| When making the decision to study Spanish | | | | out to a printer if desired. |
| through an online Spanish program as opposed | | | | |
| to in a traditional classroom, there are a | | | | 6. Studying Spanish online is much more |
| number of pros and cons to consider. | | | | cost-effective than taking the equivalent |
| | | | course in a traditional classroom. For a |
| Pros: | | | | traditional classroom, your costs are high |
| | | | because they must include textbooks, taxes, |
| There are numerous advantages and benefits | | | | the teacher's salary, and the cost of |
| that studying Spanish online offers versus | | | | maintaining the building, plus various other |
| studying Spanish in a traditional classroom: | | | | administrative costs. For an online study |
| | | | course, you are merely paying for login |
| | | | access to the Internet website which hosts |
| | | | the course. |
| 1. You are free to study from any location in | | | | |
| the entire world where you have access to a | | | | Cons: |
| high-speed Internet connection. You are not | | | | |
| bound to a physical classroom location. | | | | There are also some disadvantages to consider |
| | | | when choosing whether or not to study Spanish |
| 2. You are free to study at any time of day, | | | | online or in a traditional classroom: |
| any day of the week that you are able to get | | | | |
| online to the Internet. You are not bound to | | | | |
| a specific schedule or time slot. | | | | |
| | | | 1. You are losing the benefit of face-to-face |
| 3. You are free to study Spanish online at | | | | human social interaction. You are losing the |
| your own pace. Because the online lessons are | | | | "human element" to the learning process. You |
| not bound by time, you can take and retake | | | | would not be able to practice your Spanish |
| and skip around each lesson as often as you | | | | with your peers in the classroom. |
| like and at whatever pace you would like. If | | | | |
| you would like to study the entire online | | | | 2. You are losing the benefit of a live |
| Spanish course in one week, you can. Or if | | | | professor to whom you can ask questions if |
| you want to go slowly and study over the | | | | you have difficulty understanding the |
| course of an entire year, you can. It's up to | | | | concepts. You would be entirely on your own |
| you, as an online course is designed to fit | | | | to understand the material in the online |
| your personal schedule. | | | | course. |
| | | | |
| 4. You can get access to multimedia | | | | 3. You would not the have benefit of access |
| presentations and interactive online video | | | | to tangible textbooks which make it possible |
| games as part of your online course | | | | to study Spanish "offline". You would always |
| materials. Hours and hours of audio | | | | be required to connect to the Internet or log |
| presentations as well as video presentations | | | | onto a computer to access your course |
| make the process of learning Spanish fun, | | | | materials. You cannot be truly portable, |
| engaging, and interactive. Video games, in | | | | unless you have a wireless Internet laptop. |
| particular, can be effective study aids, by | | | | |
| reinforcing the concepts you are learning, | | | | 4. You lose the element of accountability. |
| through play. | | | | Though having the freedom to study at your |
| | | | own pace has its advantages, you are not |
| 5. You do not need to pay for textbooks that | | | | accountable to finish the course, so if you |
| you would need to carry with you. All of the | | | | lack the discipline to study on your own, a |
| course materials are contained electronically | | | | traditional classroom can provide that |
| online or can be downloaded directly to your | | | | structure and discipline. |
| computer, which you can then optionally print | | | | |