HISP 103: Combined Beginning Spanish – Fall 2021

Lecture and discussion class – 4 credits

Section 03 – CRN # 13442 MTWRF - 11:00 - 11:50 – Location: Washington Hall 308
Section 04 – CRN # 13444 MTWRF - 1:00 - 1:50 – Location: Boswell Hall 220

The College of William and Mary

Professor: Rebeca Pineda Burgos

E-mail: rpinedaburgos@wm.edu
Office Hours: TBD
TA: section 1 – Tom Plant camcgonegal@email.wm.edu
TA: section 2 – Ellie Ransom eiransom@email.wm.edu

Required course materials:

Portales 1 – https://vistahigherlearning.com/portales/ ISBN 978-1-68004-041-8

o Lingua Meeting subscription: Code for virtual conversation hours with native speakers.
o Flipgrid App - Access through BB to complete oral/video assignments

Linguistic Diversity and Inclusion

The HISP program embraces diversity and actively promotes inclusivity in the classroom, and
also across its curricular offerings. In a language class, this entails exposing students to the rich
linguistic diversity of the Hispanic world.  On the one hand, students will be reminded that
Spanish co-exists, in problematic, asymmetrical relations, with multiple other languages across
the Hispanic world such as Quechua, Guaraní, Aymara, Náhuatl, Maya-Quiché, Basque, etc., to
mention just a handful among hundreds. On the other hand, students will be reminded that
linguistic varieties of Spanish language based on age, region/geography, gender, class,
etc., also co-exist in problematic, asymmetrical relations within the Hispanic world. These
variations become evident in different aspects of the vocabulary, the sounds, or the grammar used
by speakers of Spanish. Students will be encouraged to appreciate and embrace the multiplicity of
"Spanish-es" in the Hispanic world, to question the preconceptions associated with each variety,
and to be aware of the social and political ramifications of said preconceptions

Historical Reckoning
William & Mary occupies the ancestral lands of the Powhatan people. In 1677, near our historic
campus, the Pamunkey leader, Cockacoeske, negotiated Articles of Peace, with England, on
behalf of several indigenous tribes. We acknowledge the Native youths who attended the
Brafferton Indian School in the eighteenth century. At present, we acknowledge and honor
Virginia's seven federally recognized tribes and the Commonwealth's four state-recognized tribes.
William & Mary acknowledges that it “owned and exploited slave labor from its founding to the
Civil War; and that it had failed to take a stand against segregation during the Jim Crow Era.”
 
Preferred Name and Pronouns:
Every individual has the right to be addressed and referred to in accordance to their personal
identity.  Students are invited to indicate the name(s) and pronouns by which they would like to
be addressed. W&M offers a tool called NameCoach that allows you to record your name the way
you want to have it pronounced. Instructions to use NameCoach can be found
at https://www.wm.edu/offices/it/services/blackboard/atwm/index.php
 Course description:
Course description:
HISP 103 is combined course, which covers the material from HISP 101 & 102 in one
semester. This course is for students who want to complete their language requirement and
have not studied Spanish before or have had an introductory Spanish class. There are three
primary objectives for this course:
1) To achieve the ability to communicate on a basic level in Spanish through oral, written
and aural means,
2) To analyze Hispanic cultural practices in comparison with your own and
3) To develop critical thinking skills with regard to language production and problem solving
(all key components of a liberal arts education).

Purpose, goals and objectives of learning a second language in a liberal arts setting:
1. Develop critical thinking skills (which will help you in all courses at William and Mary
and
beyond)
2. Develop multilingual literacies
a. Linguistic competence: phonetics, syntax, lexicon, discourse, etc.
b. Communication/interactional competence: sociocultural use of the language,
pragmatics
c. Metalinguistic competence: language as a conceptual, symbolic system
3. Develop grammar as a tool to learn about real-life culture in the Spanish-speaking world
4. Develop skills that will allow you to achieve these objectives: listening, speaking, writing,
and
reading.

Are you in the correct course?

