department
spanish + portu

Professor Grieve is a super kind woman. However, much like the reviewer below me, I also do not believe that she deserves a golden or even silver nugget. The reading for this class is unbelievably long (for one class, we had to read a 400 page book, an article on said book, and watch a 130 minute movie). I am the type of person who does not usually care about reading length and will do it all, but this was simply too much. That being said, you don't absolutely need to do it all. Doing half of the reading and reading summaries is more than enough to get by. Classes are painful, and that is the brutal truth. She rarely has plans or structure for the seminar and relies heavily on students asking questions or suggesting discussions. It makes two hours feel like four. The material is interesting, but it is too much and professor grieve does not seem to know how to use it. Much of it is left undiscussed even though we often have extra time left at the end of the class. Overall, I do not recommend this global core class. I'm sure there are much more productive ways to use the requirement in a more enjoyable manner. I tried to drop the class but you have to reach out to the professor directly to drop it and I was too scared of offending her.

TAKE BACK MY POSITIVE REVIEW -- DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. You will be so unprepared for Intermediate I!!!! Romero will not teach you the appropriate grammar.

easily the best professor I've ever had at Columbia! incredibly understanding, engaging and just a kind human being. PLEASE take a class with him if you can, especially Intro to Italian Literature (I or II). Steve is INCREDIBLE!

I really love her teaching! TBH her class pace in the beginning is a bit too fast. It's a little overwhelming, but as long as you did what she asked for, you are fine. It's an A for sure. All her assignments are clear and straightforward. There's no way that you are confused or don't know how to do the assignments. She's also very very very nice. She cares about students, understanding students' internet issues, family issues, or whatever proper reason not attending the session. Just email her and explain. She's super chill.

Francisco was a gem! Take his class! He's just a lovely, lovely human being and a great Spanish teacher. I took Intermediate II with him on Zoom and he did everything he possibly could to make the class engaging despite the format. He had constant activities, interesting content, and a super high energy level. Sometimes, he would place a toy dinosaur in front of his laptop and then hide, so that all you saw was the dinosaur entering your breakout room. In terms of difficulty, I was quite proficient in Spanish (like a point or two shy of testing out) and I didn't really have to try that hard, so my review may be biased by that. If you have a shaky Spanish foundation, you'll have to work hard. But Francisco genuinely cares about you learning Spanish, not just that you get everything right, so he's not trying to trick you or anything like that. The only part of the class that you'd actually have to study for are the quizzes. He always says that the quizzes are "solamente para practicar" tho, so idk if they actually count towards your grade?? Just show that you're trying hard, show that you care, and I'm sure you'll be totally fine grade-wise. You'll want to try hard, too, given how lovely Francisco is! Francisco co-wrote the textbook for the class, which is super cool and convenient. He knows how to work the software really well and picks out the best parts. Everything in the course comes from the textbook too which keeps the structure organized. The textbook is also SUPER inclusive and progressive!! One of our projects was to watch a movie in Spanish about a Chilean transgender woman and the systemic oppression she faces while navigating the death of her partner. The book also acknowledges the role of Spanish imperialism in the hispanic world and celebrates indigenous cultures. I learned so much!! Try to get into Francisco's section. It'll be a great semester.