Franciose Navarro

I took this class to learn French. Which I did, but not without much anguish. I succeeded because of my classmates, not the instructor.

Madame Navarro is brutal to anyone who does not excel and respond instantly to her questions. She has no patience for people goofing off in her class, which is great, but she also has no patience for those of us trying to learn, who are making the effort and may have to think about an answer a second or two before speaking it. (This was an intro level course!)

Her teaching style is not a supportive and nurturing one, so if that is what you are looking for, I would suggest you find a different instructor. If you can take verbal and psychological abuse, give her a try. (I did survive!)

To her credit, she has created some great additional learning materials and it appears that at one time she tried to make an interesting class, but I think her passion for new learners was lost years ago.

I 'might' take a more senior level course from her, because maybe she would have more respect for students who have gone that far. She is bright, and knows her stuff. She just needs to learn a little patience and how to respect other people.

Do your homework and pay attention in class and you will probably enjoy Mme. Navarro's desire to share her knowledge of the French language and culture. Frequently very charming, Mme. Navarro can express her frustration with non-performing students in unsavory ways - on the spot for all to hear.

At times, she caters the class to the slowest swimmers, which can be frustrating for those anxious to learn.

As it should be in any foreign language course, you will be expected to answer questions, pronounce new words and read aloud in the class.

She gave an easy A for those who did their homework in this first level french course.

Mme Navarro is an EXCELLENT teacher! She gives each student the opportunity to exercise what they are learning on a regular basis by having them read aloud, answer questions and converse amongst one another solely in French. You will get more out of her class than just learning the language. Mme Navarro is very passionate about her native France which she misses so and will share with you that passion.

Most people are not accustomed to the European mannerism so she may come across as being unpleasant and at times even seem rather harsh, but along with EVERY single class a student will ever partake in...a semester is not ample time to get used to the ins and outs of an instructor's personality. In other words...take it with a grain of salt, be utterly grateful she's not French-Canadian and move on. I personally never experienced her unpleasantness or ever saw a "glare" towards myself or anyone else.

She likes to keep everyone on their toes so you need to come to class prepared for the lessons. Although students would at times stumble their way through phrases even as simple as saying the date in French, she would never purposely put you "on the spot" or berate you as some have claimed. Instead, she would be there to help you along.

Finally, in regards to the oral aspects of the class...she makes everyone feel so at ease with each other that no one ever feels any pressure being called upon to read or answer a question phrased in their newfound language.

Mme Navarro has one major, major drawback. She thinks that the best way to get people to pay attention and put in the right amount of effort is to essentially berate students as if they were bad junior high school kids. And this even includes the adults who take the class for no other reason than to learn French (as opposed to meeting some sort of academic requirement).

The effect is a painful experience, even if you are not the subject of her glare.

Also, classroom techniques range from the effective (reading aloud, answering questions, pronouncing) to the mundane (reviewing the text exercises verbatim).

But, Mme Navarro can also come across sweet, interested in students, and amusingly daffy. So I guess it depends upon how well you can skirt the unpleasant moments, get on her good side, and focus on the good parts of the mixed bag.