Vincent Aurora

doc aurora has gotta be one of the most energetic, vulgar, out of context, and amazing teacher ive ever had. ive seen lots of negative and positive reviews, and it is clear: dont take this class if ur a softie. not only does he teach you the material, but he also has fun doing it

I don't know many teachers who can make a subject like grammar actually become interesting and fun, but somehow Vincent managed to do it. He's incredibly funny, genuine and by far one of my favorite professors at Columbia. Class is usually conducted in a relaxed manner, with Vincent effectively covering all the material while spicing things up with quirky personal anecdotes and jokes. Vincent is a fair grader, and as long as you put in effort and work you'll do well in his class. I would highly recommend taking third year french language and composition with him if you have a chance!

Vincent was always very engaging and the material covered was interesting and also informative. The class was taught almost always in French, but occasionally he would use English to make a point.

With Vincent. you are guaranteed at least 10 minutes of laughter in every class. He is by far one of the most insane, energetic, and entertaining people I have ever met. He bounces around the classroom, nibbles on chalk, throws things, and goes on tangents that are not always politically correct, making for a classroom experience that is never, ever boring. As for actually learning French, I found him to be a very effective instructor. While it's certainly important to learn French from native speakers at one point, it's also really helpful to have an instructor who was once in your shoes. Vincent really understands the challenges of learning French and is able to elucidate things that English speakers find to be particularly difficult. He's also crazily prompt about returning things quickly and with a lot of helpful feedback. If you have the option of taking a class with Vincent, do it. It will be the most enjoyable class you take that semester, if not ever.

I would like this to be the review that gets Vincent his well-deserved gold nugget. The fact that he does not yet have one is the cruelest crime against humanity as far as I’m concerned. If I had to list the greatest crimes against humanity, it would go Vincent's lack of a gold nugget on Culpa, genocide, Fox news. Vincent is quirky. Zooey Deschanel quirky, and just as lovable, perhaps more so. I’d never before seen a man put chalk in his mouth. Vincent smokes like a Frenchman (don’t let him fool you, he’s from New Jersey), and I’m fairly certain that he’s so desperate for a cigarette during class he rolls the chalk between his lips and pretends. That is, until, spontaneously, Vincent is struck with the need to scrawl someone’s name on the wall. The wall. I’m certain if you look carefully in Hamilton 302, you’ll see lots of white chalk on the white walls. Jake. Jake. JAKE! Jake. Then there’s the pacing. Vincent is like a preacher on ecstasy. He walks up and down and around the classroom constantly, flailing his arms around. So when I say you won't fall asleep, you can believe me. Vincent is screwed up, and he loves this about himself. You will too. For instance, when we would practice verb tenses in class, he would write lengthy pieces himself for us to play around with. In class we would read aloud and change all the verb tenses of a piece describing how a sexual experience ca…

Having recently finished undergrad, this is the second, and last review I will write about a professor at Columbia. I am thrilled to say that this will be in stark contrast to my first review, which was more of a scathing critique, really. Vincent Aurora is the single best professor I have had the fantastic fortune of encountering at this school. I was not looking forward to an accelerated french class, 4 times a week for 2 hours every day. Needless to say, I was only taking it in order to fulfill a requirement. What I discovered in that classroom was, however, what most students dream of finding at college. He was the single most enthusiastic, energetic, hilarious, witty, thought provoking and absolutely engaging professor I have ever had. There simply aren't any negative things I could say about him or the class. Be prepared to work a little more than you expect to, try to be moderately prepared for class, but other than that, you're gold. A colour I am shocked he has yet to be designated. If you get a chance, I implore you, no, I *beseech* you, to take a class with this man. I don't believe that there is someone else out there who could teach a language with as much natural fluidity than this person. He is genuine and reasonable and his anecdotes keep you as focused as you'd be if you were having a bit of a chat with your friend. I learned more french than I ever thought wa…

I usually don't write culpa reviews but I was inspired the recent negative one of professor Aurora. Although there were aspects of 3406 that I didn't like, I understood their purpose. Writing creative pieces that require you to learn vocab like "se herisser" or "avec fracas" can be frustrating and seem pointless when you are doing it, especially if you really just want to focus on your analytical writing, but Aurora knows what he is doing. I am a much better writer and reader--in all respects--because of his insistence on things like obscure vocabulary. As to his cruelty, he can be a bit biting at times, but I wouldn't say that he was ever cruel. In fact, as a teacher I found him to be refreshingly considerate. He graded everything promptly, returning it to the students by the next class and his policy that everything can be edited and rewritten until it is an A is immensely generous. Yes, this means pretty much everyone gets an A but it was also one of the single most successful ways of teaching writing--no matter what language--that I have ever encountered since it forces you to actually read all those corrections teachers make and finally look up whether a certain word is masculine or feminine or if a certain construction takes the subjunctive or not. This teaching method alone--which added enormous amounts of extra work for him--convinced me that not only is he a great tea…

Vincent is probably the most amazing professor I've had thus far at Columbia. Not only that, but the course material was interesting. Vincent's constant excitement and energy truly got me excited about doing the reading and even writing the papers. Do anything you can to take a class with this man. You will not regret it. And, if it can be 3334 that's even better.

Vincent Aurora ROCKS. I'd take Organic Chemistry if he was teaching it. Not that this class was a joke, but it certainly was the easiest and most enjoyable A I've received in my experience at Columbia. And the other reviews ring true... I learned more and improved my French faster in this one semester with Vincent than in all four years of high school and my college French experience. Vincent is extremely patient and approachable (he'll answer any question and always wants to make sure that everyone's up to pace with what he's talking about). He's also wildly entertaining and really gets the class involved; I'm a shy person at heart, but by the end of the course I was poking fun at my classmates and defending my views with a fluency that I hadn't thought was possible. I only wish I'd discovered him earlier; I would definitely take another course with him if I had the opportunity.

Vincent it definitely cool - after having suffered through the language requirement, I questioned my sanity when I decided to subject myself (voluntarily, no less) to yet another french course. However, Vincent makes the class truly fun - he's animated, funny, and really seems to care about how much his students are enjoying themselves. He really throws himself into his teaching, and is extremely animated - he looks and sounds like a french speaking Hank Azaria. Perhaps the only criticism I have for his section is that the workload is by no means light - well, for a french class that is, which isn't saying much i guess - with vocab quizes, midterm, presentations, short papers and journal entries. However, grading is fair and easy, and some of the work feels like a mere formality. Even if you do more work than other sections, it won't come close to your workload in other classes, and it's worth it to be taught by Vincent. I highly recommend this course.