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