SpanishDict lessons as compared to high school or college class?

Question

On this site, there are 15 lessons under each Spanish level (1-4). How would those levels compare to what you would learn in a high school or college Spanish 1 or higher class? In other words, is Spanish 1 the same as a semester at a college?

Or can these lessons even be compared to a high school or college-level class directly?

Answer 1

I haven't taken a college spanish class yet (I will be taking one first semester next year!) but here is what I accomplished in high school spanish!

The spanish classes I took in high school were horrible... lots and lots of worksheets, lax grading... but as far as information goes, it was very informative if I took the time to study.

Spanish 1 (ninth grade) - learned vocabulary in the school (book, binder, pen, etc), present tense, irregulars in the present tense, verbos de bota (boot verbs/stem changing), food, colors, countries, family

Spanish 2 (tenth grade) - clothes vocabulary (shirt, dress, shoes, etc), preterit tense, imperfect tense, irregulars in the preterite and imperfect, animals

Spanish 3 (eleventh grade) - present subjunctive, future subjunctive, imperfect subjunctive, future, conditional, all the perfect tenses and all the perfect subjunctive tenses, formal and informal commands, plural and singular commands, present progressive, airport vocabulary, house vocabulary, other random vocabulary Began talking only in Spanish during class.

Spanish 4/AP Spanish (twelfth grade) - reinforcing what we already learned in Span. 1,2, and 3. Plus TONS more advanced and specific vocabulary. Writing formal essays and reading popular/famous Spanish works of literature and poetry. 100% talking in Spanish during class.

Spanish Dict is really amazing, but there are advantages to taking a class with other live students who are advancing and messing up with you heh. Also, I get more of a chance to talk with other people in a classroom environment. However, Spanish Dict is waaaaay helpful for actually processing info and remembering vocab.

Cheers!

I would say that college Spanish 1 will covered most of what you learned in 9th and 10th grade. Semester 2 covered most of what you learned in 11th grade. I agree with you about the advantages of each method of study. - joeblaine, Apr 11, 2012

Fantastic!!:) - rac1, Apr 11, 2012

Answer 2

I don't know about high school, but I had 2 semesters of college. It was assumed that I knew the basics (which I didn't). Half the class already knew spanish and were just getting easy credits. They laughed, joked and disrupted a lot, making it harder for those of us who were trying to learn the basics. . The classes were very fast paced with a lot of vocabulary to memorize. I forgot most of it the moment class was over. College covered a lot more material. My college classes were some years ago, so I don't remember a lot of what I learned and am pretty much starting over. I really like this course better. I can learn at my own pace. I like the way the material is organized and all the resources available -- especially the audio pronunciations! I don't think this course and college courses can really be compared.

Great answer!!:) - rac1, Apr 11, 2012

Answer 3

I've learned more from this site than from 3 semesters of Spanish in college. You can watch the same lesson over and over again. My daughters have both also taken Spanish throughout High School, and I'm as knowledgeable as one of them (the other took AP Spanish at a gifted school). I'm combining it with podcasts and iTunes as well.

Answer 4

From what you say here, it seems that this site would be WAY more effective in actually learning and retaining what you learn. I plan to have my kids learn along with me and other friends, and incorporate what we learn into our every-day interactions. Thanks for your input!!