Alexandra Borer

About 4 quizzes as midterms season begins, with flexibility based on class understanding. 4 compositions done in class with an opportunity for one redo each. 1 oral presentation and a cumulative final.

I learned how to speak, read, and write in French on a basic level.

This course has an immense amount of grammatical practice problems which quickly enhance your comprehension of the french language. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Spring 2024 Course: FRENUN2102_003_2024_1-INTERMEDIATEFRENCHII : FRENUN2102_003_2024_1 - INTERMEDIATE FRENCH II Instructor: Heidi Holst-Knudsen

Great teaching, not a ton of homework, you feel like you know French a lot better when you're done (don't worry if you feel clueless in the first few weeks- you'll come to realize that it's not as challenging as you think once you immerse yourself in the language!) 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2023 Course: FRENUN3405_001_2023_3-THIRD-YEARGRAMMAR&COMP : FRENUN3405_001_2023_3 - THIRD-YEAR GRAMMAR & COMP Instructor: Alexandra Borer

The assignments for this class are two presentations: one on whatever you would like and one on something related to current events. Every class one or two students present and then the rest of the class is usually questions about that topic that Professor Borer thinks about on the spot. Professor Borer seems to be knowledgeable about everything so it is usually pretty interesting. Additionally, there are supposed to be three vocab quizzes, but she dropped one for our class. I spent no time working for this class except for preparing for the presentations which maybe took an hour and a half each.

Very little work. Most weeks a short homework which usually involved short readings (usually short online articles) or to watch a TV show or movie, and a short written response sent to her before class. Overall around 1h commitment per week (excluding midterms and finals). Midterm was several written responses to questions and the final was a presentation, in pairs, about any topic of your choosing, plus a short essay. Class participation counts towards the grade, then there are several in class essays, and the midterm and final.

Prof. Borer's teaching is one of the best l've come across in Columbia so far. She is attentive and approachable, and yet isn't afraid to fix the skills of the students in a respectable and clear way. The way she facilitated the discussion and the student experience in the class was incredibly done, and made the experience of coming to class extremely pleasant. Even during long weeks of midterms and finals she always managed to make the class interact and learn even the most complex subjects. All feedback was very clear and timely.

I learned the basics of French which allowed me to have a better pronunciation and understanding of the language.

I would definitely recommend this course, it was the best French class I've ever taken (out of 5 years of French) and helped me immensely as well as broadening my understanding of French culture and history. There is a fair bit of homework but it is usually ungraded and more for you to learn the material and any large assignments are usually fun and engaging. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2021 Course: FRENUN2102_004_2021_3-INTERMEDIATEFRENCHII : FRENUN2102_004_2021_3 - INTERMEDIATE FRENCH II Instructor: Heidi Holst-Knudsen

It's kinda hard to get as much practice speaking in zoom language classes but the class did the best it could. The ease of access to google translate definitely changed the course but it was still worthwhile. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Spring 2021 Course: FRENUN3405_002_2021_1-THIRD-YEARGRAMMAR&COMP : FRENUN3405_002_2021_1 - THIRD-YEAR GRAMMAR & COMP Instructor: Alexandra Borer