Herve Curat - University of British Columbia

Professor: Herve Curat

Department: TBD

College: University of British Columbia

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: FREN353
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Herve is very intelligent and always was able to answer any questions we had in a way that we could understand. The course content can be pretty difficult and he may seem intimidating, but he really encourages you to participate and make mistakes. Super helpful during office hours and he doesn't like marking so he makes the tests pretty easy.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: FREN353
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Curat is a good prof - the course content is difficult, but he explains it well, so make sure to come to class and pay attention. Very helpful if you attend his office hours. There are 2 assignments which can help boost your grade if you do poorly on midterms/final, so make sure to put in effort for those. You can succeed in 353 if you work hard!

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: FREN353
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I really enjoyed him as a prof, you definitely have to work hard, but he is super helpful and is always willing to answer questions. Would highly recommend showing up as much as possible and even participating.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: FREN353
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Curat is a very knowledgable professor and is happy to clarify/answer questions. The way the course is set up forces you to do al lot of on your own learning, but he is always happy to help if you ask. He likes to make marking for himself as easy as possible, so his tests aren't set up to be too complex but it makes it very easy to do poorly.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: FREN222
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

His lectures are him just standing up there, talking. He never writes on the board, he never has any slides. The notes he gives are unclear and difficult to understand, pretty much no help at all. He obviously has good knowledge in French but he does not know how to pass it on to his students. His explanations are very vague and complicated.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: FREN222
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

He is really knowledgeable in French grammar but is really bad at teaching it to the class. What saved me is going to his office hours. In office hours he really makes sure you understand but I had to attend at least an extra 30min a week at his office hours. Big con is that he doesn't have e-mail. Your only way to contact him is by phone....

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: FREN342
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

So boring and dry.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: FREN353
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I also took FREN 370 with Prof. Curat. Great prof, difficult but fair, really knowledgable and is happy to explain when you ask about certain material that you don't really understand. Has a dry sense of humour, but doesn't make the class boring. Just remember to go to class and follow the instructions explicitly on his assignments and tests!!

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: FREN370
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Amazing prof. Really cares about students and will make sure you understand the material - regardless of your level of French. Very organized, kind and encouraging. If you pay attn and put in the work, it's easy to get a good mark in 370. For 223, he's the grammarian to have!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: FRENC370
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He believes that he teaches well, but he does not, he has super knowledge but he can not transfer his knowledge to students

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: FREN370
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Curat has a dry sense of humor and keeps the class entertaining, even when the material is quite dull. He is a hard marker, but if you follow the criteria a B+ is easily possible. Stick to the examples and do exactly as he asks

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: FREN222
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I didn't learn one thing in this class. The material is confusing and he goes way too fast. He's an incredibly hard marker and puts you on the spot and doesn't give up even when he sees you don't know the answer. Not at all helpful and unapproachable.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: FRENSTRU
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

When I think of the worst time of my life (bar none), I think of my UBC grad yrs. Curat was the exception: professional, sharp and pertinent, tough but fair. He even tried to fight the nauseating corruption there when others just rolled over, reacted in slo-mo, lapsed into denial or surreptitiously enjoyed it! He was the whole package. Thx

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: FREN222
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He's tough but he really knows what he's talking about.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: FREN222
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He is an okay prof. He is very knowledgeable about the material, and his tests are pretty straight forward. He seems a little unenthusiastic about the course and mainly teaches straight out of the very boring textbook. His little note package is useful, but its easy to get very bored in his class.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: FREN
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: N/A
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I had M. Curat for French Linguistics and Grammar and I learned so much. He really peaked my interest in both subjects and I have continued to do well in them thanks to the great foundation that he set. His tests are hard, but if you study the material and ask questions when you don't understand, you can handle it.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: FREN221
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: N/A
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

it was first kinda overwhelming and discouraging (he's very anal when marking compositions or tests) but it ended up pretty ok. You learn to conform to his expectations and consequently your grammar actually gets better.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: FREN472
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: N/A
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I liked the course material a lot. It was very stimulating.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: SEVERAL
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: N/A
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Of all the courses offered in UBC's (very sorry) French depar't, his are the only ones worth taking. Curat's sharp, rigourous, critical (yes...) but you'll learn a f... of a lot. Think critically, do your readings and read a little beyond. He knows his stuff and if you're not just going through the motions, he'll be fair

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: FREN223
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: N/A
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Don't let the easiness of the midterm fool you. The class is pretty tough. He knows what he's talking about but this class will drop your average if you don't work extremely hard. Even if you do the exercises, make sure you talk to him and ask questions