Boris Yelin is a World Languages Center professor at Northeastern University rated 3.60/5 on Rate My Professors by 15 students, with 3.4/5 RMP difficulty and 67% who would take them again (RateMyProfessors + Reddit, updated October 2026).
Boris Yelin professor reviews and ratings: 3.60/5 from 15 RMP ratings at Northeastern (67% would take again). RateMyProfessor + Reddit.
Prof. Yelin is very interesting. You can tell he is very passionate about languages and teaching, but his grading is often convoluted. He can also be passive-aggressive at times, correcting things that aren't mistakes. If you don't need to take this class, don't take it. If you need to, be prepared. Attendance matters, and it will be a small class.PORT1101 2026-04-26 18:38:09 +0000 UTC
Prof. Yelin is very passionate about the Port language. The class had different methods of conveying information, and you will learn a lot about Brazil (and Portugal) and parts of its culture. The assignments were interesting, I enjoyed the films and short videos. I would focus on grammar review in class- it gets confusing with all the tenses.PORT3101 2025-04-27 23:51:58 +0000 UTC
As long as you participate and do all your work on time, you will be totally fine (I did not, which is why I got a B+). He encourages coming to office hours and talking in class, and if you do so, there is a high chance that he will be more forgiving with the rest of your grades. Homework can take a while.SPNS1102 2022-01-25 21:23:42 +0000 UTC
He made basic Spanish impossible.SPSN1101 2020-11-12 01:00:46 +0000 UTC
Literally loved Professor Yelin. Very good teacher and he makes class entertaining. Participation is VERY important. If you want a class that will teach you spanish skills take this one.SPNS1101 2019-06-21 22:50:21 +0000 UTC
professor gives lots of homework, however you do learn a lot. grading can be sometimes unclearPORT1101 2025-12-29 17:58:18 +0000 UTC
Profe is great. I've taken two classes with him and he obviously is very passionate about the material he teaches. He genuinely wants his students to succeed and so he will hold any conversation in Spanish so his students can practice. It is extremely helpful.SPNS1102 2019-11-21 20:39:01 +0000 UTC
He is very passive aggressive in class and in grading. Definitely do not take if you have no prior knowledge of Portuguese or Spanish. I would avoid at all costs if possible. Multiple homework assignments before each class and quizzes/projects almost every week.PORT1101 2025-12-23 23:59:25 +0000 UTC
Profe Yelin is awesome! He structures the class as mostly group work and discussion- which really forces you to be engaged and learn. He's very accessible outside of class and responds to emails super quick. You just need to come in being ready to put in work. Overall he really cares about his students.SPNS1102 2018-11-14 16:34:41 +0000 UTC
I would avoid taking this professor at all costs. I found him to be extremely passive-aggressive and not flexible. Grading felt nitpicky. Points were taken off for everything, including things that had nothing to do with language, such as margins or tiny technicalities. The class was unnecessarily stressful and not a supportive learning experience.PORT1101 2025-12-17 03:09:10 +0000 UTC
Profe is a good teacher and I learned a lot this semester. There is A LOT of homework, but it doesn't take super long and allows for more speaking time in class. Take this course if you want to learn Portuguese, not if you want a fun, chill elective. It is definitely helpful to have a basic understanding of Spanish before entering this class.PORT1101 2025-12-08 14:15:32 +0000 UTC
He was fine. He is not even close to a native speaker. He gives A LOT of homework and grades pretty strict especially on unit tests. Everything new we learned was online and for homework so class didn't add much. He mixes different dialects of Portuguese, which is confusing because they have partially different words and conjugations/grammar.PORT1101 2025-04-14 22:41:58 +0000 UTC
Profe Yelin was the best! I had him for PORT 1101 and he was super easygoing and did his best to answer everyones questions and accomodate everyone. A lot of times language teachers can be really intimidating but he was great.PORT1101 2025-01-10 13:39:35 +0000 UTC
Profe Boris is such a great professor. He really cares about students learning a new language and therefore requires a decent amount of work. Work is very manageable if you are organized and do not let assignments stack up. Also, be ready to participate in class and do not miss classes because it will affect your grade badly.PORT1101 2022-12-19 02:04:20 +0000 UTC
Profe made class fun with his jokes here and there. Learning Portuguese was made simple with all the help we had by working with groups and having a small class size. You will get called on randomly, and make sure you are prepared with homework and the textbook.PORT1101 2022-01-14 21:13:40 +0000 UTC
Boris Yelin is rated 3.60/5 on Rate My Professors from 15 ratings. 67% of RMP reviewers said they would take them again.
Boris Yelin's classes have a difficulty rating of 3.4/5 on Rate My Professors.
Boris Yelin has taught PORT2101, SPNS3102, SPNS3800, PORT1101, PORT1102, PORT2102, PORT3101, PORT1501 and 4 more at Northeastern.
Data updated October 2026.