Intensive French Course 'A'

"Great teaching methodology "

I stayed with the school Accord for 4 week doing 52 classes (40 hours) a week. Within this time I managed to improve my French from A. 2. 1 to B. 1, ie. in the beginning I was translating almost every word in a book, by the end I could watch movies with subtitles. Helpful and reachable teachers, quality depends on the specific teacher. Some were outstanding, some too fast to follow. I was though lucky enough to get great ones. Morning classes absolutely much more useful the afternoon ateliers. Afternoon classes not properly differentiated between levels. Last tutorial class (you get it if you take 52 lessons/40 hours per week) becomes not useful after the first week because you are overloaded with home tasks for the morning classes and cannot take more tasks. Overall, you will see no Paris if you take that much classes. You will not be able to spend much time with the locals practicing your French skills out of school. So my advice: all mornings + 2 ateliers in the afternoon per week. The housing can get really bad (like my first host family was), economizing on the electricity and being strict with the timing of dinners. After two weeks of being constantly ill (this was in December) I asked for a transfer which was initiated the very next day. Second family was great. So you should really forget your shyness if you want good conditions. Bear in mind that if you want to stay for extra days with the family the school will charge you double price a day ( which is more than the price of a decent hotel) and if you refuse to accept it they may get really rude saying that in this case you will need to leave the family on Saturday MORNING!!! Anyway, I would still recommend that this school, as the style of teaching is highly oriented on oral practice unlike Aliance Francais. People come from all parts of the world and it becomes a really cool experience.

My ratings for this school

"A good place to build confidence"

The classes I took (morning classes from 09:00 to 13:00) consisted mostly of oral and written activities, with occasional outings and other types of classes. The course was not academic (i.e. not formal, requiring textbooks etc.) but practical, with the required language (French) being the only one spoken in class. The level of my class (A2) would be most appropriate for people who have studied some French already (even if never practiced). The teachers were very patient and helpful when a student expressed difficulty. The school is very conveniently located in the center of Paris. There were a few computers, wireless internet and vending machines available to students. It should be noted though, that there was no air-conditioning and opening windows usually brought a lot of noise from traffic. This was often problematic having taken the course in the summer.

My ratings for this school

"French"

I am Daniel's father and he is too busy to reply. He enjoyed his experience at the school.

My ratings for this school

"It's been very useful"

Location: the school is very comfortably located next to a metro stop, in the center of Paris, which is indispensable because otherwise I wouldn't have chosen it. I appreciated in particular the rule that you can't attend with students from your own country, because I found it extremely interesting meeting so many different people. I also appreciated the massive use of oral lessons: you can always study grammar by yourself, but speaking and listening to a foreign language are more important and often underrated. The activities were quite varied and all the teachers were friendly and helpful. The classes and the building in general were tidy and clean.

My ratings for this school

"interesting"

basically the course was good and the teacher too even if we have changed teachers several times, but what i didn't like was the fact that nothing has been oranised outside the course

My ratings for this school

"Good"

Lot's of talk, nearly no writing. If you're wishing to improve you're oral French, don't look any further, if you wish to improve you're written French, look further...

My ratings for this school

"In 3 weeks I learned more than in a year!"

The location was pretty good, very close to 2 metro stops and in an area with a lot of activity. The facilities were perfectly adequate for teaching. Nearly all teachers were great - I only had one (Vincent) that I did not enjoy. He was not good at seeking input from all students and at times lost a bit of control of the class. Also his teaching style was not easy to understand difficult topics. I found there to be a great lack of social activities sponsored by the school but in the end that was okay because I met up with other students. And lastly, I felt the flexibility during the week to move among levels was not good. I tried both the first and second week to express my discontent but no one seemed to listen. The first week I was not happy, the second week I just ended up switching on my own because it was easy for me to find the right level.

My ratings for this school

"Nice, but no conditions for optimal learning"

The school is nice, the classes too, but I thinke at school are a lot of teachers they can't imagen how difficult lerning french is. The school location is great. My housing too, but I think is't better to ask the people whether they agree with a smoking budget.

My ratings for this school

"Great school, learned a whole lot of french. "

I liked just about everything pertaining to the school. I was very satisfied with the teachers and the quality of education. I loved the housing arranged by the school. At first I was a little concerned and sort of afraid of the commute. I had to take three (3) different trains to get to to the school. However, after a few days I enjoyed the daily commute. The family I lived with was so wonderful to me. Great food and family gatherings. I still communicate with friends I made during my stay in Paris.

My ratings for this school