Rana Roosevelt, Contributing Illustrator

In a recent push by the French department to make its offerings less daunting to students, the department has attempted to reduce the workload demands of some of its courses.

This semester, many French courses designated as L1 through L4 have eliminated final exams and adopted a weekly “4 plus 1 model,” which consists of four days of in-person instruction and one asynchronous class on Friday.

“We want to attract students to the study of French as they would to any other language,” Constance Sherak, the department’s language program director, wrote in a statement to the News. “Rigor doesn’t mean an unsurmountable degree of work and shouldn’t discourage students from pursuing a language they want to study for their own personal reasons.”

Other changes to the L1 through L4 courses include a focus on oral assessments and in-classroom collaboration between classmates, reduced homework load and a larger emphasis on Francophone cultures as opposed to just French culture — a move broadening the global relevance of the curriculum to include scholarship from cultures such as the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Maghreb.

Shifts in the curriculum and workload of these courses are the results of student feedback and departmental reviews, French Department Chair Maurice Samuels wrote to the News. The department aimed to align its courses with those of other language departments at Yale and French courses at other institutions, Samuels added.

“There was definitely a sense among many students that while French language courses were rigorous and effective, they were too difficult in terms of workload and grading,” Samuels wrote.

To address the concerns of students and the department, Samuels said he appointed a commission last spring to review feedback and lay out recommendations for changes to the courses. According to French Director of Undergraduate Studies Thomas Connolly, the commission conducted an official online questionnaire for students taking department classes and drew further from course evaluation forms.

The commission included members of the faculty, the language program director, the DUS and a member from within and outside the department.

“We took these complaints very seriously and compared our classes to other language classes at the university as well as to French language classes at other schools,” Samuels wrote. “We decided to make some key changes that we hope will alleviate the perception that French is a more difficult language to study at Yale.”

Sherak added that she is “currently overseeing a series of working groups to revise syllabi and implement changes.”

Student responses to the changes have been mixed. Some have expressed appreciation for the department’s former workload expectations.

Luke Parish ’28 expressed concern that “you lose a lot in doing an asynchronous day.” Parish said that he averaged 10 to 15 hours of work per week in his intensive L3/L4 course last semester.

While the student feedback received by the department highlighted concerns about the demanding workload, some students emphasized its importance for their learning. 

“I don’t think you’d be able to learn in general language without it being this rigorous,” Julia Niemiec ’28 said. “French is a difficult language. There’s a lot of grammar structures. There’s a lot of nuances.” 

Other students appreciated the additional free time that came with the lighter workload. 

“I have an assignment on the asynchronous day, but it normally takes a little bit less time, and it’s just nice to have a day off of having to go to class” Ella Benedetto ’29 said. 

Modernization efforts by the French department stretch beyond the L1-L4 sequence. In fall 2024, the department launched a BA/MA path, also known as the ‘simultaneous MA,’ which allows students to pursue a master’s degree in French at the same time as a bachelor’s degree in the same field. 

“I want Yale’s French language program to be serious and rigorous but I also think that studying language should be enjoyable,” Samuels wrote. “Students who want to study French because it’s a beautiful language or because they are fascinated by the literature and culture should not be scared away by onerous requirements and a difficult grading scale.” 

The French department is offering 14 courses this semester.