Conrad Heath

13201 Clayton Rd.

St. Louis, MO 63131
conrad.heath@gmail.com

12 October 2018

Noëlle Brown
Professor, Principia College
1 Maybeck Place
Elsah, IL 62028

It is my pleasure to say a few words about Noëlle Brown, my former French Professor at
Principia College. During my final year of college I took a French literature class as well as a
French culture class with Professor Brown to complete a French Certificate in Principia
College’s foreign language department. Both classes were taught in French and involved
extensive reading and writing in French. Professor Brown meticulously organized the courses
so as to be adaptable to student needs while giving structure throughout the semester. She
gave timely and constructive feedback to students on all tests, dictations, and other written
assignments. Not only did Professor Brown consistently give this feedback, but the information
was given in extensive detail so as to help students improve on their work throughout the
semester. This contributed to what I would call the hallmark of Professor Brown’s teaching
—revision. Almost all written assignments involved a revision process, contributing to Professor
Brown’s highly individualized teaching style which challenged each student based on his or her
personal abilities and needs. I was grateful for this approach in both of my classes with
Professor Brown, as it allowed me to learn at my own pace and pinpoint the areas in which I
most needed improvement. Beyond her academic teaching ability, Professor Brown is easy to
relate to, understanding of student needs, and willing to sacrifice her time for students. She is
an energetic instructor and made each lesson fun and engaging while accomplishing the
intended course outcomes. It is perhaps worthy of note to her future students that Professor
Brown always replied in a timely manner to email communication. Getting a response to a
question or clarifying an assignment was never a challenge.

While taking classes from Professor Brown I took an oral French test from the American Council
on the Teaching of Foreign Languages in which I placed “Advanced Low.” This higher than
anticipated rating is indicative of Professor Brown’s teaching ability in a small classroom setting.

As a highly approachable, organized, energetic, and creative professor, I would highly

recommend Noëlle Brown for any French language teaching position.
Sincerely,

Conrad Heath