Course evaluation: Fall 2013

Course evaluation: Fall 2013 D block

Homework/quantity: • Ranges from week to week ½ hour to 2 hours • 30 minutes to over an hour • 45 minutes – 1 hour (sometimes as much as 1 ½ hours) • 1 hour lll • 1 hour – 1 ¼ hours • Average 1:45 minutes; range ½ hour to 3 hours (on test night) • 1 ½ hours • Way too much homework (unfortunately this person didn’t say what that means)

Homework/quality: • Some people like having a couple of things for homework because it keeps them interested and others would prefer just one assignment • Most homework articles and writing responses – doesn’t help me master the grammar (I try and indicate grammatical or vocabulary mistakes on homework – that is so that you know what you should continue to work on) • Although there is a lot of practice for grammar – don’t always understand. Ask peer for help (my suggestion – form study groups to practice and go over grammar; or meet with me individually or in groups to go over grammar – I have made that offer since the beginning of the class and few people have taken me up on my offer) • Most helpful assignments are readings and listening activities because they improve my comprehension skills and grow my vocabulary • Very helpful – especially practice exercises in grammar books, web links • Some readings feel like a lot because I still have to translate everything in my head • Would like a more even distribution of work because it would help with time management • Sometimes feels like doesn’t have enough time to study grammar because of other work • Homework has been helpful although sometimes there has been too much • Would like to do more listening and speaking activities for homework

Course content: • Great Important to learn not only about Spanish as a language but also about where it is spoken and cultures (doing a good job of that) ll • Interesting – would like to have more of a range of media rather than just reading. Like when we have to watch part of a video on-line and then write about it • Ok • Good although not always sure what it is that we are studying • Really like content – interesting and relevant to our lives • Perfectly geared towards being able to speak and read fluently

Grammar: • Addressed very well, we commit a lot of class time and have tests on it • Like how we review grammar and vocabulary in class and not completely on our own to relearn • Grammar is tough but it is an accelerated class (So not concerned with speed or how it’s being taught) • Would like to do more grammar in class to make sure we’re comfortable with it lll • Would like to review the grammar comprehensively every time we start a new unit • Would like to go over the exercises in Abriendo Paso in class

Vocabulary: • Should add a vocabulary section to the grammar test • My vocabulary has expanded greatly from the beginning of the class • Add small sessions or assignments of vocabulary review – would be really helpful • Would like to study vocabulary in a more systematic and organized way (What would that look like?) • Doesn’t like how have to learn voc on own – hard to do when not “mandatory” Would like to have identified vocab words and quizzes throughout the year

Themes • Not spending very much time on themes – think article project will help

Class discussions: • Good – we have good meaningful discussions • Usually love discussions but in this class they are usually boring – asked to talk about things that we have no knowledge of – so teacher ends up talking at us Like learning about cultures and events, but I’d rather learn that from reading than listening to you • Really good • Alright – wish we were more involved as student • Would like to have more small group discussions or just speak more • Sometimes feels like same kids run the discussions • Let quiet kids speak more and have more talkative kids listen more • Like discussions and feels like everyone gets to speak • Course discussions have been scarce this year • Class is very good at discussions although sometimes a few people dominate but for most part pretty even • Great was for me to improve my speaking and listening skills • Suggestion: have more debates and have students lead discussions

Can you speak as much as you want? • Yes lll • Can speak when I want • Not always

Do you feel listened to? • Yes lllll • Not always

Are you comfortable speaking? • Sometimes afraid to contribute – feel like teacher is disappointed and sometimes points out errors in speech too much • Yes – don’t feel afraid to make mistakes in my speech in an attempt to reach my highest ability to speak • Class discussions and videos help me most with becoming more comfortable/confident speaking • Somewhat comfortable (feel like listening skills have improved) • Not extremely confident • Perfectly comfortable • Pretty comfortable

