I'm talking a mélange of classes here in Montpellier. I take two UNC courses for full-graded credit, one course offered through UNC for transfer credit, and two courses at Université Paul Valery- Montpellier III (also known as the Fac de Lettres or the Fac).
My three classes offered through UNC take place in the centre ville, at a language school called Accent Français. Accent Français students and our program have some interaction because some of us are staying in the same host families, but our coursework is incredibly different. Most of the Accent Français students are beginners in French, but we're taking more advanced coursework. My two graded UNC classes are Oral and Written Expressions and Methodologie. Oral and Written Expressions is taught by our program director, Carol, who is absolutely incredible. Methodologie is taught by the lovely Madame Joubin, who wears really awesome clothes.
Both courses are difficult and demanding. Oral and Written Expressions is an intensive grammar and composition class designed to help us to speak and write more like a French person and less like an American who speaks in French. I've made a lot of improvement in my writing, and I think it is due to this class. Methodologie is a bit like my 5th grade English class, where I learned how to write a 5 paragraph essay and how to summarize a piece of text. Except this time, I'm almost 20 years old now and the rules are completely different. It gets frustrating at times, but I've already seen how learning to write a proper french dissertation, resume, synthese, and analyse lineaire will be immensely helpful as I work through my coursework at the Fac. The French don't take any prisoners, even if you're foreign. You have to play by their rules, which I appreciate because it means that I'm more or less equal with everyone else.
Now, about my Fac classes. One is offered through the Relations Internationales Department, which is the department on campus that handles international students. The course is an economics class about France, the EU, and the World. It's really great, and the Professor is a treasure-trove of information about France and the EU. Only foreign students are allowed to take this class, and so, the course is designed to cater to our interests and needs more so than a regular Fac class. The prof speaks a little more slowly and works based on a syllabus and lesson plan that is easy to follow. He assumes that we're not idiots, but that we just don't know the vocab and require a little more background on the subject than a French person would in a class about their own country. It's a great opportunity to learn about France in France.
The other class at UPV is direct-enroll: it's with French kids. While one might think that this class would be the highlight of my stay in Montpellier, it's actually not. I enjoy it, but it's the source of a lot of frustration. Why? In essence, things are extremely disorganized and difficult for a foreigner to navigate. I went to a bunch of classes at the beginning of the semester in order to try things out. As a foreign student, I can take any class in the University, but only if I know where/when they're being taught. I had to go from building to building, find the bulletin created by the registrar, and try to understand the courses listed. There are TD's (kind of like recitations) and CM's (like lectures) and some courses have a combination of both or neither. It's not always clear. I tried out a course about the history of the Languedoc-Roussillon region (in which Montpellier is located) and a class about France's Great Feats in Transportation, Communication, and Technology. But after determining that the professors would be too difficult for me to understand, I settled on Droit International (International Law), which frankly is more suited for a Political Science major like me.
The atmosphere of a French university is very different. First, they're ugly because the tuition is almost nothing (around 300 euros a year!!!!). All that's left to pay for after that is food and housing, and many students live at home or in cheap university housing. That is it. Many students talk during class (not just quietly, either). Many show up late, defile the desks, and are pretty apathetic. There isn't the same expectation, either, that the professors should be engaging or dynamic. That's certainly not a slam against the system, but it's just a difference I've noticed. The complicated nature of the French university registration system makes me miss ConnectCarolina. No, I am not kidding. (Context: ConnectCarolina is the convoluted registration system at UNC that most students immensely dislike). Here, registration is a farce.
I certainly don't want to give the impression that I hate university life here, it's only to comment that the whole university concept is incredibly different from lovely UNC. I appreciate UNC so much more. I also didn't have any concept of what the Fac should be like, so I haven't been disappointed. The main thing I miss is the community feel. Students go to class and leave campus. It's not a place where you hang out on the quad, sit in the hallways, or study in the library. The library is a death trap! I'm acutely aware of how the tuition/fees I pay, as well as the efforts by the students and administration at UNC help to create the special Carolina feeling. Here, students get a strong, inexpensive education, just without frills.
