Note: A placement exam will be required when you arrive on site.

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This course is designed for students who have completed or tested out of a minimum of four semesters (or six quarters) of college-level Spanish. However, students must take a placement exam to determine the course level into which they will be able to enroll.

This course is designed for students who have had 4 or more semesters of university-level Spanish. The course focuses on written and oral expression of Spanish through compositions, oral reports and class discussions. Material for discussion includes literary texts as well as topics of general interest. Emphasis is on interactive language use, vocabulary expansion, and accuracy of expression.

OBJECTIVES
The main goal of this course is to improve the speaking and writing skills of the students. The students will practice their speaking skills with small directed debates, and commentaries of literary texts and articles. The students will practice their writing skills with a general review of Spanish grammar and syntax together with written compositions.

FORMAT OF CLASSES
This class is designed to familiarize the student with the culture through readings on the culture of Spain, the Hispanic world, and other readings on current topics.

COMPOSITIONS
The students will write two compositions during the semester (20% of the final grade) of 2 pages each. This is an individual assignment; the professor will establish office hours to help the students. The evaluations will be graded according to content and organization (50%), and grammar and vocabulary (50%).

EVALUATION
There will be 1 test (20% of the final grade) about material presented in class. There will be 3 grammar quizzes (12%). The two compositions will count for 20% of the final grade. There will be 1 WRITTEN FINAL EXAM (worth 30% of the final grade) during the final week of class, covering all of the course content. Class participation and turning in homework on time is very important in this kind of course, and these elements will be evaluated daily (worth 18% of the final grade).

COURSE AGENDA
Weekly Syllabus
1. Introduction to the course and book 'Prisma,' Review: the past and present subjunctive I.
2. Review: the subjunctive II and past-tense verbs. Current readings.
3. Unit 1: '¿Y si fueras al médico?' The preterite imperfect of subjunctive. Health.
4. Current reading. Unit 2: 'Tienes un email.' The correlation of times.
5. Review: Grammar Quiz #1. The new means of communication.
6. Composition #1: To be determined by the professor. Unit 3: Relative sentences with indicative and subjunctive.
7. Relaxation and free time: 'La Marcha': activities of Spanish youth.
8. General review of the subjunctive: TEST #1
9. Unit 4: Verbal paraphrases. Vocabulary of movies. Class DEBATE. Grammar quiz #2.
10. Unit 5: music and painting. The connectors of argumentation. Prepare Composition #2: an argumentation.
11. Current reading: pirating music? Other Activities.
12. Unit 6: Historical memory. Review of the imperative. Conditional structures.
13. Grammar quiz #3. Composition #2 (an argumentation, use of the subjunctive).
14. Turn in all homework. General review. FINAL EXAM.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Text Book
- Equipo Prisma, PRISMA-Avanza (B2), Madrid: Editorial Edinumen, 2004.
Bibliografía útil
- Coronado/García/Zarzalejos, A fondo, Madrid: Sociedad General Española de Librería, 1999.
- López/Rodríguez/Topolevsky, Procesos y Recursos, Madrid: Edinumen, 1999.
- Moreno/Tuts, Curso de Perfeccionamiento, Madrid: Sociedad General Española de Librería, 2000.
- Siles/Sánchez, Curso de lectura, conversación y redacción, Madrid: Sociedad General Española de Librería, 2000.