Student and tutor module reviews
En rumbo: intermediate Spanish
- Points: 30
- Code: L140
- Level: 1
- On this page
Student reviews
The course layout is different to Portales and instead of audio CDs accompanying the books, there are a DVD and a CD-ROM alongside 3 books.
I enjoyed the course although at times I did find it difficult and found in parts that the language and grammar being taught was well above "intermediate" level. If you're planning to study this course then I would advise to make sure that your level of Spanish is at least intermediate level else you may struggle in parts.
The course books were informative. There's the usual grammar and vocab alongside articles on Spanish culture which I found interesting. I do think that there isn't enough exercises in the books to practice, I felt as if I would complete maybe 1 or 2 examples of a particular grammar point then suddenly move onto the next one which I found confusing at times (alongside difficult to keep up!)
The DVD and CD-ROM are informative and it was nice to watch some clips in Spanish and practice my pronounciation however a lot of people on my course said that the CD-ROM didn't work on their computer.
The TMAs are enjoyable and I really did like completing them. The feedback I got from my tutor was helpful.
Overall I enjoyed the course and would recommend to anyone wishing to further their Spanish. I would advise that you have enough time set aside for this course though, even though it's only 30 credits, it felt like a lot more and I easily spent 20 - 30 hours a week working on this course. Good luck.
Course starting: February 2012
Review posted: December 2012
I did this course as part of the Certificate in Spanish, having completed the more basic Portales course. I couldn't give En Rumbo the time that it deserved, but I enjoyed the materials and in particular the TMAs, which were well put together. I also enjoyed the discipline of preparing for the TMAs and the tutorials.
As is the case with OU languages, it's difficult to get the speaking practice, and I finished the course not really feeling as if I had a very good grasp of the language, especially when I compare it to O and A level days in the 1970s when I picked up French and German fairly quickly with regular and long exchange visits during the school holidays!
Despite this, we covered enough material for me to get a good appreciation of how the language 'works' and this has led me to sign up for a Level 2 Spanish course. So, as an incentive to improve the basics and move on to a higher level, I would certainly recommend it.
Course starting: February 2011
Review posted: February 2012
Faculty response
We are glad to hear that you enjoyed the materials and the TMAs. It's true that it is hard to get through the module if you don't give it the time it requires, however, you did well to concentrate on the TMAs and get the most out of that part of the experience.
I thought the materials, tutor and assignments altogether made this course interesting and useful in terms of developing language skills and knowledge. There still remains the problems - and they are problems - with relying on Elluminate. I personally have never had a problem accessing it, using it, etc. However many students do have that problem and if you are being assessed for your final mark with 2 or 3 other students who are having feedback issues, volume issues, etc, etc you end up spending the best part of 2 hours waiting for the tutor to help them deal with their problems, rather than just getting on with a group speaking exam.
Course starting: February 2011
Review posted: December 2011
Faculty response
Thanks for your feedback. We are glad you found the module interesting. We are aware of problems with Elluminate, especially how it can add to the stress at the time of the end-of-module assessment. We have reviewed some of the procedures, and are also making changes to the assessment strategy that we hope improve this issue considerably.
This course was very well written. I found the variety of resources especially helpful, as soon as I started to flag, there was a different activity or presentation method to revive my interest. The tutor was excellent and gave detailed feedback on TMAs. My only criticism would be that the training for Elluminate was very frustrating, I wasted hours listening to people who hadn't read the basic instructions before attending the tutorials. However once underway Elluminate is a great tool for speaking practice and we had many good discussions and lots of mutual support.
I highly recommend this course to anyone with GCSE Spanish or above(I did not do the Level 1 OU course).
Rosalyn Linssner
Course starting: February 2010
Review posted: December 2010
I must say I was absolutely terrified of studying with the OU at first. But once I got going I found it really enjoyable. It was very pressured especially towards the end. I loved the interactive course materials, which were brilliantly presented, my tutor was really encouraging and helpful and was just as passionate about languages as the rest of us!
The course team are experts in their field and can answer practically anything in Spanish (and it is a huge help if you are fortunate enough to be able to speak to native speakers too, so make good use of the course resources and the internet).
All in all a very interesting course, but very deceiving as you do not always realise the amount of study involved. My advice to anyone thinking of embarking on OU study is to study the materials as soon as they are received, contact the tutors as soon as possible if there are any problems, and of course, get to know other students because interaction on a language course is paramount. As long as you are prepared for the long haul, it is worth every penny. The personal satisfaction gained is enormous.
Patricia Seaborne
Course starting: February 2010
Review posted: December 2010
An interesting and quite challenging course, yet my Spanish improved considerably and quickly over the duration of the course. I finished the course feeling reasonably competent in Spanish. I am pleased I did this course because I now have an OU Certificate in Spanish (with Portales as well). It has given me the boost to study other languages with the OU.
Course starting: February 2009
Review posted: March 2010