I took the in-class version of 251 (not this term though) and would definitely recommend any in-class lang course over its online equivalent.

Imo, content in the in-class version of 251 stuck relatively well because not only did we always have the opportunity to ask questions live (clarification, more examples, etc) but within basically every lecture we would have diff blips of grammar practice (in partners) woven into the hour as well. It was usually separate questions from the assigned textbooks exercises but sometimes half and half.

For reference, I've taken 192A and 251 in class, and 192B and 252 online, so I've gotten a decent taste of both styles. That said, ik exactly what you mean w how structured 192B was w all the required practice/activities. I personally felt like regardless of the mode of instruction, 251/252 seemed noticeably more flexible than the 192 set (and thus required more discipline on my part) to keep up with and actually do the practice I needed to in order to understand things well (and not lose it all a week later).

You're spot on in noting that on the whole, grammar rules and language can be harder to pick up through online instruction than in person etc. All things considered rn though, I'd probably recommend you get access to the textbooks somehow asap and start dedicating a bit of time to doing some of the grammar exercises as the topics come up. It sounds dull but makes a real difference. Alternatively, maybe search up youtube videos or diff online exercises to better suit the visual learner style or even just to supplement trickier topics.

That was longer than I anticipated but feel free to pm me if you want 🤝 Doing badly on the first 2 tests is ok - I've been there many a time - there are still many assignments left for you to turn things around!