MILLERSVILLE UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

El espaol en los Estados Unidos

SPAN 371.01 Spring 2017 MWF 12:00-12:50 McComsey 204

Dr. Wilfredo Valentn-Mrquez
wilfredo.valentin-marquez@millersville.edu Office: McComsey 243 (717) 871-7147
Office hours: MW 11:00 - 11:50 & MWF 2:00 - 2:50
(first-come, first-served basis; by appointment if the above hours do not fit your schedule)
DESCRIPTION

The history and sociolinguistic aspects of the use of Spanish in the United States, analyzing issues related to
language maintenance and loss, contact with English, and the identification of varieties of Spanish. Emphasis
will be given to language attitudes and implications for identity and inter-ethnic relations. Offered as an elective
course. The class will be conducted entirely in Spanish. Pre-requisite: SPAN 351 or 352.
COURSE OBJECTIVES

1. Provide tools for a better understanding and analysis of the social, political, and economic issues that affect
language use in U.S. Hispanic communities.
2. Develop an awareness of the reality of U.S. Hispanic groups and in turn destroy stereotypes and
misconceptions about the cultural practices and linguistic competence of U.S. Hispanics.
3. Identify and describe the structural aspects that unify different Spanish dialects as spoken in the U.S. in
contrast with the grammatical elements that are unique to each variety.
4. Analyze and value the complexities, systematic order, and social meanings of the use of Spanglish.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (To be assessed at the ACTFL* Advanced level)

1. Students demonstrate proficiency in oral communication by engaging in conversations with others and
making presentations in the target language.
2. Students demonstrate proficiency in written communication in the target language.
3. Students demonstrate proficiency in comprehending and interpreting written and oral texts in the target
language.
4. Students demonstrate awareness of historical and political realities of diverse countries, regions, and ethnic
groups and critical thinking in discussing these realities.
5. Students are able to compare and contrast significant historical and current developments and traditions in
their home culture and in the cultures where the target language is spoken.

6. Students demonstrate competency in the analysis of cultures and knowledge of cultural texts.
(*American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages)
TEXTBOOK

Escobar, Anna Mara & Kim Potowski. 2015. El espaol de los Estados Unidos . Cambridge University Press.
POLICY ON PLAGIARISM

This class will hold you to the policies of Academic Honesty of Millersville University.
SPECIAL NEEDS

Any student who has special needs because of a learning, physical, or other type of disability, should discuss
this with the professor.
PARTICIPATION AND CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE (10%)

Students are expected to come prepared (i.e. have studiednot just readthe assignments) to every class and
participate actively, speaking Spanish all the time. Active participation means that students must come ready to
ask important supplementary questions and offer meaningful and relevant comments daily and voluntarily (not
only when asked). This also includes listening to and being respectful of the classmates comments. As part of
the participation grade, there may be unannounced quizzes to assure that the readings have been done and the
students are following the pace of the course. The use of cell phones, texting, eating, drinking, sleeping, and
personal grooming will affect your participation grade negatively. Merely coming to class without participating
and/or not abiding by the course guidelines will count as an automatic 0 for this component of the course.
ATTENDANCE AND PUNCTUALITY

Attendance is mandatory and will be recorded daily. You are allowed 3 absences without penalty; any absence
beyond that will be reflected in your participation and in your final grades. Three cumulative points (out of 1,000)
will be deducted from your participation grade and two percentage points (20 cumulative points out of 1,000) will
be deducted from your final percentage grade for each absence after the third one. In this regard, there is no
difference between excused and unexcused absences. Make sure that you use your allowed two absences only
when absolutely necessary!
Students are expected to be punctual and stay for the entire class period. There should be no coming and going
while class is in session. If you come after attendance has been taken, you must let the professor know at the
end of class. If you fail to do this, your tardiness will count as an absence. Two late arrivals (5 minutes or more
after the hour) or two early departures (5 minutes or more before the class ends) will count as one absence.
POLICY ON MISSED WORK

It is the student's responsibility to complete all course requirements even if a class is missed. If a student misses
class for an officially excused reason, he/she is entitled to make up the missed work but only at the convenience
of the professor. Responsibility for materials presented in, assignments made for, and tests/quizzes given in
regularly scheduled classes lies solely with the student. As previously mentioned, there may be unannounced
quizzes to assure that the readings have been done and the students are following the pace of the course.

