winkwinx

Hello Everyone,

I have possibly read and browsed through all the forums here and in other websites regarding French Schools in Paris.

I plan to be there on April 2015 for one month.

I am looking for less than 5 days per week of classes as I plan to also enjoy Paris and travel on weekends.

The 3 schools I have finalized are the following:

Alliance Francaise - Extensive Class 9 h/wk, 107 €/wk Monday, Tues, Thursday

EFI Paris - Extensive 9 hr/wk, 295 €/ 4wks MTTh

Verlaine Langue - Semi Extensive 9 hr/wk, 370 €/ 4wks MTWTh

I have read numerous reviews about Alliance Francaise as it may be a hit or miss, depending on the professors. Also that it includes big number of people in classes.

EFI Paris website says it limits their students to 15 per class.

Verlaine Langue limits their students to 6 per class.

I like the idea of smaller classes however I haven't read much about Verlaine langue reviews. There are testimonials on their website but I am not sure how recent they are.

Going to Alliance Francaise is still in my choices because I have gone to AF in San Francisco in the 2013 for 6 months. I the classes were up to 15 students and I still learned a lot. Also I like the idea of going to a real Parisian campus and experiencing the "student" life.

Now I think I need more feedback on the schools so I can decide which I will choose. Thank you.

Cathinjoetown

I did Alliance Française for 8 months years ago in Switzerland. At the time it was exactly what I needed but that doesn't help you much with your decision.

A lot depends on your level and what you want out of the class. imo and ime, smaller is almost always better, particularly to improve conversational skills, which most people want to do.

bilboburgler

1) I don't think you learn doodly at 9 hours per week, you need immersion
2) I don't think you learn much with 15 people around you

I took schoolboy French to Business French in 2 weeks immersive. It was very painful, no English, no rest and it worked out around 12 hours a day with homework, 7 days a week.

I can't see how 9 hours every week can "do owt"

If you go with this you need the other people in you class to be prepared to work outside hours with loads of homework.

I'd review the forums and selling elements and see how much homework and interaction you will get or can arrange. Are these people serious or just want a long stay in Paris?

billandcindy

Well, this is a favorite subject of mine, so my reply may be a bit pedantic and probably too long. I apologize in advance, but I simply can't help myself.

My wife and I studied at L'Atelier 9 in Paris for 9 weeks in 2012, 4 weeks in 2013, and 2 weeks this year (last June). It's a relatively small school in the 9th Arrondissement; it has 4 classrooms and, therefore, 4 levels. It runs from 9-1 and usually there is homework. What do we think of it and its staff? We've been there three straight years and intend to go back whenever we are in Paris (probably next June again).

That said, bilboburgler has a point. Immersion speeds the learning process. Last April we spent a month at the L'Institut de Français in Villefranche-sur-mer (near Nice). We were at the school from 8 to 5, five days a week, breakfast and lunch included. Only French spoken while on campus. Bottom line: it was intense! Question: Is that what you want?

As to your three schools, we have not studied at any of them. We did, however, visit AF and Verlaine before deciding on Atelier 9. To us, AF seemed too large and impersonal, and, since our visit, we've heard from some former students who did not like their experience there (though there may be others who did). And, Verlaine was too small (one classroom) and, when we visited the school in 2011, the owner was not very welcoming. Last year, we also visited the language school run by the Sorbonne (on Blvd Raspail, I think). I was impressed with the facilities and the program, and, if we were going to spend a full semester or two studying in Paris, we would seriously consider going there.

From my experience, if you're truly interested in learning to speak French, the class should not have more than 10 students. With more than 10, you spend too much time listening to other students! I would therefore automatically cull from consideration any school that has a maximum class size larger than 10.

Now, my wife and I are probably a bit older than you, so picking up a language may be a little more difficult for us. But, I have come to realize that, for most people, learning a language takes time, especially if one does not live in France full-time (our friends in the US naively thought we would be fluent after our first trip in 2012!). So, wherever you go -- and I truly hope you go -- enjoy the process.

sanderskn

I minored in French in college and now I take advanced French classes at Alliance Francaise for practice and fun. I am going to their language school in paid in June. I like their method and how they work here so I think that is a good choice over there. I also live in the Bay Area. To the person who said you won't learn anything, I think it's more about the experience of studying French in France, at least for me, since my greatest regret is never studying abroad in college.

sanderskn

Should say in Paris*

annhig

hi winkwinx,

as someone who has attended 3 language schools so far [and is signed up for another] i tend to agree with bilbo and billandcindy that the more time you can invest in your language school experience, the more you will get out of it. i would suggest that for at least the first 2 weeks, you devote as much time as possible to your language learning; after all you have the weekends AND you are going to be there for 4 whole weeks so once you are "up and running" you can gauge how much time you want for sightseeing and how much for learning.

