SPA 102 - Beginning Spanish II is a basic introductory course designed to present the fundamentals of the Spanish language with emphasis on the development of proficiency in the following skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. This course also familiarizes you with the culture and customs of the Spanish-speaking world.

For many of you, this may be your first experience with a distance learning web course. This course provides a different way to study and also makes different demands on you as a student. You will find that as an independent learner, self-motivation and discipline are absolutely necessary. SPA 102 is a 5-credit course and you can expect to spend 2-3 hours per credit per week (10-15 for a 5-credit course) on weekly reading, writing, listening, and speaking assignments.

If at any time you do not understand the material, please contact me as soon as possible by email at cstudebaker@nvcc.edu .

Entry Level Competencies: The prerequisite for this course is SPA 101 – "Beginning Spanish I" or equivalent competency

If you do well in this course, you will be able to:

• discriminate sounds in Spanish.
• understand basic spoken Spanish and speak Spanish  through the use of communicative assignments via audio program CDs and oral assignments through Blackboard. 
• compare and contrast your own culture with Latin American and Spanish cultures through selected readings and discussions via Blackboard.
• compose short essays in Spanish using basic grammatical structures of the Spanish language.

The required textbook for this course is:

1. Zayas-Bazán and Bacon. Arriba! Comunicación y Cultura, Textbook, Fourth Edition, Prentice Hall.
2. Zayas-Bazán and Bacon. Arriba! Comunicación y Cultura, Workbook/Lab Manual, Fourth Edition, Prentice Hall.
3. Zayas-Bazán and Bacon. Arriba! Comunicación y Cultura, Audio Program CD to accompany the textbook, Fourth Edition, Prentice Hall.
4. Zayas-Bazán and Bacon. Arriba! Comunicación y Cultura, Audio Program CD to accompany the Lab Manual, Fourth Edition, Prentice Hall.
5. Quick Grammar Guide to Spanish Grammar, ISBN 0132207508. (NOT REQUIRED)
6. Companion web site ¡Arriba! Comunicación y Cultura: http://wps.prenhall.com/ml_zayas_arriba_4. Prentice-Hall has prepared a ValuePak which contains all of the above at a discounted price.

It is highly recommended that you buy a good English-Spanish/Spanish-English dictionary.

For information on how to order your textbooks, go to http://eli.nvcc.edu/books/

There are three (3) online proctored exams in this course. You are expected to take three (3) of the exams at one of the NVCC campus Testing Centers and one (1) At-Home. Be sure to allow enough time to complete your exam before the Testing Center closes; Testing Centers have specific policies relating to the administration of ELI exams. You will need to take a photo ID, your NovaConnect empl ID number, and the appropriate Exam Pass when you go to the Testing Center.  

For Testing Center locations, hours of operation and policies, click here.

For information on taking exams outside of the metropolitan area, click here.

I am here to help you succeed in this course. Occasionally questions or problems may arise. Here is how to contact me when they do:

E-mail : cstudebaker@nvcc.edu
Telephone : (703) 323-3347
You may also call me to schedule a meeting in person, either at ELI or my campus office. 

1. Use your web browser to connect to http://www.nvcc.edu/bbstart. Follow the directions to determine your email, Blackboard and VIVA account user names and passwords.
2. Access your email account and make sure you know how to use it; you will be required to use this account for all course-related email.
3. Log on to Blackboard at http://learn.vccs.edu.
4. Click on this course under "My Courses." Review the entire course to make sure you understand what will be required of you. Then start completing the assignments.

Please note that account generation takes approximately one week from the time of your paid registration. If you cannot log on after one week, contact the IT Help Desk. If you can log on to Blackboard, but your course isn't listed, please contact ELI or your instructor.