end with a semester exam.

Who should enroll?

This is an introductory course intended for students with little or no previous experience with Spanish. Students with previous Spanish experience may want to consider Spanish 2 and/or our embedded Spanish course.

Technology Requirements

• High speed, broadband Internet
• Headset and microphone (for live sessions)
• Streaming video capabilities to watch recorded lectures and other class materials

Evaluation and Feedback

Many of the course assignments are auto-graded by the computer. Other assignments will typically be graded within 48 hours of the submission date.

Communication

Prior to the beginning of the course, Sr. Nance can be reached at [email protected]. After the course begins, students and parents are encouraged to use the Inbox in Canvas for all communication. Sr. Nance always tries to reply to messages within 24 hours.