Composition and Conversation · French
3 compositions throughout, where each draft is graded and given back to revise (the comments are easy to read to revising the draft is a breeze). Very fair grading and would be very difficult to do badly in the class. Weekly journals, reading, and some movie watching.
Not bad. Five compositions, ranging from half a page to two pages each. Forty minute oral presentation, done with a partner, which is easily the hardest part of the course. Class participation a must, which requires staying up on the readings (when applicable) and watching movies when assigned, but the daily assignments rarely take more than an hour. Plus journal entries (two small pages, handwritten) once a week. Very manageable.
20% participation, 40% compositions (4, 2-4page papers & there are revisions so you can get the best grade possible), 20% for the debate, 10% for weekly journal entries and I can't remember what the other 10% is for... I think the voice thread.
A few one-page compositions, a half-hour presentation with a partner, and the very occasional short article to read. Practicly never any homework, and she's very lenient with deadlines- she pushes almost everything back a few times.
A few compositions which mean nothing compared to the presentation you have to do with a partner. A manageable amount of reading.
Karen is amazing. I took her Intermediate II course and Composition and Conversation and learned so much while being engaged and in a fun environment. She is so silly and always makes jokes, but takes teaching very seriously and is there for the students to succeed. Most of the class time is taken up through conversations, while most of the compositions and other work is done outside of class. She also hosts an end-of-the-semester cheese party!
Professor Usher is absolutely incredible. I took this class as a way to brush up on my French, which was already rusty after taking one semester off. This course was a great way to practice my French speaking in a safe atmosphere where I was never embarrassed to conjugate incorrectly or stammer on vocabulary. The class was easily my most consistently enjoyable class of the entire semester--I left on a regular basis with a huge smile on my face. Whether he asks you to write poetry, analyze videos, discuss current events or cultural differences, his classes are consistently well planned and engaging. I highly recommend this class to anyone looking for a not hard French class to polish old skills. But if you're looking for an intense, crash review course designed to finally get you to fluency, look elsewhere, or at least to a different professor. Usher is a very sweet man, but is potentially too lenient to really kick your French up to perfect proficiency.
Prof. Postlewate is a great teacher, she's friendly, funny and engaging. This class is participation based, but it's not daunting. The class breakup is very reasonable and it's really easy to do well. She makes herself really available for help if needed. We use voice thread a lot to practice our French speaking skills and engage the vocabulary in different ways. We also have 4 debates (you only participate in one for your grade, though) about things like marriage equality, the French vs. American school system, freedom of speech and privacy and I forget the last one. We watch one film, La faute à Fidel!, though I'm not sure if it changes with each class. Overall this class was great, and it's the perfect amount of work. The grade breakdown makes it relatively easy to do well if you try. She's also really understanding if you have to turn in something late, just be honest.
Prof. Azagury is pretty nice, an ok teacher, not amazing or anything, just ok. The class is basically as good as the people in it, since most of it is made up of class or group discussions. Somewhat interesting, very easy... good if you want an easy A.
I took this class Spring 2007 so it has been a while but I still remember it clearly, mainly because I DID NOT LIKE Caroline Weber!!! She was pleasant enough in class to most everyone but would cut me off when I spoke. I am not the best at french but had placed out of the requirement and I told her this at the beginning, but she strongly encouraged me to take the class anyway, yet throughout the class, she would take me aside to belittle me and my french abiilities, despite the fact that I was getting A's in all of my compositions (which admittedly weren't that hard). It was mentioned before that not doing compositions (which never occurred in my case) and turning them in late (which happened twice with reasons provided) would simply cause her disappointment. This is untrue, she's a grudge bearer and just when you think she's getting over it she'll come back and bite you in the ass with a spiteful unprompted email. I found her ridiculously unreasonable, but still wouldn't have written this review if 2 of my friends that have taken the course since hadn't confided similar experiences with her to me. I ended up withdrawing from the class with special permission (it was past the withdrawal deadline) because I hated her so much. If you're interested in this class take it with someone else!! If you absolutely have to take her class here's a tip: she's partial to people who complime…