Maria Lozano

This was one of my least favorite experiences at Barnard. Some factors were out of the professor's control (i.e terrible room where the windows had been blocked out, constant construction noise while taking tests,etc), but many others were in her control (i.e. grading, class work, support to her students) To her, the most important thing was learning the content of the book rather than learning the language or supporting her students). The professor changed how we were approaching both tests and homework for the final weeks of the course because of one person's opinion. These inconsistencies throughout the course were both difficult and frustrating.

Very understanding professor. Good teacher and has some fun in-class exercises. Good at making students participate.

Maria Lozano is the best. She's very knowledgable about immigration issues related to Latin America, and has a particular area of expertise in bilingual education, which is what the education policy portion of the class is about. I'd say what is best about Professor Lozano, however, is how supportive she is. It can be hard to learn a new language, and Professor Lozano is very encouraging for anyone who wants to learn, no matter their skill level, and she is always approachable during office hours. I'm going into continuing my spanish education with a level of optimism and confidence that is completely do to her.

The BEST professor you could ask for in regards to an intro class. There's a good amount of work but she's super approachable and gives a lot of feedback. It was an 8:40 for me and I hate morning classes and this one kept me v engaged. Attendance is important. I got an A- in the course with a moderate amount of effort (basically do all the assigned work and you won't really need to do any extra stuff)

This is one of the best classes I have ever taken. Maria is an absolute GEM and I was so surprised she didn't have stellar reviews already. She's very clear and easy to understand, she makes all of her expectations very clear, and she always stays on task (even if she tangents about her 5 year old son, she always manages to stay on topic). She speaks at just the right pace, she's always very helpful, and she's very understanding about issues as well. She's an amazing teacher, and you can be totally honest with her. I beg of you, take a class with her, she's wonderful. (also we had dinner at her adorable apartment at the end of the semester, and it was the cutest and she made us flan even though she didn't have to she's actually the best)

When it came to grading, she did not keep up with most of it in courseworks throughout the semester and ultimately left many of us confused with our grades at the end. The communication is minimal, and most emails go unanswered. The homework assignments were unhelpful and the tests were kind of random.

5 "broches" which are 10% each. The grammar quizzes are often confusing and Prof Lozano is sometimes slow to return feedback, correct confusing questions on the quizzes. If you go to OH she will help.

Professor Lozano is INCREDIBLE! I went into this class with terrible expectations because I was not enthusiastic about the topic (it was the only one that fit my schedule). However, I was blown away by Professor Lozano to the point where this class was my favorite this semester. Professor Lozano is engaging, approachable and genuinely a wonderful person. She is incredibly understanding about our other work/commitments and always tries her best to accommodate to your needs as a student (especially with deadlines, which barely exist in her class). The readings are interesting and the discussions in class are even more interesting as a result of Professor Lozano's engaging teaching style. We discussed topics that were very real and relatable and the class in general was very enjoyable. Professor Lozano starts every class asking us how we are/how are weekend was/etc showing how much she truly cares about her students. She constantly made us work in pairs/groups, stimulating a positive collaborative environment in the classroom. My class had students with different levels of Spanish and Professor Lozano was very good about accommodating for these different levels so that nobody felt inferior/superior in the class and so that everybody was comfortable participating in the discussions. If you need/want to take a Spanish class, TAKE IT WITH PROFESSOR LOZANO!!!!

After reading some of the reviews for other Elementary Spanish professors, I realized that this needed to be written - Maria deserves silver or gold, hands down. She is extremely personable, understanding, and helpful. She keeps the class on pace, constantly engaging with students or having the students practice various skills with each other. There is no down time or "busy work" in this class. The Spanish curriculum relies heavily on the "Gente" book and materials, so you end up working out of it every class - it is ridiculously expensive, but you use it through Intermediate. Maria set a balance between classroom exercises and book work that was perfect. She ruined me to other Spanish professors - after a few weeks in Elementary Spanish II with a subsequent, sub-par professor, I realized how bad a Spanish class could be when you work directly out of the book.

Professor Lozano is extremely sweet and friendly. The class definitely helped me learn a lot of new things about immigration, even if the readings we did were terribly boring (she did talk about changing the reading material for the next semester, so it might be different now, but the textbook that we used was extremely dry), and I'm pretty sure many people didn't do the readings anyway. I wouldn't suggest not reading, because I think she noticed people slacking off at the end of the semester, and she would ask more specific questions, but she never really grilled anyone, if that's what you're worried about. Participation definitely helps, and she's very open to new/different opinions. Immigration is a very sensitive topic, but she's always asking for someone to offer a perspective that might be different from her own. Our particular class never really had super-vibrant discussions, and we all played it pretty safe with what we said. It's not a tough class if you do the basics.