"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!