I also agree that you want to avoid places with a lot of students in one class, but you also need a place with enough classes to move up [or down] if the level is wrong for you - there are few things worse than being stuck in the wrong group, IME.

if, as I suspect, you are relatively young, Paris will still be there next year and the year after that, but you may not get this opportunity again to spend a month in France learning to speak french.

kerouac

I am lucky enough to never have needed to take any French classes in Paris, but I have always had excellent feedback from others about the Alliance Française, one of the reasons being the fact that people attending classes come from so many different countries that French is the only <I>lingua franca</I> that they have for communicating with each other, particularly when eating at the cafeteria there. Yes, of course a lot of people slip into English when they are stumped, but some of them do not have this option.

Obviously, if you can take a French class anywhere far from Paris, you will almost certainly learn much more French.

winkwinx

Thank you everyone for your feedback.

I know a 4 week trip to Paris is short to learn French. I understand that it is a continuous learning process and that is why I plan to study the language even if I am not in France.

A long stay in Paris have always been a dream and I wanted to do a 3 month stay however because of work schedule, I can only do a month.

I think everything is getting clearer as I don't intend to join a very intensive class and be in the classroom for most of the day and that is why I am looking for only 3-4 days of classes. I know myself, I can get lost and just get in the moment of studying and reviewing notes and might end up more indoors instead of enjoying Paris. By this I mean taking long walks, visiting parks and photographing architecture and taking day trips.
This is why I wanted to do a less intensive class but not join a class that is too relaxed.

I think sanderskn said it the best: it's more of the experience of learning French in Paris.

Thank you for your info billandcindy. There's not much out there about Verlaine. It sounded like there's only one professor and there's not much flexibility.

Thank you annhig for pointing out that its good to have enough classes that I can move up or down depending on my needs.

I thinking of maybe doing a smaller more intensive class and smaller class (Verlaine-Langue) and register for 2 wks like what annhig suggested. Then maybe see from there if I wanted to continue or be in a less intensive class (AF) to get that experience of studying in a French campus and to have more free time in Paris.

What do you guys think?

WeisserTee

I studied at the Sorbonne but had friends who studied at the AF in Paris. I took some classes with the AF in Philadelphia.

In Phila, I left the course because the course went at the pace of the slowest student -- even if they were behind purely because of laziness, meaning they didn't study or practice at all. I heard similar complaints from my friends who enrolled in classes at the Paris AF. In contrast, at the Sorbonne, if you didn't do your work and weren't prepared, the class moved on without you (however, the instructors were excellent with those who had done the work and were trying, but still had problems).

Christina

I've only studied at universities in Paris, but heard some students talk about the Alliance. And I used to go by it all the time, so know its building.

First, it's not a campus, so if that's the reason, forget it. Only universities have campuses in Paris. It isn't like that. And urban universities don't even have that much of a campus in any city (the Sorbonne, where I went, is all over Paris; l'Institut Catholique is more in one place but not some big campus). YOu can see the building on their website, it is basically one big building on rue Notre Dame des Champs. Not sure what you are envisioning as a campus, but it is more of a real school than those private places in that regard.

I have heard complaints that the students at the Alliance in Parisre aren't that serious, that's all. But these were comparisons to the university where I was going (l'Institut Catholique to Paris) by teachers who were going there for the summer and were in my class. Alliance Francaise is a wellknown "brand" so a lot of students automatically go there when thinking I should study French in Paris, and I think some other reasons (maybe they are getting subsidized and that's where they have to go), so you just get a lot of people who aren't that serious.

This may be true at the private schools you are going, also, but probably less so because they are so expensive. I would go to the Alliance because it is so much cheaper than the others and is a more wellknown name, so that will mean more. If you don't care about that issue, I guess it doesn't matter. I would never pay 370 euro instead of 107.

I don't know what the class sizes are at the Alliance. I don't personally like real small classes, I like a variety of students. I wouldn't want to be in a class of only 5, for example. I've been in language classes of about 30 in the US (community college). DO you know the size of those in Paris? If you think they will be 30, that's another issue.

The method of teaching is one main concern to me. I prefer traditional courses and methods like at the Sorbonne and l'Institut Catholique de Paris, where I went. I don't like these games, role-playing, etc stuff those private schools tend to do.

annhig

I've only been to italian language schools so my experience may not be directly comparable, but for what it's worth, all of them have been extremely serious in their approach, with classes concentrating on grammar, listening, and conversation - very little role play and games in fact - I'm not sure where you got that from, Christina.

winkwinx - I'm not sure that the Verlaine would be more intensive than the Alliance [though the classes are smaller] as the lessons are so short - little more than 2 hours a day. OK, they expect you to do homework but that is no substitute for actual teaching. At the Alliance the lessons look very similar to the sort that I've experienced, and if you put your mind to it, you should be able to make good progress. you would also be able to move up if your progress was being held back by others with less enthusiasm. I would feel inclined to sign up for the 20 hours a week course for the first 2 weeks, and THEN to see whether you wanted to continue with that, or to move to the 9 hour course for the next 2 weeks. if you did the morning course, it would leave the rest of the day for sightseeing/enjoying the experience of Paris.

good luck with whatever you decide to do!

winkwinx

Thank you again for your responses. Christina, you made some very good points to consider. When I meant campus, I didn't mean a university. I wanted to go to a French school setting, or an institution (where there other students, tourists, expats or not) Versus a private school where there are only 2 rooms.

