[SPAN 0220]
Intermediate Spanish II

Rate This Class

Professor: Swarthout, Kelley

Value of Course / Overall Score

Not Much (20%
Average (60%)
Valuable (20%)

Material

Friendly (60%)
Average (40%)
Competitive (0%)

Class Atmosphere

Boring (40%)
Average (60%)
Fascinating (0%)

Prep Time Needed

1-2hr (10%)
3-5hr (80%)
6-8hr (10%)
9-11hr (0%)
12+ hr (0%)

Grade Weighting

Harder (20%)
Average (10%)
Easier (70%)

Adequate Assistance

Yes (90%)
No (10%)

Would Recommend Class

Yes (40%)
No (60%)

Evaluation Comments for Swarthout, Kelley

  1. Kelly's accent definitely isn't as good as the other professors in the language department, but I thought she was a good teacher regardless. She explained things very well and definitely knows what she's talking about. The book for this class is extremely boring, there's a lot of pointless time spent in groups. In general, kind of a boring class.
  2. I really didn't enjoy the class. It was a good grammar review, I guess, and I did learn a few new things, but it was not presented interestingly. There was a lot of busywork assigned, which reminded me of highschool. I wouldn't say not to take the class, but I would definitely recommend another professor.
  3. get another teacher.
  4. Professor Swarthout puts a ton of effort into the course and does a good job with the material and grading. She has a pretty weak accent, but for a 200 level course it's not that big a deal. Not my favorite spanish course by any means but also not bad.
  5. The professor is a nice woman, but definitely not a good professor. Be prepared for a lot of busywork if you take this class; if you come into it expecting the amazing language programs that Midd has, you'll be disappointed.
  6. Look for another teacher.
  7. Swarthout does indeed have a terrible accent, but it doesn't necessarily mean she's a bad teacher; she knows what she's talking about. Yes, the class is boring, the exercises from the manual are tedious, but that's what you get in a grammar-level course. Kelley tries to make class interesting by having us read articles and do group projects. The class could be worse, but at least she's a pretty easy grader, or at least that's what I encountered. Reading the book (Soldados de Salamina) can be pretty difficult in the beginning; I'd recommend getting it in English beforehand and reading that as well so you at least know what's going on it the book.
  8. She's really nice, her accent is very American, but grammatically she knows what she's doing. She's a fairly easy grader, but the book you have to read for the class sucks.
  9. It is true, her accent is terrible, and it is very hard to get past that. There were several times when a student would ask a question and she never really answered it. Tests were ridiculous and subjectively graded. The workload got a bit heavy at times. She's not a great professor, but in the end I did feel that I had a better grasp on the grammar - though I would say it was more a result of personal effort.
  10. Kelley Swarthout has an awful spanish accent so she lost a lot of credibility. Throughout the course, however, I realized that she knows what she's talking about and grade papers really well. As a professor, however, she's pretty much really bad. She doesn't explain concepts well. The textbook is horrible and Kelley makes it worse because she made us do the exercise out of them. Another thing that irked me to no end is we'd have to do these dumbass exercises and there was no answer key. Usually, good professors MAKE answer keys but she insists that they're not necessary..if you have specific questions, she will answer them. uhhh-- how do I know I have specific questions if I don't know if my answers are right or wrong? Water under the bridge, I'm glad to be DONE with that class. please don't take her if you want to have fun. Oh another thing, by the end of the semester, she still didn't know some people's names (a telling reflection of how much effort she put into getting to know her students).

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