Spanish Class Replacement?

[jmar1976]

Hi there, I am new here and trying to read all I can about getting my degree which I am sooooo excited about because it seems so doable and time efficient!

That being said, I am concerned about the Spanish Class on Sophia or any foreign language in general to satisfy the gen ed requirement for UMPI. Is there a sign language class that is acceptable that I can take somewhere else? I looked at the Spanish class on Sophia (where I'm currently knocking out classes) and it was just plain awful for me. I don't think I have it in me to do it-- it's pretty advanced for me. I could do it if I devoted perhaps a couple months or something, not sure, but I don't want to if I don't have to.

I tried searching all the posts about this but didn't see anything but could have overlooked something. I thought I would just post and see what others say. 

Thank you in advance and THANK YOU FOR THIS FORUM!! It's a miracle in my life! I can't believe how doable it is.

[rachel83az]

Literally any non-English language class from anywhere will satisfy the requirement. If you're not fluent, Sophia is the easiest and cheapest way to meet the foreign language requirement. Most foreign language classes are much more in depth and involved than Sophia's Spanish classes. Even Study.com's Spanish classes are a bit longer and more involved than Sophia's.

If you happen to be even partially fluent in another language (say, French or German), an ACTFL exam would be the way to satisfy your foreign language requirement.

Sign language would also work, but you'd probably need to find one at a local Community College. I'm not aware of any inexpensive sign language classes that can be done online quickly/cheaply. You're probably looking at a minimum of 3 months and $1000+ in tuition/fees.

• BYU has a variety of foreign languages (no sign) for either $675 or $937 per course. https://is.byu.edu/catalog?school=18
  
• UIdaho has Spanish and French (no sign) for $670 per course. https://www.uidaho.edu/academics/online-...-a-catalog
  
• University of Alaska Fairbanks has a few language courses online. They're not self-paced, but they do include sign language. https://ecampus.uaf.edu/courses/ I believe the cost of the sign language course would be $702 plus textbooks, if any. The course starts August 28 and ends December 16.
  
• University of Texas at Austin has multiple unique offerings, though no sign language. About $1000 per course. https://extension.utexas.edu/all-courses
  

Even if you spend 6 months at Sophia for just Spanish, you're still coming out ahead compared to the cost of the courses above.

Whatever you do, don't just decide to take the course at UMPI. The UMPI course offerings are even worse and not recommended. The foreign language and science classes at UMPI will actually slow you down, while the rest of the UMPI offerings generally get good reviews.

[jmar1976]

You know what, that makes a lot of sense. It would be cheaper to just stick it out at Sophia. I'm going to finish all the easy classes first on Sophia and then tackle the more difficult and possibly prep for Spanish. You're right about even if it took 6 months...but I think if I put effort in I could do it in less. I just want to pass. 

Thank you for your reply!!!!

[rachel83az]

If you're struggling with Sophia's Spanish, there are also a number of free/low-cost resources that can help. I wouldn't recommend using all of them, but pick the two or three (at most) that seem to work best for your learning style and go with those. You don't need to be perfect, you only need to be able to pass the course.

• https://www.dreamingspanish.com/ - For Sophia, good for getting used to the sounds of Spanish. You can play the videos when you're not otherwise doing anything else. If you want actual fluency, Dreaming Spanish is also a good way to go.
  
• Poco a Poco https://archive.org/details/pocopocoelementa00hallrich - A book to teach Spanish by reading it directly. Probably only need to read the first 70 pages or so (if that) to help with Sophia.
  
• Language Drops https://languagedrops.com/ - A vocabulary app. Really useful, IMO. If you don't pay for it, you get a 5-minute session every 10 hours (so about 2x per day). If you might want to continue language studies later (whether Spanish or something else), they've got a sale for 50% off unlimited lifetime access right now. https://languagedrops.com/summer-sale-23 Might be worth at least a yearly subscription so that you can choose which vocabulary topics to study.
  
• Memrise - A lot of good content available for free, though some of the best parts are locked away behind a subscription fee. If you like this one, I think it's probably worth paying for a month or two to help you get through Sophia.
  