 For new students in Spring 2021 (freshmen, transfer students), the placement exam
administered via Blackboard is the only placement option. Please make sure you have
taken the exam, and that the score you obtained placed you in this course.
 For further details, please refer to this website:
https://www.wm.edu/as/modernlanguages/undergraduate/placement/combined-
courses/index.php
 If you have difficulties with language courses in the past, please meet with the instructor
in office hours within the first week of class to discuss study strategies and areas for
improvement.

Course Schedule
 Classes are held Monday – Friday (attendance is mandatory)
 – Section 3: 11:00 – 11:50 – Section 4: 1:00 – 1:50
 Deadlines for homework are Sundays at midnight please check VHL calendar
 Quizzes, compositions and the midterm exam according to class schedule.

Evaluation: Grades will be based on the quality of your work and on improvement over the
course of the semester. The final course grade will be based upon:
  Class participation, attendance, and preparation 10%
 Quizzes (5) 20%
 Oral Performance (Presentación oral) 10%
 Written homework (online VHL ) 10%
 Midterm exam 15%
 Compositions (2) 10%
 Final exam 25%

Grading scale:
A 93 -100 B 83 - 86.9 C 73 - 76.9 D 63 - 66.9
A- 90 - 92.9 B- 80 - 82.9 C 70 - 72.9 D- 60 - 62.9
B+ 87 – 89.9 C+ 77 – 77.9 D+ 67 – 67.9 F < 60

Grade Calculation
The grades in this course are weighted, which means that some assignments for this course count
more for your final grade than others. Because of this, the “Weighted Total” grade column inside
Blackboard is the most accurate calculation of your current course grade, since this column
interprets the value of each individual assignment according to its true percentage, or “weight,”
that it carries in the final grade. To put this in another way: Do not try and determine your current
course grade simply by dividing points earned by the total number of points possible. For
questions about the scoring system, please ask your instructor during office hours.

There are no round ups or extra credits in this course. No late homework or/and
assignments are accepted.

Class Format:
The format of this class is based on the premise that the best way to learn a foreign language is
through repeated, meaningful exposure to the language and through multiple opportunities for
meaningful interaction with others—even at the very beginning levels. For this reason, class time
will be dedicated to communicating in the second language using the structures and vocabulary
that you have practiced and review the material prior to class. You, the student, has an active
role in class, while the role of your course instructor is that of "communication facilitator.” If you
need extra help with grammar and/or vocabulary, do not hesitate to see your instructor
during her/his office hours. However, please do not expect your instructor to repeat a class for
you that you have missed, or to answer questions about material that you have never covered
yourself online. Do this work first, and then see your instructor if you have follow-up questions
or if you feel you still don’t have a full understanding of the information covered in that lesson.
The online component offers many opportunities for language practice. Since only some of the
activities will be assigned during the semester, you can complete activities available in other links
provided on BB.
Your instructor will use only the target language in class—this is a deliberate element of the
course design, and is intended to provide increased exposure to the language. You will probably
not understand everything the instructor is saying right away—but do not worry! There are many
non-verbal ways of communicating, and you will be surprised to see just how much you
understand early on. Coming to class fully prepared, ready to participate and to contribute,
will give you a tremendous learning advantage, and will also contribute greatly to the larger
classroom-learning environment. On this last note, please remember to be respectful of your
peers, and refrain from any behavior in class that could detract from other students’ learning
experience (such as eating during class, sending text messages, talking in English, interrupting,
and so forth).

Email Policy
Please always use your William and Mary email account, when emailing your instructor. Emails
coming from a personal account will not receive a response. Please also take the time to address
your instructor appropriately (Dear Professor…) and use a respectful tone.

