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Immersion Classes - Valuable? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Immersion, Schools & Certificates |  | |
| skchi Groupie United States Joined 5751 days ago 57 posts - 86 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 1 of 7 04 May 2010 at 9:52pm | IP Logged | ||
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I'm thinking about doing a French immersion program in Quebec this summer. The program that I'm looking into offers 1 week, 3 week, and 5 week sessions. 3 weeks is a bit too long for me, but I'm concerned that I won't make much progress in a 1 week program. Has anyone here done a 1 week immersion program?
Also, does anyone else think that a lot of immersion programs seem to be too much like a kids summer camp - sing-alongs, playing sports, doing skits on stage, etc.? Sometimes I wonder if I should just study as much as possible on my own, maybe find a language partner to talk to online, and then immerse myself in the language by renting an apartment in Quebec for a week or two. Just live my daily life in French and see how it works out. Edited by skchi on 04 May 2010 at 9:57pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| magictom123 Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5599 days ago 272 posts - 365 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, French | Message 2 of 7 04 May 2010 at 11:49pm | IP Logged | ||
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I have never been on an immersion course so I can't really say much about them other than
if you are like me and money is tight, I would quite happily forego the extra time it will take to learn something on my own than to pay through the nose to learn it quickly in what may or ay not be an artificial environment (as a side note, I've often wondered how these immersion schools back up often bold claims). Unless you desperately need to learn the laguage in a hurry, why not save some cash, find some language partners where you live or even online and then maybe even take a holiday to a french speaking area. As for your final suggestion, in case you don't know, there is a user of this site called benny who has a blog where he travels about the world learning different languages through every day life with the help of language tricks he has picked up along the way. The site is fluentin3months.com and it is very interesting. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| skchi Groupie United States Joined 5751 days ago 57 posts - 86 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 3 of 7 05 May 2010 at 4:27am | IP Logged | ||
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Hi Magictom123! No, I didn't know about benny or his blog. I'll check that out.
The specific program that I'm looking into isn't as expensive as most programs. It's about $550/ for 5 days/4 nights, and lodging and most meals are included. The lodging is in a college dorm, and I assume the meals are in a college cafeteria. I am concerned that it will be a very artificial environment, though. I imagine that the students would mostly talk to each other, and not really interact much with people outside the program. However, it's still 5 days straight of just speaking in and listening to French, which I think will force me to learn a lot quickly. I really like your suggestion to find a local language partner. I've thought about trying to find one online, but never even thought about trying to find one locally - lol. I'll have to look into that. By the way - the program that I'm looking into is offered by Universite Du Quebec A Trois-Rivieres Edited by skchi on 05 May 2010 at 8:52pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| magictom123 Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5599 days ago 272 posts - 365 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, French | Message 4 of 7 05 May 2010 at 9:22am | IP Logged | ||
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I have found the sharedtalk website to be excellent for finding language partners. I have gone from having
one or two people on skype to practise with to having at least ten in a matter of 2 weeks or so. If your not familar with the site, you can text chat or voice chat there but once people get to speak to you, more often than not they like to speak via skype (a free telephone style application available from skype.com). Secondly, there is a website called meetup.com where different groups arrange meetings (apparently in pubs and bars) to talk about their interests. In the case of languages, they of course practise the language they are all interested in - French in your case. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| grunts67 Diglot Senior Member CanadaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5308 days ago 215 posts - 252 votes Speaks: French*, English Studies: Spanish, Russian | Message 5 of 7 23 May 2010 at 10:45pm | IP Logged | ||
I am from Quebec (montreal) so I can pobably help you a little. The best deal for the buck are the programs given by univeristies. For exemple, you should check the one from Univerité de Montréal and Université du Québec à Montréal. But be warn, in Quebec you will hear a really different french (le quebécois) than from the books. You will need some time to adapt yourself. If you need more info, you can PM me. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Declan1991 Tetraglot Senior Member Ireland Joined 6445 days ago 233 posts - 359 votes Speaks: English*, German, Irish, French | Message 6 of 7 23 May 2010 at 11:38pm | IP Logged | ||
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I have done immersion courses in two languages. They always had classes in the morning and activities in the afternoon and evening, in short a summer camp, which isn't a problem for me, as those activities are nearly always keeping you busy (so you don't have time to be thinking in a language you shouldn't be, or getting tired or distracted) or making you practice the language. While I can say that I made enormous progress through them, they aren't essential, and may not suit you. They are also best if there are plenty of native speakers that you can talk to, to practice with. Also, they are expensive, and to be honest, I think a week could be a bit short, you might be better off with a local language partner, or even better again, take grunts67 up on his offer of more info.
In short, immersion in a language is wonderful for your standard in the language if you really make an effort to live through the language. While a course suited me in my school days, that's not to say it would suit you. There might be better options for you, either from your home or in Quebec. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| skchi Groupie United States Joined 5751 days ago 57 posts - 86 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 7 of 7 06 June 2010 at 5:09am | IP Logged | ||
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Magictom123 - there is a French meetup group in my area. I'll definitely check that out.
Grunts67 - Thanks for the comments. I actually would like to learn to understand Quebecois French. I've visited Quebec City and Montreal a few times, and I thought they were beautiful. Declan1991 - Good point about the activities. It seemed silly to me to have "summer camp" type activities, but I suppose they would really force you to think quickly and speak in your target language. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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