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Immersion in France-some questions | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Immersion, Schools & Certificates |  | |
| Adrean TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member France adrean83.wordpress.c Joined 6170 days ago 348 posts - 411 votes  Speaks: FrenchC1 | Message 1 of 9 04 March 2010 at 12:34pm | IP Logged |
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I'm going in just a few months to spend at least a month in France studying the language in an intensive school.
My Background: I have been studying for over three years and I have recently got my B1 certificate. I have been 4 times to France over the past few years. Once to the south, once following the tour de France in the Alpes and onto Paris, and twice to Paris itself. I understand that Paris presents many many options to the traveller learner but I think I should branch out a little and spend my time elsewhere while I'm there. A responsible person would have choosen his school, city, homestay - not homestay, booked airtickets etc.etc. by now. However I have not done so. I wanted to ask here for some advice. Perhaps you can recommend a good school, a nice region of France. That sort of thing. I would like to know above all whether to choose to live with a homestay family. I'm really undecided about this. It is urgent that I decide these things before the weekend because of an another engagement. The last thing I would like to happen is to use the internet as a forms of finding the school. I realise the internet shows a very small proportion and often the larger and more impersonal schools. Unless you know where to look. So can someone point me in the write direction.... 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| microsnout TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member Canada microsnout.wordpress Joined 5473 days ago 277 posts - 553 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 2 of 9 04 March 2010 at 6:40pm | IP Logged |
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Hi Adrean
I can tell you about my experience there. The Alliance Française de Toronto recommended this school in Montpellier even over other Alliance locations in the region. L’Institut Européen de Français A teacher I met at the AF who was from Nice also recommended Montpellier to me over Nice or Paris because it is much less tourist infested and has far fewer English speakers. In the end, I did enjoy speaking French much better in Montpellier than the three weekends I spent in Paris. In Paris I just let people speak English to me knowing I'd be back in Montpellier on Monday where I had developed favourite restaurants and cafés where no english was spoken. Montpellier was also just 3 hours from Paris by TGV - which I enjoyed riding. The school was small - at least compared to the mothership AF in Paris - but very friendly. It is located in a old building (with all ceilings at least 14 feet high!) in the old part of the city which is restricted to pedestrian and motorcycle traffic most of the day. It is a 10 minute walk to 'La place de la Comedie' center of the old city. The two teachers I had during the month were both very good - I was sorry at first that the initial teacher was moving to a different class but the second turned out to be just as good. They have a wine and cheese party every Monday afternoon and you can chat with the other teachers, students and the director of the school. The size of the class varied a bit from week to week between 4 and about 8. My homestay location was about 15 minutes walk from the school. I stayed with a older single woman and her dog. One week of the 4, there was German Ph.D student there who was working at the university. Montpellier is known as a University town. The food the hostess prepared was great and she often invited several friends over for dinner which made great conversation opportunities - better even than at the school. I think however that if I stayed longer than a month I would get a furnished apartment on my own. I did feel the need to take the weekend trip to Paris to get a break from the homestay environment. You can always start with a homestay and switch if you don't like the arrangements. Most of the advanced students I met at the school had there own apartments in the old city where all the action is.. Thats all for now, let me know if you want more details on anything. Microsnout EDIT: Here's a link to the school on google street view: (the green door) School View The school is also marked on the google map. As a north american I found it amazing that that green door is actually intended for cars to drive through and there is a little courtyard for parking them inside the door. The school is located on the second floor above the shops. Edited by microsnout on 04 March 2010 at 8:14pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Adrean TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member France adrean83.wordpress.c Joined 6170 days ago 348 posts - 411 votes Speaks: FrenchC1 | Message 3 of 9 09 March 2010 at 3:28pm | IP Logged |
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Thanks Microsnout for that response. That was exactly the response that I was looking for. I looked through the website of the school and I may keep it as an option. Thanks for giving me a lot of clarity in regards to a homestay. I had it somehow in my head that I would end up staying with a family. I didn't think that perhaps a homestay may just be a woman and her dog. I also found this article and saw the green door
I have thought a lot about whether to choose a homestay based on your experience and the experience my own brother had and I've decided to go ahead with it. Actually my mind is completely made up as it will add and improve the immersion experience for me. If it goes well I may have a good relationship with the host family and I may be invited along for outings or social gatherings. This is one aspect of the trip that I'm particulary anxious and excited about. After my month stay and if I choose to stay I can choose the kind of accomodation I would like. I haven't choosen my school yet. I've been searching the web endlessly and fruitlessly. I realise before you begin any search it is important to have a checklist. So hopefully below check list will aid me in my search. It's not finished and I hope to add more points to narrow my choice down. -Whether or not home stay option is available -It is possible to do the DELF B2 exam -Does the school offer excursions -Group activites -Areas of interest around -The possibility of finding future employment in the town/city I choose -Possibility to invite someone to visit for a few days -Cost Cost Cost -Location to neighbouring cities 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Arekkusu Hexaglot Senior Member Canada bit.ly/qc_10_lec Joined 5383 days ago 3971 posts - 7747 votes Speaks: English, French*, GermanC1, Spanish, Japanese, Esperanto Studies: Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Estonian | Message 4 of 9 09 March 2010 at 3:57pm | IP Logged |
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Sorry that I don't have a school to recommend. However, I don't think that matters too much -- this is NOT what is going to determine how much you learn.