As regards missed work, the University policy is that faculty will excuse absences for the following reasons:
personal illness, death or critical illness in the family, participation in a university-sponsored activity, jury duty,
military duties, or religious holidays. In order to make up tests or quizzes, the student must present verifiable
documentation proving that the excused absence is justified.
INTERVIEW (5%)

Record a 20-minute or longer interview on video with a native Spanish speaker who was not born but has lived
in the U.S. for more than 10 years. In addition to questions about speaking Spanish and learning English, ask
the interviewee: (1) what term he or she uses to identify him/herself (hispano or latino or another one) and
why; (2) what term(s) does he or she reject for self-identification and why; (3) whether it is important to speak
Spanish to be a Hispanic or Latino person. Also, ask about their experience in a selection of these and/or any
other topics you may want to include: education, finding a job, housing, religion, cultural practices, holidays and
festivities, food, visiting relatives in the country of birth, filing taxes, health & medical issues, entertainment,
sports and recreation, racial/ethnic and/or linguistic discrimination, etc. Submit the video on a USB drive or
utilize a file sharing service (MediaFire, Dropbox) and email the link to the professor no later than April 26.
PRESENTATION (5%)

Each student will give a 6- to 7-minute presentation based on the recorded interview described above. The
presentation must include a discussion of linguistic topics related to the course content and a 1-minute segment
of the video illustrating those topics.

RESEARCH PAPER (20%)

Each student will write a research paper following these guidelines:

Choose any specific topic from Chapter 7 of the textbook and (optionally) a corresponding combination of
exercises. You must have chosen your research topic by March 29.
A specific topic is not la msica hispana en Estados Unidos, but rather la presencia del reggaetn en las
estaciones hispanas de radio de Pennsylvania.
Your paper must be 2,500 3,000 words, not counting the title/cover page, heading, end/footnotes or the
bibliography.
Use the MLA Style Manual to format the paper.
Your paper must include a list of Works Cited with at least 6 sources of information, three of which must be
articles from academic journals.
Your paper must be double-spaced, Times New Roman font size 12, printed on one side of the page and
stapled (no, the professor does not bring a stapler to class).
You may include material from the interview as appropriate.
Your paper must have a compelling conclusion that is not simply a summary of your introduction and/or a
summary of the main points.

EVALUATION / GRADING SYSTEM (As this is a point system, final percentage grades will not be rounded up.)

COMPONENTS

WEIGHT

POINTS

5 Exams (100 pts. each)

50%

500 pts.

940 - 1,000

1 Final Exam

20%

100 pts.

900 -

939

A-

1 Research Paper

20%

200 pts.

870 -

899

B+

1 Interview

5%

50 pts.

840 -

869

1 Presentation

5%

50 pts.

800 -

839

B-

Participation

10%

100 pts.

770 -

799

C+

100%

1,000 pts

740 -

769

700 -

739

C-

670 -

699

D+

640 -

669

600 -

639

D-

0 -

599

TOTAL

FINAL SCALE / GRADE (PTS.)

E-MAIL COMMUNICATION

At times, the professor may decide to send out important course information by e-mail. To that end, all students
are required to have a valid Marauder e-mail address. Each student is responsible for ensuring that his/her
Marauder e-mail address is set up and properly working in the Millersville system. The student is also
responsible for checking his/her Marauder e-mail account on a regular basis.
STATEMENT ON TITLE IX

Millersville University and its faculty are committed to assuring a safe and productive educational environment
for all students. In order to meet this commitment, comply with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972,
20 U.S.C. 1681, et seq., and act in accordance with guidance from the Office for Civil Rights, the University
requires faculty members to report to the Universitys Title IX Coordinator incidents of sexual violence shared by
students. The only exceptions to the faculty members reporting obligation are when incidents of sexual violence
are communicated by a student during a classroom discussion, in a writing assignment for a class, or as part of
a University-approved research project. Faculty members are obligated to report to the person designated in the
University Protection of Minors policy incidents of sexual violence or any other abuse of a student who was, or
is, a child (a person under 18 years of age) when the abuse allegedly occurred. Information regarding the
reporting of sexual violence, and the resources that are available to victims of sexual violence, is available at
http://www.millersville.edu/sexualviolence/index.php.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

This schedule may be changed to meet the needs of the class. It will always be the students responsibility to
know the changes that have been made. Being absent (or not being able to contact the professor) is not an
excuse for coming unprepared to class.

FECHA

TAREA

Pgs.

