Class...

Class. Studying abroad gives you a many options of how to take your classes. In my case, I chose a hybrid program, half of my classes were at the CEA Global Campus with other American students in the program and the others were taken at the Universite de Paris - Sorbonne IV.

First the classes with CEA were taught in English by foreign professors. I chose to take an International Business course and a Globalization & World Politics course. These courses were very different than classes I have ever taken. Then were more focus on experience and learning through seeing what's in Paris, and with that in mind most of my classes were field trips. I had the chance to not just read and see a video about the European Commission and UNESCO, but I actually got to have a tour of the facilities, meet people who work there, and even get to sit in on an conference. Classes only meet once or twice a week for about two hours and we had a midterm, a final, and a project. My professors at CEA tried to grade on more of an American scale too.

Onto the French system. The French are known to be very harsh and strict when it comes to school and grading, and that I can say is true. I went to La Sorbonne IV, which is the international section of the college, so, my classes there were with students from literally all around the globe, which was really neat because I was able to make friends from all over the country and still talk to some of them today. I took French Grammar and Phonetics, taught in French and only French. Written placement examinations were given for grammar and an oral examination was given for phonetics.Two hours of grammar everyday and an additional hour of phonetics everyday every other week. English or any other language was not to be spoken once one entered the class room. The teaching style was quite different and very straightforward. My teacher would call out people's mistakes on the spot in front of the whole class and you would have to fix it then and there. Exercises were done aloud and my teacher would pose challenges on everyone and push you till you had to check the book or notes for what to say. It's hard to explain how exactly they taught grammar, but I loved it and learned a great deal from my grammar professor. I had never taken Phonetics before and when Phonetique classes started I was kind of shocked of how it was run. 30 minutes in the classroom working on a specific sound, then 30 minutes in Lab, recording and listening. Phonetics was the most helpful class for me and I have noticed a great deal of improvement in myself with help from it. Final exams were very different too. We had to go to a huge building, Maison Des Examens, and were not necessarily with our classmates but just others who were in our level. You had to check-in, and someone told you a room number and chair number quickly in French. The final exam was pretty much what our whole grade was based off of and grades were give on a number scale up to 20, obtaining a 20 is nearly impossible so striving for a 15 or above was the goal.

Maison Des Examens. A bit overwhelming.

Well guys, that's all for now,

A Bientot!

Kelsey