SYLLABUS FOR SWEDISH 101:

FIRST-YEAR SWEDISH

FALL QUARTER 2024

Meeting: 9:30-10:20, M-F in SAV 137

Contact

Instructor: Caroline Brekkan     

E-mail:  cbrekk@uw.edu

Office:  305 T

Office Hours: Tuesdays 10.30-11.30 or by appointment

(Please contact me by email with any questions/comments/musings/concerns you have!)

Course description

Välkommen till Svenska 101! The primary goal of language instruction in this course is to develop the ability to communicate in Swedish. This course is designed to provide you with ample opportunity to engage in as many communicative situations as possible.  I would like to teach you how to communicate meaningfully in Swedish from the very first moment. The class will be conducted mostly, but not exclusively, in Swedish and will give equal emphasis to all five language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and cultural communication. At the same time, this course will help you to understand better the cultures, daily life, and attitudes of people who speak Swedish. 

Learning Outcomes

This course adopts the learning outcomes outlined at the A1 (and A2) level by Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment (CEFR). On completion of the course, the student should be able to:

Listening comprehension

• understand simple phrases and conversations about everyday situations/subjects in slow and clear speech (A1).

Reading comprehension

• understand information from different everyday texts (A1-A2)
• identify facts from simple everyday authentic texts (A1-A2)

Speech

• talk about oneself, family, accommodation and studies using simple phrases and opinions (A1-A2)
• describe everyday situations/subjects with simple language (A1-A2)

Talk and oral interaction

• participate in simple and everyday conversations with slow and clear speech (A1)
• ask and answer simple questions within everyday subject areas (A1)

Writing

• use language in everyday situations such as short, personal letters and texts (A1-A2)

Other

• research and share knowledge of Swedish society and culture

The goal of this course is for all students to reach the A1 level of language ability according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). This means being able to navigate common social interactions and to understand and describe aspects of daily life. Our explicit goals are as follows: be able to introduce oneself; talk about one’s daily routine and interests; tell time, give and understand directions, and conduct basic transactions; describe one’s emotional state and communicate needs in an emergency; talk about the weather; and describe people’s appearances and demeanors.

Expectations

If you know that you’re going to be absent, especially if it’s more than one day, I would love it if you gave me a heads up with an email. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to ask a peer in class for notes or what we did in class.

All assignments and tests have due dates on Canvas and I expect you to turn them in on time. Late work cannot receive full credit, and you must let me know if you intend on turning something in late, otherwise I will not see that you’ve turned it.

Please email me or talk to me after class instead of using the Canvas message function. If I do not respond within 24 hours you can send another email.

Course Materials

Required:

Rivstart A1/A2 Textbok (3e 23)

Rivstart A1/A2 Övningsbok (3e 23)

(should be available at the University Bookstore)

*These books are all in Swedish. You can find a document called “SWED101_Rivstart-tips.docx” under the Allmänt – General module, which will help give you some guidance in navigating these books.

Good on-line dictionaries/resources are available at:

 tyda.se [click on “In English” for English settings] or bab.la

google translate is not our enemy in this class but to be used with discretion

cooljugator.com for all things verbs!

Grading

In this course, you will be graded on a combination of in class assignments and homework. This course has a few different types of assignments where you can show me what you are learning in class as well as keep track of your own progress throughout the quarter. I will not be grading anything turned in late, but we will work together to keep up with assignments and homework. If you know that you will not be able to turn in an assignment or are struggling to keep up, please let me know sooner rather than later and we can communicate how to best keep you on track and what is important to focus on.

Grading for this course will be divided into five different categories as follows:

15% ---- Class Participation (Deltagande)

20% ---- Homework (Läxor)

25% ---- Quizzes (Läxförhör)

10% ---- Oral Exam (Muntliga Tenta)

30% ---- Exams (Tentor)

15%     Class Participation (Deltagande) Most participation will take place in class. This will include participating in class discussions/activities and making an effort to speak Swedish. I will collect in class activities about 3 times a week. In addition to in class participation there will be participation assignments (discussion posts) on canvas.

20%     Homework (Läxor) We will be using the Rivstart workbook for homework assignments for you to keep up with as we work through lessons in the Rivstart textbook. I will assign homework daily, but I will be checking homework when we have our exam days. When I check workbook homework, I will be checking for completion and corrections. There will be a Övningsboksfacit (workbook key) on Canvas to compare your answers to and make corrections. This correction process is vital in seeing what mistakes you are making and how to fix them. By grading on completion and corrections instead of accuracy you can make small errors in your homework and learn from them instead of your grade being negatively affected. Workbook assignments will prepare you for class the next day and I will of course be a resource for follow up questions in class. Workbooks missing corrections will not receive above 60%. Corrections must be visibly marked on the homework assignments.

            I will be assigning additional homework assignments outside of the workbook which will be things like short writing assignments or readings and reading questions. Any additional homework is to be turned in on Canvas.

25%     Quizzes (Läxförhör) This section is made up of homework quizzes (läxförhör). These are bi-weekly Canvas quizzes on what is covered in the homework. Canvas quizzes will be due at the end of every week on Sundays at 23:59. The purpose of these online quizzes is for you to practice and assess your own learning as you go. You may retake these online quizzes as many times as you wish to improve your grade.

10%     Oral Exam (Muntlig Tenta)

At the end of the term, we will have one conversation style oral exam in pairs to showcase the communication skills you have learned throughout the quarter. This might sound stressful, but we have ample time to prepare your conversational skills with in-class activities throughout the quarter.

30%     Exams (Tentor)

You will be tested approximately every three weeks.  No make-up tests will be given without prior arrangements (For example, if you are sick and will miss a test let know ahead of time). There will be no final exam for this course.

The dates for these exams will be: Oct. 18, Nov. 15, and Dec. 4

Grading Scale

97-100%=4.0; 93-96%=3.9 ; 91-93%=3.8 ; 90%=3.7 ; 89%=3.6 ; 88%=3.5 ; 87%=3.4 ;

86%=3.3 ; 85%=3.2 ; 84%=3.1 ; 83%=3.0 ; 82%=2.9 ; 81%=2.9 ; 81%=2.8 ; 80%=2.7 ; 79%=2.6 ; 78%=2.5 ; 77%=2.4; 76%=2.3; 75%=2.2; 74%=2.1; 73%=2.0; 72%=1.9; 71%=1.8; 70%=1.7... (0-60%=0.0)

Religious Accommodations

“Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/).”

Accessibility Accommodations

Your experience in this class is important to me. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you have already established accommodation with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please activate your accommodations via myDRS so we can discuss how they will be implemented in this course.

If you have not yet established services through DRS but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), contact DRS directly to set up an Access Plan. DRS facilitates the interactive process that establishes reasonable accommodations. Contact DRS at disability.uw.edu.

A&H Credit

Each course in the [SWED 101-103] sequence also carries a A&H credit designation. To that end, authentic Swedish texts, music, and media (especially film) are integrated into the course. As this course is the first in a sequence of three it is only offered FALL QUARTER. Auditors are not allowed. Note that some restrictions might apply to the use of this course in your Areas of Knowledge requirements.

Land Acknowledgement

I would like to acknowledge that the University of Washington is an institution of higher learning located on the traditional land of the Coast Salish peoples, which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Duwamish, Puyallup, Suquamish, Tulalip and Muckleshoot nations.