So I thought it just about time to discuss my actual academic situation within Paris. I’ve been pretty vague and non-specific about my program within the Sorbonne, so I’ll go into details.
The program I’m doing with La Sorbonne is called Cours de Civilisation Française de la Sorbonne, an international student program with classes entirely and solely in French. Wikipedia does an excellent job of explaining what this program entitles:
French language classes (grammar, conjugation, spelling, vocabulary, approach to literary texts, written and oral expression), with each class 2 hours, per day every day for the semester;
phonetics with language laboratory (expression, pronunciation and understanding exercises) 1 hour per week day, scheduled every other week;
French civilisation taught in lectures or in small groups, with each lecture 2 hours long, once per week
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cours_de_Civilisation_Fran%C3%A7aise_de_la_Sorbonne)
The levels one can be placed into for language/phonetics classes are as follows: Beginning, Elementary, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2, Advanced, and Superior. I’ve been taking 8 years of French, but to be frank, there’s been enough gaps in my studies and “getting by” in my learning of French grammar. So, I was placed into the Intermediate 1 level. Although at first I thought it was far too easy and unchallenging for me, I realized a few things over the course of 3 or so classes:
- I really needed a grammar review! For the first few weeks, I knew I would cruise by, but the learning and relearning of basic/advanced grammar rules is how one solidifies their knowledge of a language. I am here to truly learn and cultivate my French speaking skills. I’m sure I could fare just as well in Int 2 and even Advanced, and many of the people in my program have moved up, but I feel as if I am at an advantage. This essential grammar review will remove common grammar errors in both my French writing and speaking. That’s truly what I need from this class.
- My professor is honestly wonderful: so sweet, explains everything in great precision and detail, and is friendly with everyone in the class. On top of that, the class itself is such a great group of people. We all get along superbly well (this never happens) and I’ve met quite a few wonderful people that I’ve been spending time with outside of class.
- I’m taking 4 lectures in addition to my 2 hours of language daily and 1 hour of phonetics (that totals up to 8 hours of lectures per week), so maybe I don’t need to kill myself with even more work.
- Now, if I were to move up, I would be more challenged, yes, but I also might end up with a horrible teacher and/or classmates I couldn’t connect with. I would also increase my workload by 50%. Did I really need those kinds of stressors during my study abroad experience?
- I’m a sophomore in undergrad. I have plenty of time for advanced French classes.
So, after mentally arguing with myself for another class, I decided to stay in that level. And I’m glad I did! We’ve had two tests thus far that have gone really well for me. I’ve also learned some essential nuances in common elements of grammar I would have never known, if not for the class and especially my professor.
Phonetics is very interesting. I’m in a class with all Americans (they base your phonetics classes off your accent and country of origin). It’s a very different way of thinking and I enjoy it quite a bit. For the first half hour of each class, we’re in a phonetics lab with a headset on, repeating after what the professor says and listening to ourselves pronounce french words/phrases. She’ll correct us from time to time by listening in on our recordings. The second half of the class is within the classroom, where we learn about the specific terminology and reasoning behind French pronunciation. I really wish I had a class like this when I first began taking French, because learning the rules of pronunciation, especially in French, has truly helped my accent and French speaking skills.
The French civilisation lecture courses I’ve chosen are (translated into English):
- French cinema, literature, and society
- History of French art
- Poetry and song
- Paris (a history)
I won’t get into detail about each and every aspect of these classes, but I will tell you about the professors and class structure itself.
All my professors, and this is especially true for my History of French art and Paris professors, are brilliant. They’re the kind of professors you dream up when you’re in high school, anxious to go to college to have your mind molded by 60-something men and women who have lived, learned, and experienced their field to the point of ingenuity. Don’t get me wrong, I have had the most inspiring and amazing professors at Pitt, too, and maybe this is the rose-colored-glasses/I’m-in-Paris! syndrome talking, but I am so extremely pleased and in awe of the professors of my classes for this semester. I know I’m going to learn so much. Each professor hands out pages of notes at the beginning of each class and makes references to the page throughout the 2-hour lecture, where they discuss different topics, show slides for reference, play music/movies, and make relevant jokes throughout the course of the class.
To gauge the attention of 100-something students in a lecture hall for 2 hours is quite the task, but my professors do it with style. And elegance. One of my professors wore a cravate – need I go on?
Now, as I mentioned before, every class in taught in French and only in French, so after two lectures, side by side, I am mentally exhausted. I wholeheartedly understand everything being told to us in class, but I do have to concentrate and focus with every bit of my attention to make sure I am understanding what the professors are trying to tell me.
Luckily, they do recognize that they are teaching international students from all points of the world, so they often stop and explain a word they know we will not recognize – and they explain in French! This is marvelous, and it’s truly done wonders for my speaking skills. I was extremely guilty of asking “Comment dit-on blahblah en français?” or “Blahblah, c’est quoi en français?” instead of trying to explain the word I meant. This made it far too easy for me to rely on my teacher or classmates to simply tell me the word, just so I could forget it five seconds later. Now, I am forced (and thank goodness I am) to explain what word I’m trying to iterate. It’s difficult but so, so good for my language learning.
As for grades: In my language class, we have one test per week, and at the end of the term all these weekly test grades add up to 50%. We also have a final exam in my language class, as well as class participation/grammar/vocabulary as part of our grade. I’m forgetting the specific test schedule for phonetics, but we have several tests throughout the term (we have our first on March 12), as well as a final oral exam. For these classes, we can track our grades throughout the semester. For lectures, it works slightly differently. We sit in through approximately 10-12 lectures, and at the end of the term, we take a test. That’s that: the final grade we have determines our grade in the class. A slightly intimidating thought, but when I remember that all these classes only count for transfer credit, I feel slightly more relieved.
Oh! I’m also auditing a class on the history of Versailles on Fridays. But, since I’m going to be travelling many weekends and leaving around 13h00 (I’m finally on European time!), I’m missing more lectures than I’d like to say. So, I will attend when I am in town for the weekend and sit in and enjoy myself.
I must run to class. More posts coming soon on:
- Study abroad probs ft. Danielle Levsky
- Balancing talking to people from home and talking to people in Paris
- Meeting Parisians/people from other countries and trying to speak in French plupart de temps
Ciao!
-Danielle Levsky
Paris Is Always a Good Idea 