"How do I get started? I am overwhelmed!"

Your questions about where to go, where to begin, how to start... I will attempt to answer all of that here, as all of my courses are generally designed in the same fashion. Let me start with some definitions:

• CMS Course Management System--This is the school-hosted platform where you will find the primary instructions, due dates, discussion boards, etc. (i.e. Blackboard, D2L, eLearn, eCollege)
• eText Online textbook and resource materials-- This is where you will find grammar tutorials (text and video format), practice and graded exercises. This constitutes the real bulk of material to be learned. (AKA Quia site, Supersite, etc.)

1. In all cases, the syllabus is where you need to start. It is displayed prominently in the CMS, but if you can't locate it, post a question in the discussion forum. Read it at the start of class and refer to it often.
2. I then would make sure you have accessed the assignment due dates sheet, or course calendar and get those into your own personal calendar. They will not change (unless I have made an error, in which case I would send out an announcement).
3. Get enrolled in the eText site. You get your code(s) through the purchase of your texbook (so don't throw away ANY of the packaging until your code(s) are accounted for and you've enrolled in the eText site).
4. There also is a teacher code posted prominently in the CMS. You will also need this to get enrolled in my course on the eText site. A common issue I see is students who enter the codes that come with their textbooks, but don't enter my teacher code. You need to do this to appear on my roster and get credit for your work.
5. From there, I would then spend some time getting to know the CMS. Do not try to pass up this self-orientation time, and do not rush the experience. During this stage, I would also get to know the eText site as well as you can before you start working on the assignments.
6. Once you have spent some time in both the eText and CMS, you should go ahead and begin in your first lesson or chapter. You naturally may feel hesitant or doubtful if you are completing everything I have assigned. I would be glad to check on something for you to confirm completion. Just send me a note about it.
7. Chapter or Lesson 2 will get easier! It will be essentially the same routine for each of the 6 chapters.

If, after following all 7 steps, you still have questions or feel lost in some aspect, please let me know!

"There is so much work in this course!"

Yes, I know. I am very aware that if you have a full load of classes, home and family responsibilities, a job or anything else going on in your life, you probably feel overwhelmed by this class. If you really have all that much going on, something just may have to give.

Let me present some objective thinking. It's a 4 credit class. [NOTE: You may be enrolled in a 3 credit class. In this case, please adjust the math accordingly.] This means 4 hours you spend each week should be considered "in-class" time. Then, the commonly accepted recommendation for college-level courses is to spend 2-3 hours outside of class for EVERY hour in class. That would be 8-12 hours [for a 4 credit class]. Add it all up, and you should be spending at least 12 hours each week. I encourage you to keep a watch to monitor this at least once. When you hit the 4-hour mark, just consider that "in-class" time. Beyond that, it's "out-of-class" studytime.

Learning a second language is going to be a more labor-intensive subject to learn because you are trying to attain a skill. This is going to take lots of practice and repetition. So, several assignments and/or assessments are required in this class to provide as much opportunity as possible to acquire the new language.

If you think about it from a practical standpoint... how long did it take you to learn your first language? Are you even finished with that process yet? Granted, learning Spanish cannot naturally happen the same way, but just think about it from the standpoint of time-on-task. It took lots of time, lots of practice, and lots of mistakes to get to where you are today in your first language. And even now as an adult, you probably are still learning new and complicated vocabulary words in your first language. We are all still learning... this is a lifelong process! So certainly, it is going to take comparable amounts of time to devote to learning a second, third, or fourth language.

My advice? Do your best to embrace the process. Try to not get frustrated if time is not being your friend. The best way to do that is to divide up the work. Spend time on your work every single day. Certainly do not cram it all in the day before it is due! Depending on what it is, you may or may not finish.

Before you consider giving up altogether, consider the following:

• Does something have to give? Rank your responsibilities, and if Spanish class ends up at the bottom, perhaps it's better to throw in the towel and try again some other time.
• If a major life event or tragedy happens, contact me ASAP. With proper communication and requested documentation, I am a very understanding instructor willing to extend due dates. I only ask you to discuss this with me BEFORE the due date. After the fact, I usually feel it's too late unless it was impossible for you to communicate with me beforehand.
• Even if life is a little uncomfortable, this class does have an end date. Ask yourself if you can just put up with it for the short term to successfully finish the course. And then breathe a huge sigh of relief! The pain is temporary.

Hopefully this has answered the "why so much work?" question. Like it or not, in my courses I really want you to be able to speak some Spanish. :)

¡Te mando mucha suerte!

What is appropriate help for written compositions?

Mis queridos estudiantes...


I want to set clear expectations about what is fair and allowable when you are completing written compositions or syntheses in Spanish class. Please read the following very thoughtfully:

All written compositions should be considered asessments. Another word for "assessments" COULD be "tests." These are ways for me to assess your progress in class. What this means is that I expect you to do the work yourself, with minimal assistance from tutors, translators (online or otherwise), bilingual friends/family members, or whatever other means out there.

I prefer you only use your textbook and supplementary class materials as resources for all written assignments. It is very hard for me to come across an assignment that, clearly, not all of it came from your own brain. In past experiences, students have frustratedly said to me, "but in my other classes, my professors actually prefer that we have our writing proofread or peer-edited before turning it in." That logic makes complete sense to me... in a course that is more research-based. But this class IS grammar, punctuation and spelling. So to have someone else do that for you (what is essentially happening when you have someone edit your work, or run it through a translator) is not demonstrating academic honesty.

Now, I understand you need resources when writing. So I would prefer that you only refer to your textbook, or the online textbook resources, to aid you in your writing. If you haven't learned how to say it yet (whether that's a grammar construction or a sentence full of unfamiliar vocabulary) I prefer you leave it out.

So do not write your whole assignment in English and then translate. I think this is a very common approach, but that is also how you can get into trouble. In this way, you are not really consciously considering what you CAN say in the second language. You are only focusing on English. Instead, I suggest that you go through the lesson chapters we've already covered, looking for constructions and vocabulary that we have actually learned in this course, that are applicable to the writing prompt. You may have a word here or there that you really want to include, in which case, you can look it up in a dictionary. I have no problem with that.

In short, I do not want you to use the help of a tutor, a bilingual friend or family member, or an online translator (unless it is just for a word here and there) on writing assignments. I know this really limits what you can write about. But it is the only way I can assess you for what you were supposed to learn from this semester. I am not grading you on what you haven't yet learned. There is A LOT out there that you haven't learned yet.

There is a policy outlined in your syllabus regarding how I will approach suspicions of academic dishonesty. If you have doubts about what is acceptable assistance, please email me ASAP. If a major percentage of your work appears to be beyond your means, please be prepared to demonstrate your current levels of capability so I can determine if the work appears to be yours or not.

Thanks for reading this far through the blog post. It is really important to me, and I take this very seriously. Good luck and happy writing!


Profe Croghan