• Busuu - Not sure how much you can access for free. It's okay. Not great, but okay. Worth a shot to see if it works for you.
  
• Babbel - Almost nothing for free, lessons are boring compared to other apps, but it's probably one of the best ones out there for actual fluency. A bit overkill for Sophia.
  
• Clozemaster - A flashcard-type vocabulary app. It's hard to describe. I didn't "get it" at first. Plenty of free content, though you get more features if you pay. Give this one about a week to see if you like it or not.
  
• Transparent Languages, Mango Lanugages, Rosetta Stone - Many libraries offer free access to one or more of these. If you get free access, great. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother paying.
  
• Duolingo - If I didn't mention this, I think someone else might. It used to be a great app, but recent updates have turned it into a confusing "game" instead of a gamified learning experience. You can still try it. Spanish has historically been great on Duolingo. But try not to have high expectations.
  
• TODAI: Learn Spanish by news - There are multiple apps like this for Spanish. It's probably not great for pure beginners, but having the news read aloud can assist with learning how Spanish sounds so that you can more easily do the verbal portion of Sophia.
  

[jmar1976]

Thank you again, I will look at each of these. What you are suggesting for Spanish is what I'm actually doing for College Algebra too. Sadly I am an older learner and never really learned Algebra so I'm doing Khan Academy, Got a good textbook with solutions, and also got a practice workbook to practice. I saw that I knew so little...it's embarrassing to admit. But this is helping me to prepare while I am just skating through the easy classes. Now I think I will do the same thing with Spanish. Like you said...passing is only what I need.

I paid for Sophia for this month and am not going to renew until the middle of next month because I'm leaving on vacation. When I return I'm going to restart and focus on the Maths and more time consuming classes. I have three kiddos too so juggling it all is a little challenging BUT I make it my priority. In the two weeks I've had Sophia I have still managed to complete 7 classes. I know some people can devote much more time but this is great progress for me!!

[rachel83az]

7 classes in 2 weeks is a pretty decent pace, especially when juggling dealing with children! Wow! 7 classes is 21 credits, which is about 1/6th of an entire Bachelor's degree. In only two weeks. That's great! It takes traditional students at least a semester, and sometimes two, to get that many credits.

Keep going and you'll have your degree before you know it.

[ss20ts]

You can take American Sign Language at another school and transfer it in. Some community colleges offer it. I looked into taking it at a community college where I live, but it was going to cost over $700 and I was like nope. That's half my UMPI tuition. I ended up taking Spanish at UMPI as Sophia wasn't an option at that time.

[allvia]

You can take American Sign Language at another school and transfer it in. Some community colleges offer it. I looked into taking it at a community college where I live, but it was going to cost over $700 and I was like nope. That's half my UMPI tuition. I ended up taking Spanish at UMPI as Sophia wasn't an option at that time.

@ss20ts - but it is my understanding you would not recommend taking it at UMPI, is that correct?  Sophia is the best option overall (in your opinion)?

[jmar1976]

I know, right?! Plus I do have some Comm Coll credits so right now I'm at 55 credits. I mistakenly took some UoPeople courses which I think won't transfer and that was longggggg...8 weeks each term but that was 12 credits that will be not worth anything otherwise I'd have more. But the regional accreditation is important for me to graduate with the Bachelors because I'm hoping to jump right into a Masters Program. 


Thank you for the encouragement! I had just almost given up on getting a degree because of cost and was going to just do UoPeople for my own sanity to say I finished something but then I stumbled on talks about Sophia, etc...led to UMPI degrees, etc...I mean, for real, I am truly excited about this. It's so doable. SO DOABLE. 

I try to actually tell others about it...especially the younger generation who are signing up for these incredible student loans for Freshman classes, etc. ugh! This wasn't an option back when I was in college, hs, etc. So, definitely a game changer.

[rachel83az]

Some University of the People credits have previously transferred into UMPI. Definitely worth sending in your transcript just to see if those 12 credits count for anything.