Spanish 1 Syllabus

Ben Slavic

August 11, 2015 at 7:42 am

My course syllabi are taken from Jim’s and thank you Jim, so much!

Example – please use any, all or none:

Course Syllabus – Intermediate French
AES Middle School
Ben Slavic
2015-16

In Intermediate French students will be immersed in comprehensible language so that the brain has the opportunity to unconsciously acquire, or “pick up”, what it can when it is ready. Students will acquire frequently used words and structures of the language. Slowly, over time, the brain will organize all the (listening and reading) input and after time emerge capable of (speaking and writing) output. The process of getting to the output skills cannot be rushed, and those skills can emerge in different students at vastly different times. Besides listening, reading is also a big part of what we do in Intermediate French.

“Language is acoustical, not intellectual.” – Berty Segal

LISTENING: Perhaps the most important and rewarding aspect of using another language is being able to understand what the other person is saying to you. In order for that to happen, one must hear lots and lots of comprehensible and interesting spoken language. I ask that students do their part to make stories and discussion lively and interesting by actively participating. I call this “doing your 50%”.

“Reading is the most powerful tool we have in language education.” – Steven Krashen

READING: We will read often in class from several sources in order to provide students with a variety of comprehensible and interesting reading material. This will consist of song lyrics, texts of stories created in class, children’s books, simple chapter books, etc. We will read individually, as a class, and in pairs. All students will read the following novels:

A La Conquête de Qu?bec (Gaab)
Brandon Veut Un Chien (Gaab)
Pauvre Anne (Ray)
Pirates (Canon)
Le Nouvel Houdini (Gaab)

WRITING: Although not emphasized in Intermediate French, students will be able and expected to write after a short time. We will do dictations, timed writings and rewrites of stories, as well as various other written activities completed individually and in groups.

SPEAKING: Students will be encouraged in this course to speak French when they feel comfortable and ready to do so. Speaking English is not allowed in class. If a student has a compelling question, they are advised to wait until the last five minutes of class to ask it.

CULTURE: We will explore some cultural habits, traditions, and experiences of French-speaking people in order to better understand their worldview and in turn communicate more effectively. Certain aspects of culture that come up in class include geography, pop culture, politics, migration, current events, history, and food/cuisine.

Classroom Rules: The rules by which we govern ourselves in French class directly impact not just our learning but also the four important “learning habits” that make up part of our Standards Based Grading approach at AES. They are responsibility, respect, perseverance and collaboration. Please find those all-important Classroom Rules on my AES blog at:

http://bslavic.msblogs.aes.ac.in/

Note: Students should expect very frequent assessments in class. Most of these will come in the form of short quizzes at the end of class. All quizzes will be unannounced. In addition, students will be asked to frequently, also at the end of class, describe what they are experiencing in class as a learner. This metacognition and self-reflection will help make students aware that language acquisition should be in fact be an effortless endeavor, much as it happened with their first language, and not one involving memorization, forced speech or forced writing.

Once the student realizes that the responsibility for whether they understand or not is completely on the shoulders of the instructor, they will be able to move swiftly to engaging the part of the their brain that actually acquires languages (vs. memorization) – the relaxed part. They will understand that a relaxed focus with no English interruption is all they need to do really well in this class. Why is this?

We acquire language by actively trying to decode messages in the foreign language, repeatedly and consistently, rather than memorizing rules about adverbs, etc. When we listen to stories and conversation, we are acquiring language. When we read, we are acquiring language. By engaging in those activities on a daily basis without interruption (i.e. when English is used), we will reach our goal of developing long-term acquisition of and a life long interest in French and in the people who speak French in the world.

A few notes about the French language: French is the second most commonly-taught second language in the world (after English) and is also the only language, with English, that is taught in every country of the world. French speaking countries account for 20% of all world trade in both exports and imports. 51 countries in the world speak French, and in 30 of those countries it is the official language. (source: http://www.francophonie.org.)

Please feel free to drop by anytime! That invitation also includes a sincere wish that you drop in on any class during the day to learn some French yourself! (If that is not the sincere wish of your child, please feel free to drop in on any other class. There are seats near the door where visitors can slip in and out of class largely unnoticed by the students.)

Email: bslavic@aes.ac.in
Room: 206
Classroom phone:
Cell phone: 783-870-0427

7 thoughts on “Spanish 1 Syllabus”

Jim Tripp
August 30, 2012 at 6:52 pm

If anyone would like this as a Word doc, let me know (trippatmail2jim.com)

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1. Sammie Murphy
  August 10, 2015 at 12:28 pm
  
  I would love to have this in a Word or Google doc.!
  
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Ben Slavic
August 30, 2012 at 7:24 pm

Update done, Jim.

