French · Columbia University
Marie-Helene was a super sweet woman, but I think she kinda got screwed by the french department. the course encompassed the first 18 chapters of the textbook Contrastes, and we went into detail about very specific grammar rules, but the syllabus changed continuously throughout the semester. She had a tendency to not go over the grammar, but just go over workbook questions in class, which made it hard for grammar rules to stick. In terms of class format, we'd do random classes on various forms of writing that had basically nothing to do with the course itself, and then do a grammar day where we went over the workbook and did examples. I wouldn't say it was a super efficient class all in all, but it gave me a semester to really nail down and practice my grammar on my own, which I think will help as I continue into the more advanced level classes.
This professor is awesome! She is very nice and helpful. This was her first semester teaching the course so it was maybe a little disorganized at first, but in the end it was an interesting class and very good overall. I'm sure that the class will only improve from here. Also, I would take a class with Prof. Koffi-Tessio again if she's teaching something else. Read the description/ syllabus on the department website if you don't know what the "French and Francophone Studies" part is. (Overall, a lot of important topics are covered and it's a good way to continue improving your French or to get major credit. You don't have to take them in sequence.)
Present and past tense of verbs, household and common nouns, prepositions and adjectives.
I learned a lot of french grammar and improved my abilities all around with higher-level french.
Speak better and write using the French tenses.
I learned a lot of French idiomatic expressions and vocabulary and helpful pronunciation rules, and I think my listening and speaking fluency in French improved overall.
2 medium (3-5 pages? I don’t exactly remember) papers about course content w/ opportunity for a second draft, midterm, final (both exams were essay-based) Participation in class discussion/ attendance counts for a lot-- so be ready to say intelligent (and intelligible) things in French multiple times per class. (Class format: sit in a circle and discuss the readings/ topics in French.) Probably not the best class to take the first semester after you've completed the language requirement. If your accent isn't perfect yet, no worries, but make sure that you can really communicate. There is a lot of reading, as in both French and Francophone Studies classes. This could be hard if you're not really used to reading in French. (But, as the semester goes on, you realize that having some sort of thematic comprehension is more important than knowing all the details on every page, so you can skim a bit.) That said, it's a great class.
I learned the basics of french vocabulary, including verbs, adjectives, nouns, numbers, places, foods, and more. I learned a lot regarding how french people live and the french culture in general.
I walked away from this course having gained an ability to understand more complex syntactic structures in french. I walked away with a greater understanding of the cadence of written works.
I learned a lot about how to use french and use the grammar.