FREN 3030

OHHH BOY. The fact that I came here to write this review should say something. Saunder's course organization is absolutely horrible. Be prepared to have no idea what is going on at any point in time. The syllabus is worthless -- she assigns homework by emailing the evening before it's due and if you don't see it you're just screwed. She will never update grades. You have no idea how you're doing all semester, and she almost never answers emails. The course Collab hasn't been updated in years, so most of the resources are dead links that don't work. Literally everyone in the 10 person class failed the first exam so it had to be dropped. My complaints go on and on. Will your pronunciation improve? Yes. Will you absolutely dread going to class every single day and constantly feel unprepared to no fault of your own? Also yes. The only plus I will say is that she doesn't grade the oral recitations are strictly as she could. All in all, it definitely feels as though her failure to provide adequate resources and create a positive learning environment is detrimental to the class experience. To have a professor state that LITERALLY everyone is the class is unprepared for an exam seems more like an evaluation of the prof. than the students, in my opinion.

Pick your battles. I know I wouldn't pick this one. Only giving her a 2 because she truly is an expert.

I felt like I had no clue what my grade was in this class until it got published in SIS. Gladys is a little harsh in her critique, which I think isn't helped by the fact that we're on Zoom and not in person. The harshness came across stronger in the online format. I get that this class is about working on our accent but I think she went overboard occasionally. It's definitely her job to help us get better but I'm sensitive and when your professor uses the verb "massacrer" when talking about your pronunciation it hurts a little bit. I ended up with an A but I'm not sure it was worth the stress of being criticized so much. A panic attack every T/Th. So much of the grade is participation, attendance, and reflection though and she definitely appreciates when she can tell you're working hard and improving. I didn't go to her office hours but the people who did were definitely her favorites even if others might have had a more natural pronunciation from the get-go.

Saying that I despised this class with my entire being would be an understatement.

the professor is really sassy but very helpful in improving prononciation

This is a great professor who is very passionate about its subject. However, the course required an enormous amount of repetition, and if you don't a photographic memory, it will take you A LOT OF TIME, and probably landed on a moderate grade. Thinking about boosting your GPA, I wouldn't recommend it

Professor Saunders is a boisterous, clear, very entertaining professor. The work is light to fair, though you will need to study A LOT for the exams even though you may feel good about the material. Some of the tests are tricky, but rightfully so given the material; it shouldn't be completely cut and paste and definitely tests your knowledge in the subject matter. In addition to this, if you were struggling like I was, she is very gracious and sympathetic when you ask for help! I believe that all those seriously interested in French should take this course. It has definitely helped my pronunciation, and now that I can read the IPA, it helps me with learning new words to this day! Overall, great professor, great class; sometimes tricky, but for the right reasons.

Great course. If you are interested in french, linguistics, or languages in general this course is very interesting. Caution: this review is obviously subjective; there are many who disagree with me. I found the professor very kind, and very competent. She knows what she is teaching. The workload is extremely light, however it will vary with each person's experience with the french language and their listening skill level. Musicians will find this course easier than others. It requires one to easily distinguish sounds that are very similar and transcribe them.

I really enjoyed this class. The material is straight forward yet interesting, and Saunders is very fair. I wish there were more oral assignments in this class (after all, it's phonetics), but that's pretty much my only complaint. It's easy, fun, and interesting; I recommend taking this class.

I really like Saunders as a professor, and she is very helpful during office hours. The exams were challenging, but she tell the general idea of what will be on the exam beforehand. Homework was emailed a night or two before, which made it a little hard to plan ahead, but it wasn't that hard and counted for credit. Participate and you'll be fine.

This class puts heavy focus on learning through repetition. For me, this made it absurdly easy (however this is because I already knew about phonetics and all the symbols), but also extremely boring. If you have some knowledge of phonetics you only have to read to know the exceptions to certain phonetic rules for test questions. Regardless the reading is extremely light, and homework assignments took me about ten minutes per class.

Saunders is an effective teacher as far as fixing English-speakers' pronunciation problems, which I think is practical, but she does tend to pick on people who struggle to pronounce things correctly. IMO that is how you break bad habits, but I could understand it being discouraging for most students since most will not know phonetics too well before taking the class. I found it useful and extremely easy -- probably the easiest I've taken at UVA -- but generally a waste of time, particularly because attendance was mandatory.

This class basically consists of being mocked by the professor and watching other classmates go to the board to do exercises. Unless you"re planning on pursuing a linguistics degree I would not recommend it.

Course work is a little tedious, but you will finish the class with a great accent and knowledge of French phonetics.

Pros: There is minimal work required, and the grading/exams are fair--if you actually take this class seriously.

Cons: It’s pretty difficult to take this class seriously.

If you enjoy being humiliated for 75 minutes, twice a week, this class is for you. Class was often redundant and mainly consisted of listening to strange recordings or watching your peers go up to the board to complete exercises. While my awareness of French sounds has exponentially increased, there is no discernable improvement in my pronunciation. FREN 3030 is largely theory based; tests were all written, and you don’t really get to practice your oral skills.

If you’re into linguistics, you may enjoy this class. As far as improving your pronunciation goes, there are far more effective and worthwhile ways (that don’t come at the expense of your dignity) to do so.

I felt like I needed to be exorcised after taking this class.

A must take for anyone who wants to improve his French pronunciation. Class is not hard, but practice is necessary to achieve the best pronunciation.

This class has done more to improve my french than any other class. Although we spent almost all of our class time learning how to make strange French sounds, carefully analyzing each sound actually improved my listening comprehension the most. Mme Saunders is awesome!

Mme Saunders is very thorough and precise, as well as extremely fair and flexible. She tends to grade holistically on exams. I loved this class, but it is taught from a strongly linguistic standpoint and will not improve or give you opportunity to practice your French; it will only improve your pronunciation.

Mme. Saunders knows her stuff. She's very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Make sure to study your phonetic rules for tests but other than that no real work was necessary.

She is definitely knowledgeable, however, I think only a true linguist could ever enjoy her class. Also, she sends out homework the day before and in our semester she had us do an impromptu mini-research project thing with very short notice.

This class is designed to correct your bad pronunciation habits through constant oral repetition of a native French speaker model. Tapes are used extensively for this purpose, and Mme. Saunders supplements by explaining phonological theories. A lot of the class is memorizing phonemic symbols and rules, as well as doing transcriptions. In the end, it will make you more aware of French sounds and your own pronunciation. Do not expect to be able to converse better--this is not a conversation class.

This class will increase your pronunciation tenfold . . however Mme Saunder can be a bit overbearing at times. If your accent isn't on par with the class, be prepared to be singled out frequently. Tests aren't too bad, most everyone gets an A or a B overall

Tends to pick favorites, makes fun of your pronunciation in front of the class. Very nit-picky. However, she knows the subject exceedingly well.

This course is pretty easy, but is only enjoyable if you're really interested in the French language. It requires a lot of memorization, but other than that, the workload is minimal. In addition, Mme Saunders is always willing to help if you need a little extra practice.