TEMAS Y ACTIVIDADES EN CLASE

Ejercicios

23 ene

Introduccin Slabo

25 ene

1-8

1.1 1.3, 1.5

27 ene

8-17

1.6 1.10

30 ene

19-28

2.1 2.5

1 feb

29-39

2.7 2.11

3 feb

39-50

2.12 2.14

Contexto sociohistrico
Contexto sociohistrico Regiones sociolingsticas
Desplazamiento y mantenimiento Regiones tradicionales
Regiones tradicionales
Regiones tradicionales Regiones nuevas

6 feb

Puesta al da

8 feb

EXAMEN #1 (100 pts.)

10 feb

51-61

3.1 3. 4

Dialectos referenciales: caractersticas fonticas

13 feb

61-72

3.5 3.10

Dialectos referenciales: caractersticas morfosintcticas y lxicas

15 feb

81-93

4.1 4.4

Factores en la adquisicin de una lengua minoritaria Adquisicin

4.6 4.7

incompleta y erosin gramatical

17 feb

93-102

20 feb

102-112

4.8 4.11

Los sistemas de los hablantes de herencia

4.13 4.16

Los sistemas de los hablantes de herencia Los hablantes de

4.19 4.20

herencia vs. los estudiantes L2

22 feb

Puesta al da

24 feb

EXAMEN #2 (100 pts.)

5.2 5.3

27 feb

113-123

1 mar

123-133

5.8 5.12

Prstamos lxicos Extensiones semnticas

3 mar

133-142

5.13 5.14

Calcos Marcadores de discurso Fonologa

6 mar

142-155

5.17 5.20

5.6 5.7

8 mar

Fenmenos del contacto lingstico: Cambio de cdigo

Morfosintaxis Influencias del ingls? El Spanglish El Mock

Spanish El ingls latino
Puesta al da
EXAMEN #3 (100 pts.)

10 mar
13-17 mar

RECESO

20 mar

157-162

6.1 6.3

22 mar

163-170

6.4

24 mar

170-177

6.6 6.8

27 mar

177-184

6.9 6.10

29 mar

INFORMAR EL TEMA DEL

DE

PRIMAVERA

El dialecto vs. la lengua El contacto de dialectos El contacto entre

dialectos del espaol en los EE.UU.
Resultados lxicos
Resultados fonticos y morfosintcticos
El contacto de dialectos intrafamiliar: El espaol de los mexirriqueos
Puesta al da

TRABAJO DE
INVESTIGACIN

31 mar

EXAMEN #4 (100 pts.)

Aspectos histricos de la educacin bilinge en los EE.UU. Modelos

5

3 abr

223-231

8.1 8.4

5 abr

231-240

8.5 8.9

7 abr

241-246

8.10 8.12

10 abr

247-255

9.1 9.2

12 abr

255-263

9.6, 9.8, 9.10

FECHA

14 abr

de educacin bilinge
La enseanza del espaol como segunda lengua La enseanza del
espaol como lengua de herencia
La enseanza del espaol como lengua de herencia
Qu es la identidad? La identidad hispana en los EE.UU.
La identidad hispana en los EE.UU.

TAREA

Pgs.
263-268

TEMAS Y ACTIVIDADES EN CLASE

Ejercicios
9.11
9.13 9.14

La identidad hispana en los EE.UU. La identidad en la clase de

espaol para hablantes de herencia

17 abr

Puesta al da

19 abr

EXAMEN #5 (100 pts.)

21 abr

269-280

10.1 10.2

La vitalidad del espaol en los EE.UU.: Representacin numrica

Diversidad geogrfica y dialectal
Bilingismo y el ingls Autoidentificacin con el grupo tnico

24 abr

280-288

10.3

Actitudes lingsticas Rasgos sociopolticos Normas orales del

espaol de los EE.UU.: Cambio lingstico

288-296
26 abr

10.5

ENTREGAR VIDEO DE
ENTREVISTA (50 pts.)

28 abr

296-308

10.6 10.12

Contacto de dialectos y contacto de lenguas El recontacto

Normas sociolingsticas
Normas sociolingsticas Mitos sobre la lengua

1 mayo

Presentaciones (50 pts.)

3 mayo

Presentaciones

5 mayo

ENTREGAR: TRABAJO

Presentaciones

DE INVESTIGACIN

Puesta al da

(200 pts.)

10 mayo
(mirc.)

EXAMEN FINAL (100 pts.) 2:45 - 4:45 p.m.

Office hours during finals week: MT 12:30 - 2:30 & W 1:30 - 2:30