SPAN 3000

Take Prof. David if you can!! I took this course as a Cognitive Science major to fulfill the linguistics requirement, and I would definitely recommend to anyone considering taking this course as a non-Spanish major or minor. Prof. David is so enthusiastic about phonetics, its origins, and how to read/understand phonemes and the international phonetic alphabet (IPA). The course was overwhelming at the beginning, but once you learn about the IPA and how to read it then the class is much more methodical. Prof. David will at times go off on tangents, but (A) he structured the course schedule to allow for catch-up days, and (B) his tangents are really interesting and show how different phonetic concepts are integrated. This course helped me to understand why I can't understand native Spanish speakers as well (they have grammar rules about blending words together in order to make pronunciation easier), as well as how I don't sound like a native Spanish speaker (I have a mini pause between each word for "enunciation" but it sounds disjointed to a native Spanish speaker). It also made me appreciate just how privileged I am to be a native English speaker, because written English does not have a clear/systematic transition into spoken English like Spanish does.
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As for the specifics of what the course requires from you, it is very reasonable. First, 93 = A and a 90 = A- in this class, unlike the 1000-2000 level courses where a 96 is the lowest A. You don't have graded homework assignments, but instead go through the textbook exercises during class. This is helpful imo because you're able to learn about different rules and their exceptions without being penalized on your final grade. Prof. David graded the transcription, recordings, and tests very reasonably, and was very aware of the fact that there is some ambiguity in the process of writing down spoken language or pronouncing written language. The group project felt a little bit like busy work, but at the same time it forced us to explain a phonetic concept to the rest of the class which helped to process what we're learning. Finally, in lecture Prof. David spoke almost entirely in Spanish, but if we repeatedly asked for clarification or were just not understanding the concept, he would momentarily switch to English. I have hesitated to ask questions in previous uva Spanish classes because I wasn't sure how to say it in Spanish, but Prof. David was very open to both our slow/disjointed questions and was very forgiving if we had to switch to English.
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Also, the textbook -- you honestly don't use the online component of the class, so I would recommend renting the textbook from the cheapest distributor. You need the physical copy, but you don't need the online access code/CD. There are 1 or 2 assignment where you have to listen to a recording that is available through the online portion, but just ask Prof. David and he will provide the recordings for you.
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Overall, I enjoyed this course and learned a lot