Spanish Language and Culture for the Agricultural Professional (11:035:215) Syllabus
Note:
This syllabus is for general information about the course. The instructor will provide you with an updated syllabus specific for the semester of enrollment.
Spring Only
Course Description
1.5 Credits. Hybrid (Lecture: Two 3-hour class meetings: Week 1 & Week 7; Online: Canvas). As the number of Spanish-speaking individuals seeking employment in the agricultural field continues to grow, "it is not surprising that language and cultural differences are becoming significant challenges for farmers (and others) hiring Hispanic labor. One strategy for addressing these issues is for farm managers to invest in language and cultural training" (Baker and Chappelle, 2012). Being able to connect with the workforce, both at the linguistic and cultural levels is an important skill for today's agricultural professional. This course is designed to respond to those needs. Students will engage in beginning, conversational Spanish designed specifically for a supervisor of an agricultural workforce. At the same time, students will explore the cultural diversity of the Spanish-speaking world. The course will also assist the student in understanding the basics of the Spanish language and will provide a technical vocabulary in a wide range of related fields such as crop production, landscaping, horticulture and food science.
Baker and Chappelle. 2012. In Vermont, Se Habla Español: Using Occupational Spanish to Help Dairy Farmers Manage a Changing Workforce. Journal of Extension. Volume 50. Number 3. hhttps://archives.joe.org/joe/2012june/index.php
Instructor
John Allen, MAT
jea52@njaes.rutgers.edu
Office Hours:
Virtual Office via Canvas or by appointment to arrange conference call, phone or video chat.
Learning Goals
As a result of this course, students will be able to:
- Recognize and utilize simple spoken and written words and phrases common to workplace communications in an agricultural setting.
- Recognize select common gestures and cultural practices associated with the target culture and relevant to the workplace environment.
- Explore and understand basic Spanish linguistic structures associated with the agricultural industry.
Course Materials
Putting Spanish to Work: Spanish for Agriculture
Author: Cynthia W Barnett
Copyright: 2017; Pages: 274; ISBN #978-1-5249-9200-2
Kendall Hunt Publishing
Assignments/Responsibilities, Grading, and Assessment
Grading
Each assignment in the course has an assigned point value. Students will accumulate points for each assignment. Final grade will be assigned as a percentage of points earned/points available.
| Grade | Range |
|---|---|
| A | 90.0% – 100% |
| B+ | 87.0% – 89.9% |
| B | 80.0% – 86.9% |
| C+ | 77.0% – 79.9% |
| C | 70.0% – 76.9% |
| D | 60.0% – 69.0% |
| F | 59% > |
Course Schedule
The students will have assigned readings each week from the workbook and from other appropriate agriculturally based materials.
Weekly Topics
- Week 1: Introduction – Class Meeting
- Week 2: Basic Spanish
- Week 3: Spanish in the Field
- Week 4: Time, Weather and Other Basic Info
- Week 5: Communication Scenarios
- Week 6: Human Resources (Health and Safety)
- Week 7: Summary – Class Meeting
Final Exam/Paper Date and Time
No final exam. Due date for final project determined each semester.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Please follow the procedures outlined at ods.rutgers.edu/students/getting-registered. Full policies and procedures are at Office of Disability Services website.
Academic Integrity
The university's policy on Academic Integrity is available at policies on academic integrity.
The principles of academic integrity require that a student:
- properly acknowledge and cite all use of the ideas, results, or words of others.
- properly acknowledge all contributors to a given piece of work.
- make sure that all work submitted as his or her own in a course or other academic activity is produced without the aid of impermissible materials or impermissible collaboration.
- obtain all data or results by ethical means and report them accurately without suppressing any results inconsistent with his or her interpretation or conclusions.
- treat all other students in an ethical manner, respecting their integrity and right to pursue their educational goals without interference. This requires that a student neither facilitate academic dishonesty by others nor obstruct their academic progress.
- uphold the canons of the ethical or professional code of the profession for which he or she is preparing.
Adherence to these principles is necessary in order to ensure that:
- everyone is given proper credit for his or her ideas, words, results, and other scholarly accomplishments.
- all student work is fairly evaluated and no student has an inappropriate advantage over others.
- the academic and ethical development of all students is fostered.
- the reputation of the University for integrity in its teaching, research, and scholarship is maintained and enhanced.
NOTE: Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:
- Resubmitting your own work that has previously been evaluated in this class or any other class.
- Copying text directly from websites and other sources without attributing the original source(s).
- Copying the work of students in other sections (past or present) of this course.
Failure to uphold these principles of academic integrity threatens both the reputation of the University and the value of the degrees awarded to its students. Every member of the University community therefore bears a responsibility for ensuring that the highest standards of academic integrity are upheld.
NOTE: To help protect you, and future students, from plagiarism, all essay assignments will be submitted through Turnitin.com.
Accessibility
Rutgers University welcomes students with disabilities into all of the University's educational programs. In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, a student with a disability must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus's disability services office will provide you with a Letter of Accommodations. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. To begin this process, please complete the Registration form on the ODS website.
Attendance and Participation Policy
Students are expected to actively participate in all of the online activities for the course. Attendance in the online sessions is determined by thorough, thoughtful, relevant and on time contributions made in the weekly assignments including threaded discussions, reaction papers and quizzes. The course proceeds with the assumption that students have thoughtfully read and reviewed the assigned materials.
Students are responsible for completion of all assigned readings, materials discussed and assignments on or before the assigned due date.
Student Wellness Services
Counseling, ADAP & Psychiatric Services (CAPS)
848-932-7884 |17 Senior Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
CAPS is a University mental health support service that includes counseling, alcohol and other drug assistance, and psychiatric services staffed by a team of professional within Rutgers Health services to support students' efforts to succeed at Rutgers University. CAPS offers a variety of services that include: individual therapy, group therapy and workshops, crisis intervention, referral to specialists in the community and consultation and collaboration with campus partners.
Violence Prevention & Victim Assistance (VPVA)
848-932-1181 | 3 Bartlett Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
The Office for Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance provides confidential crisis intervention, counseling and advocacy for victims of sexual and relationship violence and stalking to students, staff and faculty. To reach staff during office hours when the university is open or to reach an advocate after hours, call 848-932-1181.
Disability Services
848-445-6800 | Lucy Stone Hall, Suite A145, Livingston Campus, 54 Joyce Kilmer Avenue, Piscataway, NJ 08854
Rutgers University welcomes students with disabilities into all of the University's educational programs. In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, a student with a disability must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation.
If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus's disability services office will provide you with a Letter of Accommodations. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. To begin this process, please complete the Registration form on the ODS website.
Scarlet Listeners
732-247-5555 | scarlet.listeners@gmail.com
Free and confidential peer counseling and referral hotline, providing a comforting and supportive safe space.