1) You must stay with a host family. I can't imagine why you'd decide otherwise. 2) Most of your learning will probably not come from class, but from what you do outside of class. Spend time with natives; force yourself to. Make plans to meet new people and tell everybody your goal is to learn all about French life and the French language and that you'd like their help. (They will be less enclined to switch to English) 3) Leave English (and your pride) at home. Edited by Arekkusu on 09 March 2010 at 4:01pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Adrean TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member France adrean83.wordpress.c Joined 6170 days ago 348 posts - 411 votes Speaks: FrenchC1 | Message 5 of 9 09 March 2010 at 10:46pm | IP Logged |
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Thankyou Arekkusu. That's very simple and sound advice. I agree with you that the quality of the school will not have the biggest bearing on my progress, but what I do outside the school.
1) I have decided that I am 100% going with a host family. It's a host family or nothing at all. 2) I agree with you completely on this point. It's really a matter of getting out there and being myself. I can't be even just a little timid if I really want to enjoy myself. I've thought about some plans while I'm there. Perhaps putting a notice in a public place to have a language exchange over a beer. I've seen many notices like that here in Dublin so why shouldn't I do it. I'm also reluctant but compelled to do an activity like swing or salsa dancing, I do a little here but thats with much coaxing and with friends there. 3) Your absoulutely right, I must forget English whilst I'm there...as for my pride I've been trying to leave it at home my whole life. Many thanks for all the advice Edited by Adrean on 09 March 2010 at 10:47pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Jadoo1989 Diglot Groupie Joined 5635 days ago 51 posts - 60 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Irish, French | Message 6 of 9 17 March 2010 at 11:07pm | IP Logged |
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microsnout, I'm wondering if you kept a blog or some summaries of your time during that immersion experience.
The Montpellier school seems like something that would interest me. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Adrean TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member France adrean83.wordpress.c Joined 6170 days ago 348 posts - 411 votes Speaks: FrenchC1 | Message 7 of 9 25 March 2010 at 4:33pm | IP Logged |
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Thanks all for your tips and guidance. I've choosen a school and reserved my spot today. I had the choice in the end of choosing Tours in the Loire Valley, Montpellier in the south, or Annecy in the Alpes. I chose to go with Annecy in the Alpes for a number of reasons. Getting back to nature was a fundamental part of my choice, having lakes and mountains around and living in a town as a opposed to a big city will be a great change to how I normally live. Also Annecy is a town that attracts a lot of tourists and so there may be oppurtunities to find employment. I feel that I'm going to a school but also taking the path less troden, I look foward to it with much more anxiety but also much more excitement then if I had chosen Paris.
The school fufills most of the critera that I had set. -Whether or not home stay option is available:Yes I will be staying in a homestay with breakfast and dinner provided -It is possible to do the DELF B2 exam: Sadly no. The test is offered late June in Lyon. -Does the school offer excursions: Yes hiking, trips to other cities, various activies -Group activites: Yes it looks like they have some parties, movie nights etc etc.. -Areas of interest around: Mont Blanc only 1 hour away, Lake Geneva, close to Switzerland and Italy -The possibility of finding future employment in the town/city I choose: Good chance because of high tourist season and the city is only 50000 people in itself -Possibility to invite someone to visit for a few days: I think that with most homestays this won't really be an option unfortunately -Cost Cost Cost: This was by far the standout cheapest school for homestay and for accomodation -Location to neighbouring cities Geneva, Lyon, Grenoble, Chambery For those of you looking to study in France here is the link you'll need to go through many schools. It lists 121 schools but has many more because some companys run several schools in different locations, perfect example Alliance Francaise. Oh yeh and here is the link for the school I chose. Edited by Adrean on 25 March 2010 at 4:36pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| microsnout TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member Canada microsnout.wordpress Joined 5473 days ago 277 posts - 553 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 8 of 9 25 March 2010 at 7:18pm | IP Logged |
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Thats great Adrean, when will you be starting? Will you do the intensive (20h/wk) or super-intensive (30hr/wk)? I
would be inclined to go with 20 to allow more time in the afternoons for exploration and interaction with native speakers - plus I find more than 4 hours a day in a class a bit much. I will try to update my log early next week. I have been poking my nose into other threads lately rather than updating it. Updates may be a bit sparse over the summer however while my boat is in the water. Have a great time in France, Microsnout (Barry) Edited by microsnout on 25 March 2010 at 7:18pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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