Class Description
The two language courses that I took were French Grammar 3101 and French Conversation 3103. I’ve taken French from the beginning of high-school and its always been a subject I’ve looked forward to throughout my time at OSU. I think learning new languages is fascinating, but what drives me to French is definitely their culture. I love everything about their food, lifestyles, fashion etc. It’s a goal of mine to one day either work abroad or at least live abroad and because of my French background, I’m hoping this will help me in the future.
French Grammar 3101 focused on as you may guess, grammar. French is a tricky language with a lot of undefined rules and intricacies, so it was great getting to delve in deeper as to why certain things are said. The content of the class was structured and easily comprehensible. French Conversation 3103 really complemented the grammar class. While in that one we focused on writing and being grammatically correct, in the conversation class it was all about just how different the French language can be across all francophone countries. We discussed regional accents, slang and of course had lots of conversations of various topics.
Class Reflection
These classes immensely helped my understanding of the French Language. Both classes targeted two very different aspects of the language; the informal more conversational approach and the formal typically written side of the language. Having these classes on two very sides of the spectrum has overall helped me to become a more well rounded speaker.
I was at first very reluctant going into French Grammar 3101 as grammar has never been one of my favorite subjects. However, I was pleasantly surprised as the course content was extremely interesting. There are many factors in the French language that get put off from completely being explained because “that’s just how the language works.” However, this class gave specific roots and meanings to difficult concepts. Instead of guessing some of the grammatical structures of words and phrases I’m now able to use my knowledge from the course to make accurate assumptions. I feel that my writing skills are much better off from this course and I recommend it to anyone hoping to advance their French skills and I especially recommend Dr. Parson– she was phenomenal!
French Conversation 3103 was a course I was very excited for, as I heard great things about this course. While I just thought this course would be about the proper way to speak, this course proved to be so much more. Unlike all of my French courses before that stressed the need for a “Parisian” accent, this course delved into what makes French so diverse across all francophone countries. We worked on topics regarding Quebecois French and slang, different dialects across Africa, and many more other regions. We had debates, discussions, presentations and really just conversations in order to get a broader view. I really enjoyed my professors’ adaptability to this course as it was all online. She stressed how we needed an immersive environment and even though it was entirely over Zoom, she was able to give it a small class feeling where everyone felt included and eager to speak.
All in all, these classes helped me gain so much more perspective on a language that I already felt that I knew more about. I think classes like these are integral in learning any language for both parts of any language are necessary. While you may need the structure that comes with grammar to get a basis of writing technique and sentence structure, you also need real authentic conversation to learn how the language presents itself in the real world. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed these courses and I know that their content will stick with me as my French journey progresses over time. If I intend to learn any other languages in the future I will try to implore both sides of the learning spectrum in my efforts. I encourage anyone studying French to take these two classes as both have been so influential in my learning, you won’t regret them!