The course is designed to increase students' control of Spanish grammar so they can more accurately and correctly express themselves in written and spoken Spanish. A secondary goal is to develop students' understanding of the terminology and rules of grammar so they can better understand how the language functions and be better prepared for the possibility of teaching it in the future. To achieve these goals and to increase student's reading and listening abilities in Spanish, students will be required to:

1. Read all assigned grammar explanations in the textbook and learn the principal grammatical rules for each section. The book is written in Spanish. Students are encouraged to consult other reference materials including ones in English, but must read our textbook and learn the terminology it uses.
2. Do all the assigned grammar exercises from the textbook and any assigned handouts prior to class. Students are to prepare several exercises for a typical class period. In view of the large number of students enrolled in this year's course, the professor will not be able to grade most assignments, but they will be covered in class at least in part and/or daily quizzes might be based on the assignments.
3. Do all the exercises in the workbook. These will not be graded by the professor since this work is generally self-correcting; that is, students should do the exercises, then compare their answers to those appearing in the back of the book. The workbooks will collected and spot-checked during the regularly scheduled tests.
4. Write the assigned compositions in Spanish, doing your own work and incorporating as far as possible the grammatical structures being studied.
5. Attend all classes, participate in class discussions and exercises, and use Spanish in the classroom.
6. Show mastery of the material in the five scheduled tests and any quizes. The content of each test, including to some extent the final exam, will focus primarily on the material covered since the previous test; however, language is a cumulative process, and material covered in earlier chapters must necessarily reappear in subsequent tests. [A project of some type may also be required, but a final decision has not been made.]

     Note: Work handed in late will be given a reduced grade and no make-up tests will be given, except in cases of emergency or where the student makes arrangement with the professor in advance.

     The students' final grade in the course will be based on: class participation (25%), written assignments (25%), and exams and quizes (50%).

     Both of the following texts are required:

1. Avanzando: Gramática española y lectura, 5th edition, by Sara Lequerica de la Vega and Carmen Salazar. John Wiley & Sons, 2003.
2. Workbook to accompany the above text: Cuaderno de ejercicios.