2017-2018 Room 225

Sra. Vargas

Spanish Ab Initio I-II 2017-2018 Adrianavargas@acs.sch.ae

Goals AB Initio I II Proficiency Targets

Language Ab initio is a language acquisition courses designed The language ab initio course is
to provide students with the necessary skills and intercultural designed for students with little or
understanding to enable them to communicate successfully in no prior experience of the
an environment where the language studied is spoken. language they wish to study.
Language acquisition will be achieved through the Language acquisition will be
development of receptive, productive and interactive skills and achieved through the
competencies. Elements of language include vocabulary, development of receptive,
grammatical structures, register, pronunciation and intonation. productive and interactive skills
This process encourages the learner to go beyond the confines and competencies. Elements of
of the classroom, expanding an awareness of the world and language include vocabulary,
fostering respect for cultural diversity. grammatical structures, register,
pronunciation and intonation.
The language Ab initio course is organized into three themes. Receptive skills: the ability to
comprehend straightforward
Individual and society written and spoken language.
Leisure and work Receptive skills entail not only
Urban and rural environment understanding the message but
also its cultural and contextual
connotations.
Each theme has a list of topics that provide the students with Productive skills: the ability to
opportunities to practice and explore the language as well as to
write and speak the target
develop intercultural understanding.
language effectively. Productive
skills entail producing and
The entire course consists of two years. The First year highlights delivering a message or text that
on the development of the listening and speaking abilities. is not only coherent but also
Question/answer oral exercises, as well as dialogues, will be part
appropriate to context and
of the daily routine. Students will be guided to improvisation and
purpose.
free communication. Reading and writing skills will also assume Interactive skills: the ability to
an important part of the program. Students will acquire basic understand and respond
knowledge of the culture of the Spanish-speaking people. The effectively to written and spoken
second year student will be demonstrating their skills in writing,
language. Interactive skills entail
reading, speaking and listening in a variety of real situations
not only conveying messages
interacting in a natural and simple manner. Furthermore and responding to written and
students will focus in the preparation for the internal and spoken language but also
external IB assessments. demonstrating an awareness of

Spanish Ab Initio I-II 2017-2018 1

 Spanish in the classroom social context.
Spanish language skills will be developed through a range of ACS LATE WORK and NTI POLICY
individual and group tasks and a wide variety of pair and group All work must be prepared and
activities. You will be introduced to simple phrases in order to ready for evaluation by the due
communicate with others. Students will learn simple ideas in date assigned. If formative work is
order to interact in class in the target language when not completed on time, it will be
appropriate. recommended that students stay
Students should come to class prepared, with the necessary outside of class to complete
material (including a fully charged computer), with their assignments during tutorial to
homework, and most importantly with a positive attitude and receive appropriate feedback.
Students are reminded that the
willingness to fully engage in learning.
purpose of this policy is to offer
additional support in cases where
Assessment
circumstances prevent the
Formative Assessments: All assignments that provide students
completion of assignments. To
with opportunities to practice and receive feedback along perform optimally in meeting
learning objectives and standards. Examples include quizzes, standards on summative
drafts of essays, group work, homework, exit tickets, and any assessments, it is strongly
other assignments that are directly aligned to standards and recommended that all formative
learning outcomes. work be completed for class to
Summative assessments include final drafts of essays, unit tests, receive the full benefit of
projects, and other assignments that are directly aligned to instruction.
standards and learning outcomes and are used for the purposes If there is a summative assessment
of evaluating student performance at a particular time. that you are unable to complete
on the assigned date, the ACS Not
Academic Integrity Turned In Policy applies as stated in
Any work submitted by the student should be the students own the ACS Student Handbook (which
work. You are encouraged to study and work collaboratively is linked through your Veracross
with others. However, this collaboration should never involve you student portal). In all cases, even if
having possession of a copy of work done by another student. absent the day before a
Should copying occur, both students involved will automatically summative assessment, you will be
receive a zero for the assignment. expected to take the assessment
as scheduled. It is the students
I-tap program in Spanish class responsibility to come outside of
The use of technology in Spanish class aims to promote the class (before or after school, or
development of language skills and intercultural competence. during tutorial) to make
Students should always have their laptops with them with arrangements for missed
battery charged. Students are expected to access only assignments. In the event of
classroom-related sites and applications during class time. extenuating circumstances,
Students should always cite any and all use of websites, books, students may request an extension
media, etc The use of online dictionaries is strongly encouraged; using the ACS Extension Request
However, students should not rely on online translators (such as Form. Please be aware that this
google translate) to complete their writing. form must be turned in at least 3
school days before the scheduled
due date.
Welcome back to Spanish Ab Initio
Spanish class.
I am looking forward to a fantastic
year!

Spanish Ab Initio I-II 2017-2018 2