SPAN3015V: Honors: Spanish Composition and Communication

In 3015V, we will be using basically the same Weekly Plan and Canvas site that is used in regular sections (Span 3015W) in our Department. The main difference between a regular and an honors 3015 section will not be the quantity of work expected of the students, but rather the quality expected, not only of them but also of the instructor and the instruction provided.The course integrates reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. Classes are conducted in Spanish. When working with a truly committed group of students, as it is assumed honors students will be, the instructor can go more in depth when dealing with difficult Spanish texts or unfamiliar cultural and historical issues. Instead of aiming just for reading comprehension, we will analyze cultural issues and identify literary strategies while working at the same time with highly advanced grammatical structures. Exposing students to different approaches on Latin-American History and Cultures, the instructor will promote discussion and will ask challenging but realistic questions to help students make connections between literary works/essays presented in the textbook or short videos used in class. By understanding, analyzing, and connecting, students will develop not only their linguistic abilities but also their critical thinking and a better understanding of the Hispanic world, and, therefore, they will be able to reconsider their own ideas and form new ones. All that work and growth will fully prepare them for the Literature, Culture or Linguistic classes (31xx courses) they will take once they finish Spanish 3015V if they choose to continue with their Spanish Studies.The same criteria apply to the writing component of the course. In an honors class we will not simply try to avoid mistakes when writing a composition. Instead, students will be working on stretching their level farther by incorporating the grammatical structures learned through the readings and grammar lessons taught in class, and they will be required to explain their ideas better and in a more advanced way. Again, the number of compositions required will be the same as in a regular section, but the quality expected will be higher, and they will receive high quality feedback from their Instructor: More advanced, higher quality writing is acquired only when the efforts of committed students are paired with the careful guidance and expertise of an also committed and experienced instructor.When during the last weeks of the semester honors students read and work on the Spanish novel all the 3015 students in our Department are required to read, they will be ready to fully understand it, look for literary strategies, relate to some cultural and moral issues, and discuss difficult topics with confidence: Throughout the semester they will have practiced a solid work ethic and acquired a wider understanding of themselves and the world around them, and, now, with the help of their Instructor, they will be able to fully appreciate the lessons and proposals the novel Mosén Millán by Ramón Sender has to offer. By the end of the course, students will have developed their critical thinking and improved their language abilities, and they will be more compassionate. They will also be fully ready to take more advanced Spanish classes if they decide to do so.prereq: SPAN LPE pass, Honors student

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