Attendance
Attendance is a crucial component of mastering linguistic skills, developing intercultural
competencies and articulating communication with others. In order to foster this growth and
development, students must be in class. Students are allowed the equivalent of one week of
unexcused absences from class (5 absences for HISP103 & HISP203)

In the case of an extended absence (more than three consecutive days), you will need to provide
documentation from the Dean of Students Office as soon as possible.
Starting on your 6th absence 2 points will be deducted for each day you are absent.
 Once you have reached the equivalent of two weeks of unexcused absences from class
(10 in HISP103 & HISP203, your final participation grade will drop by 50% and
students will receive a letter suggesting withdrawal from the course.
 Once you have reached the equivalent of three weeks of unexcused absences from class
(15 in HISP103 & HISP203), you will receive 0% for your final participation grade.
We will contact the Program Director of Hispanic Studies and the Dean’s Office about
the situation.
We define absences in the following ways:

Excused absence:  
 Absences that are justified by a letter from a W&M coach or professor explaining the
reason for the absence. For example, representing W&M for sports, band, field trips, labs
etc.
 Absences justified by a letter issued from the Dean’s Office, provided that the student
follows the parameters of the letter (i.e., must notify instructor 24 hours prior or on the
day of class of absence).
 Accommodations related to accessibility and acknowledged by the Dean of Students via
Student Accessibility Services also fall under this category.

Unexcused absence: This includes the rest of possible reasons that cause absences. (flu, personal
conflicts, job interviews, flat tire, etc.).

Late Arrivals
We have a lot of ground to cover during each class period, and it is essential that you arrive in
class on time (in addition to coming to class prepared). Arriving late makes it much more difficult
for you to understand and retain the course material. Moreover, a late arrival disrupts the entire
class (especially those who did arrive on time or well ahead of time). Therefore, late arrivals of
10 or more minutes will be recorded by the instructor, and documented as if it were an absence.
Please talk to your instructor if because of your schedule you may have problems coming to class
on time.
Starting from your 6th unexcused absence, if you miss class, no participation points can be
awarded for that day, regardless of the nature of your absence
Participation
The success of a language course depends on the conscientious preparation and active
participation of all participants. We are a learning community, and everyone else in the room
depends on you to come prepared and ready to engage with the materials and with your peers.
Visible, tangible performance in the classroom is a crucial component of your growth as a user of
the target language.
Each day your instructor will record a daily participation grade for you in her/his grade book. If
you are in class, prepared, and are participating actively you will obtain two (2) points. If you
come to class, do not participate actively in individual, pair or group activities, you are quiet most
of the time or have minimum participation you will receive one (1) point. If you are not in class
you will receive zero points (0).
If you miss class, no participation points can be awarded for that day, regardless of the nature of
your absence.

How to register to the course in VHL – Portales

You can purchase the packages through this custom site link
https://vistahigherlearning.com/school/wm
 It gives you the ability to use the supersite and have access to the eBook from the first
day of school. Make sure you are purchasing the correct level book and that it is for the
College of W&M
Student Tech Support
 If you have any technical with your homework or the supersite, please do not contact
your professor contact this number they will be able to help you. Phone for student’s
technical support: 800.248.2813 or
 Try "Chat with an Agent" feature on vhlcentral.com

Lingua Meeting conversation hours

To Create a new account
o Go to: https://www.linguameeting.com/codeRegister/
o Create an account and enter a code from bookstore or credit card to purchase access.
o View available coaches and choose a day/ time for your sessions. You will keep the same
day/time for the entire semester unless you change it.

Number of required session: 6 sessions of 30 minutes

University Course dates: Sep 01st to Dec 10th
Linguameeting Sessions: LinguaMeeting 6 sessions Small Groups 30 min - $40 -
ISBN:978-1-64007-884-0

o Section HISP-103 -03 (11:00 am) – link to register

Class ID: 842384

o Section HISP 103-04 (1:00 pm) – link to register

Class ID: 065698

Students with disabilities are welcome in this course

William & Mary accommodates students with disabilities in accordance with federal laws and
university policy. Any student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact
of learning, psychiatric, physical, or chronic health diagnosis should contact Student Accessibility
Services staff at 757-221-2509 or at sas@wm.edu to determine if accommodations are warranted
and to obtain an official letter of accommodation. For more information, please
see www.wm.edu/sas
https://www.wm.edu/offices/deanofstudents/services/studentaccessibilityservices/faqs/sas-covid-
19-faqs/index.php