When I went to Peru, I studied Spanish in a building where there are also local students who were studying English. It was a typical school setting - there's a library, multimedia room, cafeteria and the bells rang at the end of the class. It wasn't a university campus but it was set up like a school, only smaller. I liked that there are a lot of other local students who I met and had conversations with.

While AF may not have local students, but that kind of set up is what draws me to go there. Also in Peru, I was bumped up to a higher level as all my previous knowledge came back to me.
Oh and I like the typical classroom setting as well-not role playing, which I think EFI Paris does (as evidenced through their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/efi.paris1)

Annhig, I would love to do what you have suggested, a more intensive class for 2 wks (20 hrs/wk) then 2 wks for extensive class (9 hrs/wk). However due to budget constraints, I can only do 1 wk of intensive class + 3 wks of extensive classes
OR 4 wks of extensive class which includes 2 wks of additional 6 hrs/wk workshop: Oral or written.

I haven't completely made up my mind but it looks like I am going to AF. I emailed them and they said their max class size is 18.

Thank you again for your responses and still would like to hear from you.

annhig

oh dear, that's a difficult decision, ww. but I'm surprised that the difference between the prices of the courses for one week is such a problem, considering that you are planning on staying in Paris for 4 weeks - if I read the website correctly, the difference between the intensive course and extensive course for one week is at most €150. is your budget so tight that you can't find that? [if you did the afternoon course for that week it would be even less].

I don't mean to pry into your financial situation, but not having the means to pay an extra €150 suggests that your budget is very tight and may not allow you to do the sightseeing that is so important to you.

winkwinx

Thank you annhig for your reply. The purpose of my trip in Paris is to enjoy the city, the surrounding areas AND study French. I originally planned on just a two week intensive course because that's why my budget allows, then proceeded to think that a more spread out school schedule and less intensive class would be ideal for me.
I get caught up looking on the school reviews but eventually would need to stick to my budget and plan. The €150 difference could be a trip to London or Bruges or Provins, Rouen and Chartes and these trips are as important to me as going to a French school 3 or 4/wk.
And you are exactly right, I will be there for a month and would want to stick to a budget.
The reason I started this thread is to ask people's opinions about which of the 3 schools I should pick and with the given price range.
thank you again for your replies. It did lead me to choose a school.

annhig

winkwinx - I'm sorry if you thought that I was prying - certainly not my intention. It sounds as if you've got it all thought out and have your priorities well sorted.

I hope that you have a terrific time and come back here to tell us how you got on!

Desinator

This is a wonderful thread. I'm considering a 2 week trip to France later this year for a serious study experience. Unfortunately, two weeks is all I can do away from my job. I would love to do this in Paris but would also be open to something elsewhere. But I don't want to be stuck in a small town.

I took both French and Spanish in high school (40+ years ago) for several years and minored in Spanish in college. I've found in my travels to Paris numerous times over the years that I'm able to converse more or less well enough for most daily necessities and transactions. My verb tenses aren't the best but I've got many daily idioms down pretty well. In 2010, I found myself in a huge argument with the one cab driver in all of Paris who hated Obama and loved George W. Bush. I have to admit I totally met my limits during that spirited conversation...I've also been able to determine from a survey that most Paris cab drivers prefer Alicia Keys to Beyoncé.

My reason for doing this is my hope to end my working days in about 5/7 years with a year or two living and working in Western Europe doing something professional, not sure what exactly yet. (I've been a transactional lawyer for over 30 years.) Paris would be great. Brussels would, also.

So L'Atelier 9 sounds appealing. Strenuous but not exhausting. Bilboburglar, where did you study so intensively? Business French would be a good thing for me to learn. Thanks for any feedback.

bilboburgler

My company once thought I would be a star, so they sent me to a private University in the UK. Now "some of us are lying in the gutter but looking at the stairs (sic)".

Have you read Benny Lewis on language learning? Seriously worthwhile; he recommends the use of skype based conversational everyday. Mrs Bilbo is using it for her Spanish at the moment and it is earning dividends.

annhig

bilbo - could you let me have a link to who she uses? We're just about committed to a trip to DIY Cuba in January so I'm planning to use the summer to improve my spanish, as it sounds as if that will be a big help to our being able to make the best of our time there.

bilboburgler

Mrs Bilbo is using italki.com but you can find others on

http://www.fluentin3months.com