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1. Jim Tripp
  August 31, 2012 at 6:03 pm
  
  I even updated it a bit more since you posted it… it’s that OCD coming out of me a bit.
  
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Ben Slavic
August 30, 2012 at 10:04 pm

Here are some thoughts on the whole thing that Sabrina is fighting tonite in her preparation of plans and guides and syllabi:

https://benslavic.com/blog/2012/02/23/oil-and-water/

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Charlotte
August 30, 2012 at 10:39 pm

Thanks:)

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Ben Slavic
August 11, 2015 at 7:42 am

My course syllabi are taken from Jim’s and thank you Jim, so much!

Example – please use any, all or none:

Course Syllabus – Intermediate French
AES Middle School
Ben Slavic
2015-16

In Intermediate French students will be immersed in comprehensible language so that the brain has the opportunity to unconsciously acquire, or “pick up”, what it can when it is ready. Students will acquire frequently used words and structures of the language. Slowly, over time, the brain will organize all the (listening and reading) input and after time emerge capable of (speaking and writing) output. The process of getting to the output skills cannot be rushed, and those skills can emerge in different students at vastly different times. Besides listening, reading is also a big part of what we do in Intermediate French.

“Language is acoustical, not intellectual.” – Berty Segal

LISTENING: Perhaps the most important and rewarding aspect of using another language is being able to understand what the other person is saying to you. In order for that to happen, one must hear lots and lots of comprehensible and interesting spoken language. I ask that students do their part to make stories and discussion lively and interesting by actively participating. I call this “doing your 50%”.

“Reading is the most powerful tool we have in language education.” – Steven Krashen

READING: We will read often in class from several sources in order to provide students with a variety of comprehensible and interesting reading material. This will consist of song lyrics, texts of stories created in class, children’s books, simple chapter books, etc. We will read individually, as a class, and in pairs. All students will read the following novels:

A La Conquête de Qu?bec (Gaab)
Brandon Veut Un Chien (Gaab)
Pauvre Anne (Ray)
Pirates (Canon)
Le Nouvel Houdini (Gaab)

WRITING: Although not emphasized in Intermediate French, students will be able and expected to write after a short time. We will do dictations, timed writings and rewrites of stories, as well as various other written activities completed individually and in groups.

SPEAKING: Students will be encouraged in this course to speak French when they feel comfortable and ready to do so. Speaking English is not allowed in class. If a student has a compelling question, they are advised to wait until the last five minutes of class to ask it.

CULTURE: We will explore some cultural habits, traditions, and experiences of French-speaking people in order to better understand their worldview and in turn communicate more effectively. Certain aspects of culture that come up in class include geography, pop culture, politics, migration, current events, history, and food/cuisine.

Classroom Rules: The rules by which we govern ourselves in French class directly impact not just our learning but also the four important “learning habits” that make up part of our Standards Based Grading approach at AES. They are responsibility, respect, perseverance and collaboration. Please find those all-important Classroom Rules on my AES blog at:

http://bslavic.msblogs.aes.ac.in/

Note: Students should expect very frequent assessments in class. Most of these will come in the form of short quizzes at the end of class. All quizzes will be unannounced. In addition, students will be asked to frequently, also at the end of class, describe what they are experiencing in class as a learner. This metacognition and self-reflection will help make students aware that language acquisition should be in fact be an effortless endeavor, much as it happened with their first language, and not one involving memorization, forced speech or forced writing.

Once the student realizes that the responsibility for whether they understand or not is completely on the shoulders of the instructor, they will be able to move swiftly to engaging the part of the their brain that actually acquires languages (vs. memorization) – the relaxed part. They will understand that a relaxed focus with no English interruption is all they need to do really well in this class. Why is this?

We acquire language by actively trying to decode messages in the foreign language, repeatedly and consistently, rather than memorizing rules about adverbs, etc. When we listen to stories and conversation, we are acquiring language. When we read, we are acquiring language. By engaging in those activities on a daily basis without interruption (i.e. when English is used), we will reach our goal of developing long-term acquisition of and a life long interest in French and in the people who speak French in the world.

A few notes about the French language: French is the second most commonly-taught second language in the world (after English) and is also the only language, with English, that is taught in every country of the world. French speaking countries account for 20% of all world trade in both exports and imports. 51 countries in the world speak French, and in 30 of those countries it is the official language. (source: http://www.francophonie.org.)

Please feel free to drop by anytime! That invitation also includes a sincere wish that you drop in on any class during the day to learn some French yourself! (If that is not the sincere wish of your child, please feel free to drop in on any other class. There are seats near the door where visitors can slip in and out of class largely unnoticed by the students.)

Email: bslavic@aes.ac.in
Room: 206
Classroom phone:
Cell phone: 783-870-0427

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