Homework
This homework, done online and it is already set up for you for the rest of the semester. It
provides follow-up practice for the vocabulary and grammar sections in your textbook. The
purpose of these activities is for you to gain further practice outside of class with vocabulary and
grammar covered in class. These activities are to be completed after you have covered the
material in class (but before the next week meeting). These exercises are automatically graded
and calculated based on accuracy, thereby providing you with instant feedback and a score of
your performance.
 Instructions for Accessing Homework
As soon as you have purchased your textbook you have immediate access to your homework It
is under calendar. It is clearly marked the assignments that you have every week.
 Homework Deadlines
These activities must be completed by the due dates (Sundays at midnight), which are available
on the calendar in the supersite. There are no extensions of the due dates for the activities.
Given the nature of this course, you have access to these activities (and their corresponding
deadlines) from the beginning of the semester and it is essential to your learning that you
complete them on time.

Oral performance:
Please see the course calendar for assignment dates. Descriptions will be posted on Blackboard.
Oral Performance includes:
 Group presentation (1 x group): (graded) presentation of cultural topics on the
last week of the semester. (30% of OP grade)
 Lingua Meeting conversation hours: Students will ‘have to complete six - 30
minute - conversation hours throughout the semester. You need to schedule
these conversation hours on week one of the semester. (50% of OP grade)
Compositions:
There are two compositions, that will be written in class (1 st composition: 200 words; 2nd
composition: 250 - 300 words). The topics of the compositions deal with the topics covered in
class.
The absence policy for compositions is the same as the absence policy for exams.
The first draft of your composition will be 60% of your grade. You will have the opportunity to
re-write your composition and correct your mistakes. The re-write will be 40% of the final grade.
Please make sure you use the key for editing your composition posted on BB.

Evaluation Criteria For Compositions

Content Points
 Very complete information; relevant; on target 30
 Adequate information; some development of ideas; some ideas lack supporting detail or evidence 25
 Limited information; ideas present but not developed; lack of supporting detail or evidence 22
 Minimal information; information lacks substance (is superficial); inappropriate or irrelevant 19
information; or not enough information to evaluate
Organization
 Logically and effectively ordered; main points and details are connected; fluent; 25
  An apparent order to the content is intended; somewhat choppy; loosely organized but main points do 22
stand out although sequencing of ideas is not complete
 Limited order to the content; lacks logical sequencing of ideas; ineffective ordering; very choppy; 18
disjointed
 Series of separate sentences with no transitions; disconnected ideas; no apparent order to the content; or 16
not enough to evaluate
Vocabulary
 Broad; impressive; precise and effective word use and choice; extensive use of words studied 25
 Adequate but not impressive; some erroneous word usage or choice, but meaning is not confused or 22
obscured; some use of words studied
 Erroneous word use or choice leads to confused or obscured meaning; some literal translations and 18
invented words; limited use of words studied
 Inadequate; repetitive; incorrect use or non-use of words studied; literal translations; abundance of 16
invented words; or not enough to evaluate
Language
 No errors in the grammar presented in lesson; very few errors in subject/verb or adjective/noun 20
agreement; work was well edited for language
 No errors in the grammar presented in lesson; occasional errors in subject/verb or adjective/noun 17
agreement; erroneous use of language does not impede comprehensibility; some editing for language
evident but not complete
 No errors in the grammar presented in lesson; some errors in subject/verb agreement; some errors in 15
adjective/noun agreement; erroneous use of language often impedes comprehensibility; work was
poorly edited for language
 One or more errors in use and form of the grammar presented in lesson; frequent errors in subject/verb 13
agreement; the presence of English/Anglophone sentence structure; erroneous use of language makes
the work mostly incomprehensible; no evidence of having edited the work for language; or not enough
to evaluate
100
Total points ________/

Written Quizzes and Tests:

