Crystal Marull
Kate Brooke
Kate Brooke Case Study
A CASE STUDY WITH
Kate Brooke
Texas Tech University
Director of Spanish Foundations Program
Lingua Story
The
Challenge
Our Program could not meet demand in first and second year Spanish*.

* A language requirement for many students.
Before taking over as the Director of Spanish Foundations, I was the Coordinator of Online Spanish and a member of the Strategic Growth Team for our department. We were facing enormous challenges in our department that needed immediate attention. We realized that many of the problems could be solved, at least in part, by a redesign of first- and second-year Spanish courses at Texas Tech.
Texas Tech Director of Spanish Foundations:
Kate Brooke
Course Sequence:
SPAN 1501 (Online Beginner Spanish I)
SPAN 1502 (Online Beginner Spanish II)
SPAN 1507 (Online First-year Review)
SPAN 2301 (Online Intermediate Spanish I)
SPAN 2302 (Online Intermediate Spanish II)
Total Sections Annually:
12 Large-enrollment Format (total for fall/spring)
30 sections (summer online program)
Estimated Annual Enrollment:
3000 students
First implementation:
Fall 2021
  • Students were unable to take these courses as freshmen and sophomores.
  • Our first- and second-year courses were filled with juniors and seniors, making it difficult to recruit majors, minors and recruit for study abroad programs.
  • The College of Arts & Sciences advisors were frustrated with our department.
  • We were facing a possible further reduction of the language requirement in certain majors.
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A Thoughtful
Redesign
To solve this problem, we proposed large-enrollment online courses in first- and second-year Spanish. Our asynchronous online classes at that time were ok but they were unscalable.
Rethinking Capacity + Workload
Maximum enrollment was 35 students; the courses were time consuming to grade and teach.
A Need for Spontaneity
Our asynchrounous speaking activities were limited to rehearsed, presentational-style activities. The speaking activities were instructor-graded and time consuming to review.
Making Conversations a Priority
The courses did not contain listening activities that required speaking responses, that is, the courses did not have a conversation / interactive component.
Discovering
LinguaMeeting
We were adopting a new book in fall 2021, and through the publisher I learned about LinguaMeeting live coaching sessions. Part of a Large-enrollment solution and also pulling from Dr. Crystal Marull’s “Three Pillar Model” LinguaMeeting became a pilar in our program’s future success.
More Than Just a “Number”

Very few students realize they are a part of a large-enrollment course. This is only possible through LinguaMeeting – students are connected to a native speaker who guides them through conversations which include themes from our course material. Students have a coach throughout the semester, which eliminates the feel of “just being a number”.

  • Weekly, 30-minute sessions with language coaches in LinguaMeeting
  • Affordable E-Texts pair well with LinguaMeeting
  • Feedback does not focus on correcting grammar and vocabulary errors, students stay motivated to produce Spanish in these sessions.
  • Instructors do not grade speaking activities. We use the coach’s feedback as a grade – these grades focus on participation and preparedness.
Outcomes
Program capacity in first- and second-year Spanish doubled, from 1000 students to 2000 students.
Students are less anxious about speaking Spanish. They gain confidence and enjoy the personal connection of the coaching sessions.
Students can produce Spanish spontaneously, engaging in 30-minute conversations each week.
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