Progress speaking: • Definitely, but still have room for improvement – can better formulate ideas, now want to increase fluidity to higher level lll • Grammar is better than at beginning of year – stumble less on tenses and conjugations • Feels like my speaking is worse than it was at beginning – wass peaking more fluidly than am now – was doing it more (had been in Spain in summer) • Made a little progress – some of smaller mechanical things we’ve worked on have thrown off my fluidity • Want to improve speaking in the lab • Speaking skills have improved – largely due to growth in vocab. Fluidity has not improved greatly • Have made progress • Want to speak more in class. We need more opportunities to speak and be corrected to learn from our mistakes • Have made a bit of progress – would like to have progressed more - would like to review verb tenses

Responses to work: • Great lll • All work is graded with good speed • Work returned fairly quickly • Response time ok/would like to get it back sooner but nothing major • Comments are clear, helpful and let me know what I have to do in order to revise for a better version. • Grades and comments most helpful as well as going over tests as a class • Work clearly graded • Written comments and speaking with teacher best lll • Written responses as opposed to grammar and spelling marks on homework and papers are very helpful • Written comments most helpful • When we discuss answers to a quiz or assignment as a whole class better able to absorb info. • Comments are enough to do a good revision on a paper

Grading • I understand lllllllll • Um I think so. We haven’t had very much graded homework, comments, etc. are always helpful • Rubrics have been good although don’t fully understand how scenes were graded

Most helpful classroom activities: • Everything is más o menos helpful • Appreciate the activities or games for remembering grammar and vocabulary every once and a while • Like working in smaller groups and playing games with them • Loved watching Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs trailers in English and then 2 different Spanish speaking countries to see similarities and differences. • Small group discussions – we practice our skills the most/get ideas, opinions and perspectives of our classmates • Discussing and going through complicated reading with teacher and class as a whole are very helpful as well as some of videos and articles we go over as a class • Class discussions and reading aloud • Activities where we get to speak and talk to other students who are talking with us • Read alouds = combine speaking skills with new vocab • Occasional game – competing makes me want to learn the material • Class discussions, notes and worksheets and AP activities

Least helpful: • Can’t think of anything that’s least helpful • Large group discussions because we speak far less and can feel very tangential at times • Some of the memorization games or the methods of teaching activities are not as helpful because not as interesting as current issues and easier for me to focus less in • Lecture based classes without discussion ll • Feel like we waste our time in the lab – have perfectly functioning speakers in the room • Don’t like small group activities because we don’t get very much practice speaking and very little usually gets done

Most helpful lab activities • All of them are helpful because I can always find something to work on ll • Get us talking and listening • Listening activities and reading out loud in lab • Listening activities from AP practice book • Prefer to do AP work in lab because it is more stressful than work in the classroom • Listening and questions llll (would like to do more of them) • Listening and answering activities most tedious and difficult but are the most useful • Hate lab but really helpful when teacher gave us tips – the more we practice, the better I’ll become, the more I’ll like it

Least helpful lab activities • Recorded conversation – unnecessary stress ll • Speaking and conversation activities because they are extremely difficult and confusing

Wiki: • Helpful in every way lllllll • Yes, constantly updated early and accurately, speaking for all student, I really appreciate this lll • Links to practice vocab and grammar helpful • Use it to check homework every day and use links sometimes

Suggestions: • Use Triangulo text more often • Have student led discussions or more debates • “I think that one thing we could improve is the use of English. I think we would learn better if we were immersed in Spanish, and no one ever used English in class.” ll • I think that more speaking on the student’s part would be appreciated, lack of talking ha been noted and would be awesome to change. • More varied media material • More grammar in class • More evenly distributed homework • More even discussion and times going over the particularly hard readings – but besides that it is good • More group activities in class – work together to better understand the course and the topics we learn in class • Would like to know pages to go to for studying grammar or vocabulary • Would like less time spent in class discussions and more to practicing grammar and voc • Hardest Spanish class I’ve taken so it is a big adjustment from previous years • Do at least one listening activity every day – maybe to begin class

Course evaluation: Fall 2013