There are five (5) quizzes to evaluate vocabulary and grammar covered in the textbook. The
quizzes may also include listening and reading comprehension from the short texts discussed in
class. The dates for the quizzes are indicated on the Calendario de Actividades. The lowest quiz
grade will not be counted in the final grade calculation; however, there are no make-up quizzes.
If you miss a quiz for any reason, that will be the grade that gets dropped.
Notice: Quizzes are in person on campus. Please check the calendar for dates and location for
these assessments.
Exams:
 The midterm exam will evaluate concepts and topics covered in lessons 1 through 5 of
the textbook. The midterm exam is 15% of your final grade. It will take place on
Wednesday, October 13
 The final exam is a comprehensive exam (Lecciones 1 – 10) that will include selected
grammar and vocabulary materials. The final exam is 25% of the final grade, and it will
take place on Monday December 13 from 7:00 – 10:00 pm

Honor Code:
William & Mary has had an honor code since at least 1779. Academic integrity is at the heart of
the university, and we all are responsible for upholding the ideals of honor and integrity. The
student-led honor system is responsible for resolving any suspected violations of the Honor Code,
and the instructor will report all suspected instances of academic dishonesty to the honor system.
The Student Handbook (www.wm.edu/studenthandbook) includes your responsibilities as a
student and the full Code. Your full participation and observance of the Honor Code is expected.
To read the Honor Code, see www.wm.edu/honor.
 It is especially important that students honor their intellectual integrity by avoiding cases of
plagiarism. According to the Honor Code, 
 "Plagiarism: the presentation, with intent to deceive, or with disregard for proper scholarly
procedures of a significant scope, of any information, ideas or phrasing of another as if they were
one’s own without giving appropriate credit to the original source.
a. One commits plagiarism when one includes the words of another without quotation or when
one includes the substantive work of another without properly crediting the source with footnotes,
quotation marks, or other appropriate citation.
 b. A student’s intent may be inferred based on the extent and context of the improperly cited
material and whether the student has provided false citation or has manipulated the original text
such that a reasonable person may conclude the student did so in order to avoid detection.
 c. Disregard for proper scholarly procedure that is minimal in scope may be addressed solely as
an academic matter, and the instructor may determine whether an academic penalty should be
applied without pursuing resolution under the Honor Code. But any intentional acts of plagiarism
or disregard for scholarly procedure of a significant scope should be treated as a violation of the
Honor Code and addressed under either Sec. VIII or Sec. IX below.
(https://www.wm.edu/offices/deanofstudents/services/communityvalues/studenthandbook/honor_
system/section_VI/index.php)"
 
In our Hispanic Studies program, properly crediting someone else’s intellectual work means
citing your sources according to MLA style; examples can be found here:
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/ml
a_in_text_citations_the_basics.html but the instructor encourages you also to consult with them
or with the Writing Center in Swem Library.  The instructor reserves the right to require you to
submit your paper via the antiplagiarism software SafeAssign.  Similarly, you may NOT use
translation software, internet translation sites, or have other students or faculty edit your papers.
You may, of course, discuss in a general way your research topic, process and progress, etc., with
others, including assistants at the Writing Center in Swem. Please feel free to set up an
appointment with your instructor to clarify expectations, generate ideas, etc. 

Useful Websites:
https://www.wm.edu/sites/pathforward/index.php

https://www.wm.edu/news/announcements/2020/covid-messages-from-student-affairs.php

Other important information:

 All official communications will be provided in class and/or sent through Blackboard.
No grades will be disclosed by e-mail; they will be provided in person, or posted on
Blackboard. It is your responsibility to regularly check Blackboard for updated
information.
 In the event of illness, you should contact me as soon as possible via e-mail.
 No assignment (e.g. compositions, homework assignments etc.) will be accepted late.
There are no extra-credit assignments in this course.
 The use of translation software or internet-based translation sites is not allowed in this
class, unless specified otherwise. You may not have written assignments corrected or
revised by a native speaker or an advanced student of Spanish.
 Important Dates:
 o First Day of classes: September 1st
o Drop/add deadline: September 10
o Fall Break: October 16 – 19
o Midterm exam : Thursday, October 13
o Last Day for withdraw from class: November 1st

o Thanksgiving Break: November 24 – 28

o Last day of class: December 10
o Homework deadline: December 12
o Lingua Meeting deadline: May 2nd
o Final Exam: Monday December 13th from 7:00 – 10:00 pm
I reserve the right to modify this syllabus at any time. I will give you ample notice of any
changes.