Mark Dowell
5 courses · 20 reviews
Courses
All Reviews
Prof Dowell is a nice and pretty funny guy. However, his classes are boring and you learn more from the Supersite homework than you do from him. He assigns meaningless homework, but his tests are pretty straight forward. However, he gives arbitrary grades for compositions. He's ok but his class isn't the best for actually learning Spanish.
4/16/2026
Take Portuguese with Prof. Dowell if you want an easy A. If you actually want to learn Portuguese, I'd look for another professor. Great guy, very caring, teaches through humor. Isn't actually fluent in Portuguese though. His slides are in Spanish 80% of the time, and you will occasionally be docked points for writing in Portuguese. Fun class.
2/23/2026
I can't deny that some say señor Dowell does not teach very well, but his courses are always relaxing and with plenty of activities (although the activities don't really help that much). He is also an easy-grader and gives good scores.
1/3/2026
Professor Dowell makes learning Portuguese very fun and approachable. As someone who has never learned another language before (I'm a native Spanish speaker), I was pretty nervous at first but the encouragement and practices Dowell gave me increased my confidence, performance and fun in Portuguese. Just do the assignments and participate!
8/6/2025
For Spanish 302, Dowell is super chill and easygoing. You will definitely have to participate a lot in this class and he does cold call quite a bit, but the material is pretty easy and surface-level. He's a super easy grader as well––he gives pretty much everyone an A.
12/11/2024
Professor Dowell is highly accessible outside of class, actively encouraging students to attend office hours. However, the class is extremely fast-paced, as noted in the syllabus. Expect to participate a lot and dedicate 1+ hour daily to Spanish studies outside of class; otherwise, you risk falling behind and struggle with quizzes and exams.
11/10/2024
Content was easily digestible, but my experience in the course last year was ruined entirely by him. He is incredibly stuck-up, and lets his ego get in the way of his teaching. And he's just an overly-negative person. I would have loved this class if it was taught by a different professor, honestly.
8/27/2024
He's a nice guy, but as a teacher he isn't good. He doesn't put much effort or care into the class. There is a lot of homework. Also this class is designed to learn grammar outside of the classroom through an online textbook. It is hard because he doesn't explain the grammar or concepts in class. You need to participate in class everyday.
12/18/2023
SPAN 101** I recommend not having Professor Dowell. Dowell does not lecture or teach within the class period, only showing PowerPoints based on review. Spanish is not a difficult subject but Profe Dowell DOES NOT TEACH, which creates difficulty in the comprehension and understanding of the course and language.
12/10/2023
SPAN 101** \nI recommend not having Professor Dowell. Dowell does not lecture or teach within the class period, only showing PowerPoints based on review. Spanish is not a difficult subject but Profe Dowell DOES NOT TEACH, which creates difficulty in the comprehension and understanding of the course and language.
12/10/2023
After two classes with Prof. Dowell, I can confirm he is very easygoing and makes classes enjoyable. He does cold call students a lot, and doesn't give the best feedback on papers, but he is a great teacher and engages with students very well. He doesn't give too much homework either. I highly recommend him for Spanish and Portuguese students!
10/11/2023
I had Dowell for Spanish 102 but that wasn't an option. The class is a lot of work but that's not really his fault, it's just languages at WashU. He's a nice guy as long as you put the work in and do the assignments.
1/22/2023
*Note I had Dowell for SPAN202 but that was not an option to select* Profe Dowell is very caring towards all students and even helped give back a few extra points on some assignments at the end of the semester to help bump my grade up a point. However, SPAN202 is incredibly grammar intensive with a lot of busy work and was not a great class.
5/3/2022
*Note I had Dowell for SPAN202 but that was not an option to select*\n\nProfe Dowell is very caring towards all students and even helped give back a few extra points on some assignments at the end of the semester to help bump my grade up a point.\n\nHowever, SPAN202 is incredibly grammar intensive with a lot of busy work and was not a great class.
5/3/2022
Professor Dowell is an inconsistent grader, with not much lecturing ability. He is a quick email responder, and makes everything we need accessible online, but he is not very organized and I feel like I didn't learn as much as I should have in the class.
4/3/2022
(Took 101 but was not an option) Haven’t taken any other language classes yet, but honestly the worst professor I have had so far at Wash U. Inconsistent homework vs lecture topics, and clearly does not care about the class.
4/3/2022
Very kind man, and an easy grader. He doesn't have the strongest accent, but he's really passionate about Brazil and makes an effort to continuously learn about the culture and language. He also really enjoys class discussions and fun activities.
12/25/2021
Super nice guy! Show up and participate and you will have no issues.
12/12/2021
Professor Dowell really is one of the best teachers I've ever had. He genuinely cares about his students so much and will do anything to make sure you are happy and successful. Class was really enjoyable and I actually felt like I gained a lot of speaking skills. Easily the most caring and nicest professor I've had.
12/9/2021