Spanish Basic Language ProgramDepartment of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese

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Course Policies and Procedures – FAQ

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Course Policies and Procedures – FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions on Course Policies and Procedures

General

It is your responsibility to complete the online coursework in the week provided. If you are unable to complete the work, you must contact your instructor immediately and provide written documentation about your missing work. Technology failures are not an excuse for unfinished work. Please plan accordingly. We recommend that you do the assignments ahead of time since this has the added benefit of allowing you enough time to contact your instructor to address questions you may have.

Each course has different components and materials. For the exact information, check the syllabus and/or the policies of your course here.

To have access to all modules in Canvas, you must complete all the activities in the Orientation module during week 1.
 
Each week’s folder will open as the semester progresses, one per week, in both Canvas and LingroHub. For the exact dates, check the syllabus of your course here.  
Throughout the semester, UP students are allowed to have two unexcused absences for Spanish 2 and 3, and four unexcused absences for Spanish 10 and 20. These are to cover things such as minor illness, weddings, funerals, job interviews, etc. For more information on absences, check the syllabus and/or the policies of your course here.

See the class participation evaluation document for more information.

SPAN 2 UP and SPAN 3 UP
The mandatory Spanish 2 and 3 looseleaf textbooks have been created especially for Penn State and are available only at the Penn State and State College Student bookstores:
Mosaicos Spanish 2 – 6th Custom Edition for Penn State, Published by LingroLearning.
 
Mosaicos Spanish 3 – 6th Custom Edition for Penn State, Published by LingroLearning.
To access your content material and online homework, you need to register in the course management system called LingroHub (https://hub.lingrolearning.com) and purchase access through a link in your Spanish Canvas course. Note that you have 14 days of complimentary access before payment is required.
 
SPAN 10 UP and SPAN 20 UP
Textbook Mosaicos: Spanish as a World Language, 7th Edition, Published by LingroLearning.
 
SPAN 1 UP; SPAN 1 WC, SPAN 2 WC, and SPAN 3 WC
Your main course component has been created especially for Penn State University and is fully digital. To access your content material and online homework, you need to register in the course management system called LingroHub (https://hub.lingrolearning.com) and purchase access through a link in your Spanish Canvas course. Note that you have 14 days of complimentary access before payment is required.
 
Contraseña: Your Password to Foundational Spanish, 1st Custom Edition for Penn State University. Published by LingroLearning. A virtual language learning platform that contains presentations and weekly assignments.
 
LinguaMeeting: Online Spanish Coaching Sessions (access via Contraseña). It offers real-life group conversation practice guided by a professionally trained native Spanish speaker who acts as the language coach.
 
For more information on materials, check the syllabus and/or the policies of your course here.
For questions about Spanish, course content, strategies to enhance your performance or how your work was graded, you’ll need to contact your instructor. Please visit the People page to find their contact information if you don’t already have it.
 
Additionally, Penn State Learning offers free drop-in tutoring and review sessions for UP students. For location and schedule, visit the Penn State Learning website.

Yes. This questionnaire is simply a way for us to get a better idea of your background with the Spanish language and to determine if you are in the correct level based on your experience.

The Placement Policy for Penn State World Language Courses provides guidance on the minimum level language course based on the student’s high school admissions information. Students are permitted to self-place in a lower-level or a higher-level of Spanish language course (i.e., they do not need to get permission from the department), except in the following two circumstances:
 
 
Also, if you have taken the AP exam and have received a score of 3 or above, or if you have taken the IB exam and have received a score of 5 or higher on the Higher-Level exam, you will receive the 12 credits required to fulfill the foreign language proficiency requirement. Therefore, you will not be able to take Spanish 2 or Spanish 3 for credit. There are no exceptions to this policy.
 
If you need a definitive answer, contact Becky Cross, the Basic and Intermediate Language Assistant.
 
