Raquel Diez-Diaz

Raquel is maybe the most interesting/bizarre/outlandishly inappropriate professor I have ever had. My Spanish really didn't improve but I learned a lot about prostitution, drug use, cannibalism, abortion, foreign aid, gay marriage and domestic violence. Her class consists of a 10 minute homework/grammar lesson and then the rest is mainly conversations in Spanish about the above topics. She grades incredibly harshly but this has nothing to do with your final grade. I got mostly 60s and 70s on the essays, an 88 on the midterm and then an A in the class. Either she grades on a massive curve, or she just doesn't pay attention to numbers at all. I would say the key to getting on her good side is pretending like you really care. You should meet with her to discuss essays and participate like mad in class. She really is a nice person, but she is different. Definitely not your typical professor.

If you want to know why half of these reviews worship Raquel while the other half demonize her, read on. Raquel does not fuck around. She wants you to do the work she assigns you, and frankly, there's not much outside of class. Yes, she requires you to write in class essays, but I honestly don't think they really matter for your grade, regardless of what she says. I know a girl in my class who was AWFUL at Spanish and failed every single one of those essays yet she got a B or B+ in the class because she tried during class and made it clear that she wanted to improve her Spanish. If you genuinely want to get better at Spanish and have fun at the same time, this class is for you. Everyone in our class got substantially better at Spanish because of Raquel, whether they were good or bad at Spanish to begin with. I love Raquel and really hope she is still teaching here because not only was she an amazing teacher, but she made me question the way I think about everything, from language to social issues. She is willing to talk about drugs or sex or whatever will interest the class and that makes it a lot of fun. While I (and everyone else in my class) loved the time we spent with Raquel, I can understand why some people don't agree with her tactics. She does make it seem like half your grade is based on how you perform on the in-class movie essays, but I have evidence they don't, as…

After reading the previous reviews, I was kind of nervous taking Raquel's class but in the end I was glad I did. She is a bit eccentric and has some wierd rules, but her eccentric ways and rules only help you in the end. Her teaching style is a bit scattered but you get used to it. She does throw people out of the class for yawning and stretching but she only does it because she knows it's catching and pretty soon the whole class will be yawning if she doesn't outlaw it. You will have to work in pairs for the whole class, there is no individual work in here class but it does help with your conversational skills. I recommend the class only if you aren't a stickler for details bacuase she really doesn't have a structured class.

I don't know why some people seem to hate Raquel so much. True she is eccentric, strict, and sometimes temperamental, but she is a fantastic person and a great person. She helped me whenever I needed it after class or in her office hours. As long as you are not rude and try to participate in her class she will love you and respect you. I know people warned you about yawning, which is entirely true, this semester she kicked two people out of class for yawning...and ONE OF THEM WAS ME. She talked to me after class the next day an explained how it wasn't because she thought I was rude or anything, it just has to do with class atmosphere and apparently (she didn't say this) it's really rude in Spain (where she's from) to yawn. Anyway, despite all of that she is SO HELPFUL, she goes over quizes with me, gets excited when any of her students do well, and she goes the extra mile to help me prepare for tests...she even printed out some helpful hints she had on studying for foreign language tests for me. She is the nicest lady, always greeting her students with enthusiasm and a huge SMILE. I know she is slightly out there at times, but if you just go with the flow I'm sure you will be entertained and enjoy her class just like I did. It was a 9 am class, but I was excited to go to it (almost) every day!

Okay, I read the culpa reviews before I took this class, and I thought that there was no way she could be as unreasonable as everyone claimed. I was wrong. She cares way more about people yawning in her 9am class than she does about making sure they understand the material. She does encourage conversation, and I enjoyed her immersion style of teaching, but aside from that she doesn't seem to care if you learn Spanish or not. The daily oral exercises are good-intentioned, I suppose, but essentially useless. You can have a 97 quiz average, but if you yawn or stretch or turn your page too loudly during a test (true story) she'll dock your participation grade and call you an inconsiderate student. It's not worth fighting with her either, because she'll just tell you to switch sections of you have that much of a problem. She broke her hand three-quarters of the way through the semester, and when the grad student who finished the semester came, he was basically appalled by how little people had grasped the material Raquel had 'taught.' Basically, if you're not looking to have to fight for the grade you deserve, steer clear.

Spanish was one of my most enjoyable classes this semester largely due to the fact that I had Raquel (we are all on a first name basis) as my teacher! She's friendly, down-to-earth, and a great Spanish teacher all around. The class atmosphere is great... you get to know almost everyone immediately, and the routine is pretty much the same everyday.

Don't trust the previous reviews which try to soften the criticism of Raquel's classroom. Here's one of many reasons to avoid the class: You are assigned four written compositions during the semester, which are written in class (Craig-Florez assigned them as homework). You have to write these compositions after watching a Spanish foreign film at home (Craig-Florez played the films in class). The craziest part is that your grade on these compositions depends not only on the correctness of your grammar and spelling, but also on whether Raquel thinks your thesis is sound! Your thesis MUST tie together three things: the title of the film, a major theme of the film, and the ending of the film. No exceptions. That's complicated enough to come up with, let alone to write in Spanish, and to write during class! After the first composition, the average grade on them was between 50 and 60%. And if that wasn't frustrating enough, when our class asked for Raquel to give an example of a good thesis, she refused! If someone had told me that I was basically taking a film studies class in Spanish, I would have reconsidered staying in Raquel's class.

Never again. I don't know what the issue was with Prof. Diez-Diaz when I took her class in the Spring of '06, but she was definitley taking out her frustrations on everyone in the class. She's totally unpredictable. One minute she can be very nice, and the next minute she's insulting her student's intelligence. She once told a student in class, "it does not matter what you think". She likes things done her way and does not consider other viewpoints and possibilities. Everyone in the class dreaded having to sit through her lectures...it wasn't like we were learning anything anyway. Bottom line, don't take this class. There are plenty of wonderful teachers in the Spanish department, and Raquel isn't one of them. Although she can de very nice outside of class, her attitude towards teaching makes the classroom environment miserable. All I remember from her course was feeling relieved on the last day of classes.

Raquel is a great teacher - enthusiastic and energetic. She really works to make the class interesting for all students. And even though the class might be packed with 15-20 students...she makes sure that everyone gets to practice speaking. I thoroughly enjoyed her class.

Raquel was great. Not only did I learn a lot, but I actually enjoyed going to class. Raquel is enthusiastic, funny, and an overall excellent teacher. She demands that only Spanish be spoken during class, which is great for learning the language. As long as you go to class, usually on time and don't yawn, stretch, or eat, you'll have no problems. She's also not obsessed with grades and would rather you understand and learn the language.