SPAN 2020 Final Communicative Project
As a cumulative project at the end of the semester, you will complete a video presentation to showcase conversational and communicative skills learned throughout this semester using themes, vocabulary, structures, and cultural content practiced in Vistas Lessons 1-18.
Important Note: Throughout the mini-tasks, students are required to select and research a specific country or territory. This selection must remain consistent from mini-task 1 through the final project. Changing the chosen country or territory midway through the mini-tasks is not permitted and will result in penalties during the final project phase. Consistency in country or territory selection is crucial for the coherence and success of the final project.
Spanish 2020 Learning Objectives
Learning objectives for SPAN 2020: Intermediate Spanish II are based on the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2012 for Intermediate-Mid level proficiency in interpretive, interpersonal, presentational, and intercultural communication. After course completion, each student should be able to:
- Understand the main idea and some pieces of information on familiar topics in various time frames from authentic text, audio, or audiovisual materials, conversations, discussions, and/or presentations.
- Interact at a functional level in spontaneous spoken conversations by sharing their viewpoint on a variety of familiar and/or researched topics with sentences and series of connected sentences and asking and answering a variety of questions in various time frames.
- Communicate information through writing and presentations about familiar topics, using sentences and series of connected sentences in various time frames.
- Identify basic cultural similarities & differences and make comparisons between products and practices to help them understand perspectives and avoid major social/cultural blunders.
What you will be able to do in this project (these objectives should be reviewed when finishing your project to ensure you have met these goals):
- I can give a clear, prepared presentation on a familiar topic in Spanish with reasonable accuracy.
- I can add to the required information relevant details or explanations.
- I use authentic resources in Spanish that support my presentation.
- My language, behavior, and ideas represent my intercultural knowledge.
- My speech is clear and organized.
- I keep my audience interested with visuals, originality, humor, etc.
- I use level-appropriate vocabulary on familiar topics.
- I can express past, present, and future events with level-appropriate structures. I offer recommendations and state my opinion about various topics.
- I have a mostly clear pronunciation that can be understood by sympathetic native listeners.
- I speak with a reasonable degree of fluency.
General Guidelines
- Specifications. Presentations should be 7-8 minutes. Record your video and upload it to the Final Communicative Project assignment in Canvas.
- Content. Presentations must be level-appropriate and use complete, logical, and organized sentences. Limit use of vocabulary and structures to those learned in SPAN 1010-2020. New vocabulary words must include a visual explanation. Use of online translators is prohibited. Use your own words and make sure you understand what you are saying.
- Visual aids/Props. Presentations must include visual aids and/or props to enhance your content. Be creative! Pictures, videos, and/or music should complement the oral information. Use videos/music as needed, but keep to 20 seconds maximum since the overall objective is to show off your communicative skills.
- Acceptable use of materials. For the Final Communicative Project, you are allowed and encouraged to use all of the following resources: Canvas materials, VHL Central/Vistas textbook materials, class notes, and notes from your University of Memphis tutor and/or professor. The use of any other materials (online translators, other similar websites, material originally produced by a friend/family member that is a native speaker of Spanish, etc.) is strictly prohibited. The use of prohibited materials is a form of plagiarism and is a violation of the University’s policies on Academic Integrity. Any cases of plagiarism must be reported to the Office of Student Accountability and will result in academic disciplinary action.
- Delivery. Presentations must in video format for the class to watch. Rehearse and practice until delivery becomes natural and comfortable. Maintain full eye contact with your camera/audience while speaking. Notecards are not permitted, though you may certainly include words, short phrases (NOT complete sentences), and images on each slide to guide you. You may NOT prepare/memorize/recite/read a script.
- Grading. The presentation is worth 10% of your overall final grade and is assessed according to the Final Communicative Project Rubric located in the Final Communicative Project assignment in Canvas.
- Make-ups. No make-up presentations are allowed without a completed Missed Assessment Approval Form and valid written justification (contact your instructor). Consult the syllabus calendar for due dates.
- Late penalty. Late final communicative project submissions will receive a -5% reduction up to one day late and an additional -5% reduction if more than one day late.
Project Description
The University of Memphis has decided to reward you and your classmates for the hard work you have been doing in SPAN 1010-2020 by funding a study abroad trip for everyone in your class. However, they will only fund one trip to one Spanish-speaking country. You already have a country in mind, and it is now your job to create a persuasive presentation for your class. For this presentation, you will need to:
- Provide a general description of the country and where you want to visit (geography, climate, etc.)
- Discuss the benefits (pros) and detriments (cons) of visiting
- Find a place (Airbnb, hotel, etc.) and describe it (rooms, furnishings, location, etc.)
- Tell your classmates about things to do while visiting (museums, shops, nature sites, etc.)
- Describe a cultural practice/event/celebration that you could witness while visiting
- Compare & contrast living & studying in that country with living & studying in the US
You may choose one of the following Spanish-speaking countries/regions for your presentation:
- España
- México
- Puerto Rico
- La República Dominicana
- Cuba
- Costa Rica
- El Salvador
- Nicaragua,
- Honduras
- Panamá
- Colombia
- Venezuela
- Perú
- Ecuador
- Chile
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Guatemala
- Uruguay
- Paraguay
Where to Begin
You should begin your research using any Panorama sections in your Vistas textbook and online resources that are relevant to your selected country/region. You should be able to find lots of information here, like most populous cities, population, famous figures, and other general facts.
Once you have exhausted the resources found in Vistas, you should search for reliable sources for more information related to your country/region. Remember to look for any details/materials that help you to achieve the communicative goals of this task, and make sure to avoid plagiarism and cite your sources correctly using MLA or APA format (see the Purdue University Online Writing Lab for help), which is standard practice in academia. Reach out to your tutors/professor for additional resources, as they will likely be able to offer valuable guidance.