Important things to keep in mind

Span 104

Learning a language should be fun!

Following these guidelines will save you frustrations, unpleasant surprises, and headaches.

This course will prepare you to use Spanish in authentic ways. This course is about active listening to your instructor and peers, oral interactions, group work, and whole class meaningful conversations. It is not about learning how to conjugate verbs, memorizing lengthy vocabulary lists that quickly fade away right after the exam, knowing grammar rules or filling out worksheets.
Submit online work by 11:59PM on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. It can’t be stressed enough how important it is to keep up with the online homework to avoid stress and frustrations.
No late online homework is accepted under any circumstance. Plan ahead!
You are responsible for successfully submitting all activities on Blackboard by the deadline. You must verify you have done this by making sure you see a grade for each activity submitted in the student grade book. Any activities not submitted correctly and left "in progress" will not receive credit
If you encounter a technical problem with Blackboard, do not panic, get mad or write nasty emails to your instructor. Just kindly inform your instructor ASAP with the name of the activity and a screenshot of the problem page (how to take a screenshot). All will be taken care of.
This is a 4-credit, blended course. This means that one of the four credit hours represents work done on your own outside of class, most likely online. This online component replaces the class period that you do not attend physically. Thus, it is expected that you will complete the same amount of work that you would if you were in a face-to-face class. Practically applied, for a 4-credit, college-level course, the general rule is that you will invest 8-12 hours of work outside of class per week, including homework. Therefore, take this into account as you plan your semester while taking this class.
Learning a language takes time and effort. If you are looking for an “easy A”, have the mentality of taking this course "just to get over the language requirement" or think you'll succeed just by doing the minimum, this course is not for you.
Please note that materials in a language class are not only printed materials. There are other tools for you to learn. Therefore, as the goal of the course and the entire Program is for you to be able to use Spanish in conversations, it is expected for you to have six, 30-minute conversations with native speakers via TalkAbroad. Please note that these conversations, as textbooks, have a cost. However, they will greatly help you to develop your conversational skills and your intercultural competence that will be very valuable in your future career.
You will do an exploratory project in a Hispanic neighborhood in Chicago. You should plan this activity ahead of time as it is done in groups and will require additional time outside the classroom.
Read the syllabus, and if you do not find the information you're looking for, contact your instructor ASAP.

What Spanish 104 students recommend (as reported in the 2018-19 Exit Survey)

"Participate in class, do your online assignments, ask questions."
"Put in effort because Spanish is very useful."
"Do homework the day before it is due so that if something is wrong you can email the instructor and they can help or solve the issue."
"Do your work, study, never be afraid to ask questions, and let yourself explore the language and culture. The class is fun only if you want it to be."
"Stay on top of the homework, and don't be afraid to mess up."
"Pay very close attention to homework due dates."
"It takes a lot of outside effort, but it is fun to learn about a new culture."
"Be on top of your deadlines like crazy!"
"Do. The. Homework."
"Create more than 4 hours a week to do work."
"Show up to classes."
"Don't leave the movies and longer homework assignments to the last minute."
"Time management, especially with the due dates of the assignments on Blackboard. Also, practice speaking Spanish as much as possible."
"Not be afraid of trying/learning something different. It's important to challenge your comfort levels, that's the whole point of learning."
"Go to office hours for help. Do your homework on time, every point counts."

Have a positive attitude, learn as much as you can and, most importantly, enjoy your class!

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