Most likely, you have already read and agreed to this consent information at the beginning of the semester. However, law requires that I present it to you again. If you would like to continue directly to the survey, click here. Otherwise, please read on; you will find another link to the survey at the end of the document.

Note that you ARE eligible to complete this survey even if you did not fill out the Beginning of semester survey. However, please be sure to read this consent information before going on.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the SPN 2240 course. As you know, SPN 2240 is the first course that is required of Spanish majors and minors and thus serves as our ‘gateway’ to the upper level courses. We conceive of the course as a “bridge-the-gap” course that helps students make the jump from basic language courses to upper level content courses in literature and linguistics. We strive, therefore, to build strong conversational and analytical skills in this course, through oral, written and aural practice. However, as program director I would like to ensure they my goals for this course and your goals for taking the course are the same, and that I am helping you accomplish your objectives in pursuing Spanish language courses. Therefore, my goal in carrying out this study is to get a better understanding of what the students want and expect from this course, and to evaluate how well the current plan, text and activities help you meet your goals.

You are being asked to participate by filling in two completely anonymous electronic surveys: one now and one at the end of the semester. The data generated by the survey will help me, the Intermediate Spanish program director, better understand what the students see as the goals of the course, and to measure how well we are meeting those goals..

There are no risks or discomfort expected with your participation in this project. Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. There is no penalty for not participating, and you may decide to decline participation at any time with no consequence. Should you agree to participate you will be asked to fill out two surveys, in English, each of which will take between 10 and 20 minutes to complete. The surveys ask for your opinions about language learning in general and about SPN 2240 in particular. Your SPN 2240 instructor will not see or have access to any of your responses, and I will only see your results anonymously. The data you provide will be kept in a locked file to which only I will have access, and once the study is completed and the data have been analyzed, the data will be destroyed. The data you provide will have no effect on your grade in your SPN class.

For each of the two surveys you complete, you will earn 1 point of extra credit toward your SPN 2240 grade. You will receive instructions on how to document your participation to your instructor after completing the surveys.

If you have any questions regarding this study, please feel free to contact me at the address above. If you have questions regarding your rights in this study, please contact:
UFIRB Office
Box 112250
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-2250
392-0433