I very much enjoyed my experience with Cristina over the last two quarters. She is truly committed to making sure you're not only prepared for exams, but that you actually immerse yourself in the Spanish language and enjoy learning it. Her slides were always engaging and she is very accommodating.

This class does have a required attendance component; there are only two lectures (1h 15min) a week that are mandatory in order to receive full credit for participation for that week. Usually, the class is structured so that you learn new material through an online homework system, MyLab, and then practice it in class with the professor and in breakout rooms. Although Cristina's lectures were always very clear, the MyLab component could be frustrating sometimes because of the sheer volume of assignments (sometimes up to 80 due before one class) and complex material. The attempts are unlimited, but I always had a hard time figuring out grammatical rules and weird structures over MyLab. I wish the course were structured so that the MyLab was used as a practice AFTER the professor teaches the lesson rather than the other way around, but I guess that's just the nature of the flipped-classroom and ultimately outside of the professor's control.

The exams were very straightforward. There's a midterm and a final, each broken up into three parts--an oral, a written, and a reading/listening. I always felt I had adequate practice and performed relatively well on the written and reading/listening. I appreciate that Cristina is very generous while grading the oral exam (usually in a partner group or a 4-person group) given she understands we are new to the language and that speaking can be very difficult.

Overall, I would highly recommend taking this course with Cristina if you have the opportunity--you will not regret it!