Middle Eastern, South Asian, And African Studies · Columbia University
I would only recommend this course to someone who is interested in gaining more knowledge about Urdu literature and can handle being introduced to new vocabulary each week. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2023 Course: MDESGU4640_001_2023_3-AdvancedUrdu : MDESGU4640_001_2023_3 - Advanced Urdu Instructor: Aftab Ahmad
Would recommend this class to any student with an interest in getting started in Hindi/Urdu. Especially beneficial for those who engage with the language often, whether in movies, songs, or at home. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2022 Course: MDESUN1601_001_2022_3-ELEMENTARYHINDI-URDUI : MDESUN1601_001_2022_3 - ELEMENTARY HINDI- URDU I Instructor: Aftab Ahmad
Professor Aftab is an amazing professor and makes Urdu very enjoyable. As a first-year student, Urdu has been my favorite class and I look forward to attending every single day. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2021 Course: MDESUN1614_001_2021_3-URDUFORHERITAGESPEAKERSI : MDESUN1614_001_2021_3 - URDU FOR HERITAGE SPEAKERS I-MDESUN1614_001_2021_3 - URDU FOR HERITAGE SPEAKERS Instructor: Aftab Ahmad
In class midterm w oral exam, final w oral exam, 6 quizzes, daily homework
i'm not sure how possible it is to do this, but this course might work better if it were a little more individually tailored -- there were students in the class whose level of Urdu was far above others', and the pace of the course was unfortunately often dictated by these students. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2021 Course: MDESGU4640_001_2021_3-AdvancedUrdu : MDESGU4640_001_2021_3 - Advanced Urdu Instructor: Aftab Ahmad
The classes were about an hour four times a week with an attached homework practice sheet to every class. There was a short quiz about once every other week, a midterm (oral and written portions), and a final (oral and written portions).
Aftab Ji is a wonderful professor. He truly takes the time to make sure students understand and practice concepts consistently. He made me truly want to come to class every day to improve my knowledge of Hindi. He was always prompt and thorough with feedback and returning coursework. He has introduced us to new Hindi movies and songs that I now love and has inspired me to find more. He challenges us without overloading us and makes coursework manageable. Learning languages has never been fun for me but Aftab Ji made me want to come to class every day. He frequently asks us to speak in class but has made it an environment where students are not afraid to mess up and learn from mistakes as he is gentle with corrections and take the opportunity to see what we need to work on as a class. The class as a whole had a great environment as he encouraged us to talk with each other in Hindi. Many of us took opportunities to speak in Hindi outside of class as well. I learned how to fluently write in the Devanagari script. I can now conjugate in almost any tense in Hindi. I feel that I have a wide vocabulary in Hindi. I can hold a conversation in Hindi about almost any subject. I feel that I have a proficient knowledge of the language. I can also read and write fluently in Hindi. I also feel that I have been introduced to a number of cultural aspects of India as well as movies, songs, poet…
Minimal - homework every night, quizzes almost every week Midterm and final - written essay, oral, and vocabulary.
He's one of my favorite professors, and I truly enjoyed his course!! He is so helpful, especially when you show you're making an effort, and attend his office hours. He really wants his students to do well, thus you should take advantage of that. He's not a harsh grader and if you try, you will do well. He also posts all of the class documents online, so you can look ahead or review what we learned. Aftab makes the class interesting and shows songs and videos to help us understand Hindi.
very light. It was a summer session so we finished things mostly in classroom.