FREN BC3014

Daily homework assignments of roughly a paragraph of French that you translate into English on your own (using a dictionary is permitted and even encouraged) and then in class everyone brings their own version and we compare and discuss. Then once we finish the text everyone edits their translations based on class discussions and turns in the final product. One midterm and one final, they're both not bad. She gives you a short excerpt you've never seen before and you translate it (with a dictionary) in class. No time limit. The midterm and the final are the same. One final translation project of a text of your choice including a presentation of your difficulties when translating it. She didn't explain the presentation very well but that's because she didn't really care how you did it as long as you seemed to have a good understanding of the translation problems for your text (which is easy since that's what you've been doing all semester). The presentation actually ends up being pretty helpful since the class can give you ideas for how to fix the problems in the final translation you turn in.

I LOVED this class! Prof. Boyman is incredibly nice and genuinely cares about her students. She was very receptive to if we were tired or distracted and she even ended up implementing a 5-10 min break into class so we could take a breath (since translation can sometimes be mentally taxing). Although translation itself requires a lot of thought, the class itself was super easy. It focused on the nuances of translation so there wasn't really a wrong answer (unless you literally were incorrect about the meaning of the word, but you could use a dictionary so that rarely happened), which made me feel very comfortable expressing my opinions in class. Prof. Boyman is also very understanding of the fact that everyone will come away with a different translation and that is totally okay. She has her preferred translation but yours doesn't have to match that in order to get a good grade. The class is conducted in both English and French, though you're supposed to try to speak French most of the time (she won't call you out for speaking in English as long as you generally make an effort to speak in French). Prof. Boyman will occasionally interrupt you to correct your French or supply a vocab word but it's super chill. She is kind of a grammar nerd -- in the nicest way possible -- and I learned a lot about the intricacies of the French language through random discussions in class. Overall…

Light workload. Large amounts of learning absorbed through osmosis. Easy grader if you maintain attention to detail!

This course is a soft introduction to translation that gave me the skills I needed to take more difficult translation courses across the street. Professor Boyman is really bright and enjoys teaching. If you don't learn anything from her class, it's because you are not listening attentively. Prof. Boyman will not coerce you into learning, but she frequently goes on tangents rich with cultural and linguistic information. These are invaluable to the learning experience.

the workload was very light and super doable. it's cool bc you get to read and explore new texts. however, i would not take this course if you really want to learn new things and you have extensive french experience. it's pretty easy and simple so if you want easy experience this is for you. shes a nice lady and is funny which is nice. i liked the class but didnt learn anything. the only caveat is beware your grade is subjective and depends solely on whether or not she likes your writing style. that said not a harsh grader by any means

The workload is just a couple of paragraphs of translation per week. It is very doable and should not take more than a few hours. Sometimes I only spent thirty minutes on this class each week.

Professor Boyman is fantastic. She cares so much about the course and puts a lot of thought into it. As a student in her class, you feel seen and appreciated. You do not need to be a native speaker to take this class. I am not a native speaker, and I learned so much about pronunciation from her. I strongly recommend this course.