Graduate teaching assistant Tyler Fitzgerald said the new style of teaching works well for his class.

“Students have online homework before class and...activities to give them input on the language,” Fitzgerald said. “They come to class, do vocabulary, ask questions and that leads to other activities.”

Several students have adjusted to a new form of teaching in their Spanish classes as well.

“You do separate things online and separate things in class,” English freshman Ramona Watson said. “It forces you to do things at home so you’re not as rusty when you’re back in the classroom.”

Graduate teaching assistant Brandon Cannon said this new method of teaching has expanded his classroom with better forms of communication.

“Making commutative language happen might throw off students at first, but you’re retaining the language and see yourself communicating more with the class,” Cannon said. “You get them moving and talking to peers which is good feedback from students.”

Despite positive comments from faculty and students, some still prefer a non-hybrid course. Arts and humanities junior Antonio Flores said it’s not as effective for students.

“It’s somewhat bittersweet because most of what is learned is online and it might be hard for some students to learn online,” Flores said. “I think it would be better if it was all in class than have homework online.”

Although this teaching method may be new to some, Fitzgerald said it’s been a style of his for a while.

“It’s been about two to three years where we have geared into this direction,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s great to bring this to the program and help students learn while interacting with others.”

And the new method teaches skills beyond memorization, Cannon explained.

“It’s great to help students learn a new language,” Cannon said. “We are actually gearing students and helping them learn the language rather than just prepar(ing) them for a test.”