If you wish to assess your level of proficiency in Spanish, you may take the free Diagnostic Exam. This test is designed to identify students whose preparation exceeds their placement level. It does not grant credits or give grades, but it does count towards your foreign language requirements. The Diagnostic Exam is available only during the first week of the semester and takes place at the Pollock Testing Center (104 Pollock Building) from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. More information about the Diagnostic Exam can be found here.
No, the use of online translators and AI tools (e.g., Spanishdict.com, Google Gemini, ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Copilot, etc.) is prohibited in all courses of the Spanish Basic Language Program. These external resources are considered a form of academic dishonesty (cheating). If you use them, an Academic Integrity Form will be submitted to the College of the Liberal Arts.

Course Specific

Grades for Spanish are worth different amounts of the total course grade:
Spanish World Campus
LingroHub Quizzes 33%
Administrative Assessments 1%
Speaking Assignments 24%
Unit Tests 36%
Final Oral Project 5%
Review Units 1%
Spanish 1 UP
LingroHub Quizzes 32%
Administrative Assessments 1%
Speaking Assignments 30%
Unit Tests 30%
Final Oral Project 5%
Final Unit 2%
Spanish 2 and 3 UP
Canvas Online Assignments 2%
LingroHub Quizzes 18%
Participation 6%
Escritura – First Versions 6%
Escritura – Final Versions 3%
Exam 1 20%
Exam 2 20%
Exam 3 20%
Oral Exam 5%
Spanish 10 and 20
Online Assignments 15%
Participation 10%
Escritura – First Draft 9%
Escritura – Final Draft 5%
Exam 1 14%
Exam 2 14%
Exam 3 14%
Exam 4 14%
Oral Exam 5%

Canvas will not automatically organize you into a group. These meetings will be held in Zoom and organized through a platform called LinguaMeeting. The LinguaMeeting site is where you will schedule your sessions with a language coach and, depending on how busy the site is, up to three other classmates.

No. Because this is an online course, there is no requirement for you to physically meet with your classmates. The program we use for the Tertulia activities, Zoom, can be accessed from anywhere in the world as long as there is an internet connection. Therefore you simply need to decide on a time to meet in this virtual room to complete the assignment.

See the Evaluation Criteria for Written Expression (First Version) and Evaluation Criteria for Written Expression (Final Version) for more information.

The topics for the escrituras will be provided by your instructor in class on the day of the assignment.

Exam Questions

Spanish World Campus courses have four exams. Exams will each consist of listening comprehension, grammar, vocabulary, and reading comprehension.

Spanish 1 UP will have 3 exams. Exams will each consist of listening comprehension, grammar, vocabulary, and reading comprehension.

Spanish 2 and 3 UP will have three exams. Exams 1, 2 and 3 will each consist of listening comprehension, grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension and a short essay.

Spanish 10 and 20 students will have four exams held in class the day of the exam.

Spanish 2, 3, 10 and 20 UP will have an oral exam in addition to the regular exams described above. The oral exam is a five-minute dialogue between two students and will take place in class.

More information on the exams can be found in the course syllabus or policies document.

University Park Students:

Yes. You are responsible for supplying your own headphones for the exams. The Testing Center does not have any headphones to loan to students. If you arrive at the Testing Center without your headphones, you will not be able to take the exam and will be asked to reschedule.

World Campus Students

No. You should use built-in or external speakers. Using headphones is not permitted with Honorlock.

Universty Park students:

Yes. You will be provided with a piece of bar-coded scratch paper when entering for your exam. This is the only form of paper you will be permitted to use during the exam. When exiting the Testing Center, you will be required to scan and return your scratch paper to the Testing Center staff. Failure to do this will result in an F for your final course grade.

World Campus students:

No.

See the oral exam evaluation document for more information.

There are no exams during finals week for any of the SBLP courses (Spanish 1, 2, 3, 10, or 20).

University Park students:

All exams for Spanish 1, 2 and 3 will be administered through the Testing Center in Pollock Building. You will be able to complete your exam at any time during the exam week, however there are time constraints. An email notification from the Testing Center will be sent to all students in advance of the exams requiring pre-registration. See the course syllabus for dates and specifics about the exams and their content.

World Campus students:

If you are enrolled in a World Campus Spanish language course, you will complete your exams using the Honorlock online proctoring system.