YORU UN1101

The different types of Yoruba pronouns, tense markers, interrogatives, adjectives, greetings. Telling time, expressing likes and dislikes, saying things you usually do, describing people and family members, introducing yourself. Basic conversation skills.

Had several (maybe 25+) video assignments where we'd have to watch videos and answer questions about them. Not as hard as they are tedious and sometimes the poor audio quality makes it hard to keep up. He was honestly pretty vague about the breakdown of grading, but you're pretty much guaranteed in the A range with consistent attendance and clear effort. Also had 2 orals and 2 tests, both pretty chill and easy (couldn't have studied more than 30 mins - 1 hr for each).

-how to introduce yourself -how to greet others -general Yoruba grammar -verb tenses -vocab -telling time -how to describe people and things (adjectives) -a bit of Yoruba culture

Had no expectations going in. Professor Adeolu is a pretty good teacher, but he definitely is someone I'd only recommend if you're used to Nigerian elders and how they speak. He sometimes can come off insulting or mean, but it's something you'd be used to if you've already been around this. Honestly a fun professor and made the class really chill. I was spending a max of 10 mins daily except when prepping for an assessment. I learned a lot and it was pretty fun. Of course, as a language class, you're going to be speaking in Yoruba a lot, but he really encourages questions and has fun answering them. The only drawback is if you miss class, he doesn't post notes or a syllabus, but if you have a friend in the class you should be fine and it's easy to catch up. I went in knowing no Yoruba and came out with enough skills to speak to my parents a bit in it, which is amazing progress for 1 semester. He really focuses on functionality and getting you speaking the language from day 1, which I love.

I would definitely recommend this to people who have some exposure to Yoruba (ie people who have parent(s) who spoke it at home and thus understand some of the language, yet are not comfortable making conversation in Yoruba). I think for students who have some background the class is super manageable without being redundant and it will cement a lot of the vocab and grammar structures you might already be familiar with. That being said, not all the students in the class come from Yoruba speaking families so it is definitely still feasible to do very well in the class if you come in with absolutely no base knowledge.

Would definitely recommend to Yoruba kids who were never taught the language! Professor Adeolu is very kind and a great professor, however, he is also a traditional Nigerian elder so if you don't have thick skin this might not be the class for you. If you are used to Nigerians then it won't be a problem at all. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2021 Course: YORUUN1101_001_2021_3-ELEMENTARYYORUBAI : YORUUN1101_001_2021_3 - ELEMENTARY YORUBA I Instructor: Stephane Charitos

I think this course is a good introduction into the language and the culture. Despite being taught in a semi-virtual format, the professor manages to keep everyone thoroughly engaged and allow us to communicate with one another properly. He encourages communication in the target language and for an hour a day you leave behind english and engage with Yoruba

The yoruba language, grammar and conversational structures.

I learned that to learn a language is to try and not be scared of making a mistake! Ojogbon taught us all to keep up with our studies and speak the language as much as we could.

I think that this course favored native yoruba speakers and did not feel as structured as I would have hoped. There was a lack of regard for my time and others voiced this as well. The teacher would host mandatory impromptu meetings on friday evenings and did not have consistent weekly office hours until midway through the semester that stopped randomly. He appointed a TA midway through the semester which would have been useful much earlier. He also graded harshly on topics that were not covered thoroughly, assigned homework assignments without any clear due dates and struggled to upload things correctly (with correct due dates) into the canvas. He also made the space feel very hostile and I was at times scared to speak in fear of being reprimended/yelled at. He is a good teacher but i think that he can do better with structure and having more grace for new learners as this is an elementary 1 class. He also incorrectly marked multiple of my answers wrong on a test when they were correct. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2023 Course: YORUUN1101_001_2023_3-ELEMENTARYYORUBAI : YORUUN1101_001_2023_3 - ELEMENTARY YORUBA I Instructor: Stephane Charitos