Comments | france: Need an advice for learning French.

katrusya_zzz in france

Need an advice for learning French.

Jul 04, 2011 11:42

Hi all,

I’ve been studying French in alliance française for almost two years now. I understand much, but can not speak. May be some basic phrases, and it would take forever to say a sentence with more than five words.

What I am looking for is full-time courses, (for two or three month). Whatever long it takes to be fluent.

Can anyone advice ( Read more... )

Comments 11

reve119 July 4 2011, 14:59:25 UTC

Are you looking for a language immersion program? I haven't done one for French, but I'm doing one for Spanish in Spain from late August through January (I want to become fluent in French too, but haven't exactly determined the path I want to take to do so, since language immersion is expensive).

I found my particular course via Apple Languages, and my school was somewhere a teacher of mine had previously worked at, so he was able to give me some more information. There are quite a few housing options available, some including board and some not. Prices vary depending on the city, your housing, and the school itself.

katrusya_zzz July 4 2011, 18:12:03 UTC

yes, I am looking for an intensive course of french.
thanks for the link !
I am still deciding whether to choose Quebec or France. quebec is probably going to be cheaper, but the temptation to switch to English scares. It would be better not to have an option, but to force yourself to speak french.
There are practically thousands of courses available, but the thing is that not even half are as good. So far I have good comments about Sorbonne in Paris and Alliance Francaise.
The price for the course is pretty affordable compared to housing (.
anyways, thanks for advice, Spanish is next on my list ))) Just to know what to expect, how much do you pay for your school and how much do you spend on housing and expanses ?

reve119 July 4 2011, 18:25:53 UTC

Regarding which country, it really depends on what your language goals are. Initially, I was also looking to do a program in Quebec with hopes to save money, but I don't want to be in a city with a fair amount of English speakers, since people would probably rather speak English with me as their English would probably be better than my French, and I also need a program that teaches "International French," as I hope to go to grad school in Europe. After looking at a few programs, price included, it just made more sense for me to go to school in France, since it's much cheaper than the programs I found in Quebec that fit my needs.

For my Spanish program, I'll be taking 18 weeks of classes and 20 weeks of accommodation (since I'll be there over Christmas) and it's about $6500, food not included. From what I've seen in France, their programs are more expensive. A program I like in Bordeaux with the same housing is $7k-something for 20 weeks, and it was easily the cheapest program I've seen.

You may want to ask linguaphiles about French ( ... )

oraveles July 4 2011, 16:56:31 UTC

Middlebury College in Vermont has language immersion programs in the summer. They're not cheap, but they're good. http://www.middlebury.edu/ls/french They're 7 weeks long, and you can do it either at Middlebury or at Mills College in Oakland, CA.

katrusya_zzz July 4 2011, 18:15:01 UTC

Thanks ! I will look into that !

reve119 July 4 2011, 18:28:10 UTC

With Middlebury though, while I hear the programs are good, keep in mind that it's far more expensive than just going to the country itself. It's $7k for 7 weeks. In France, it's $7k for a few months.

oiseau_russe July 4 2011, 20:16:10 UTC

If you are looking for a school in France try this one http://cla.univ-fcomte.fr/index.php/apprendre-le-francais-FLE--Francais-langue-etrangere

It is pretty good and life in Besancon is half cheaper than in Paris. And the region is gorgeous :)

katrusya_zzz July 5 2011, 06:00:37 UTC

Thank you.
I have never been to France, and now deciding whether it's going to be Paris or the provinces. I've heard many times, that if you want to know France, Paris is like the last place you want to go to, but i'm still doubting.

oiseau_russe July 5 2011, 06:55:01 UTC

I would not say the things like this. Paris life is certainly very different from province life (and much more expensive, especially the housing) but it's also France and very interesting. If you want to see it. The problem of living in Paris for a foreigner who wants to discover France is, IMHO, that it is very easy to find a refuge in huge diaspora and never see the french part of Paris.

katrusya_zzz July 5 2011, 08:12:54 UTC

Well, i did not want to say that Paris is not France, or that it is not worth seeing) I think what they mean is that if you want to feel the culture, in Paris it might be harder. It is without a doubt one of the most beautiful cities on the planet, and the best place for a one-week vacation, but i am thiking if it's still the best when you are planning on living in a coutry for half a year. If the exta money you spend on living there comparing to the province are worth it.
Not afraid as much about finding a refuge friend though. Still planning on devoting most of the time to studying.

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