Learning French in Chambery
Monday, 24th May 2010
Cactus client Paul Matthews shares his experience of learning French for three months in Chambery...
I knew I had made the right decision to book through Cactus prior to my departure. The booking process was remarkably simple despite my contacting the Company only a couple of weeks earlier.
Following touchdown in Chambery, I received a warm welcome from my host family who drove me to what would be my home for the next three months. Once unpacked, my host showed me where I would be studying; a beautiful château, and, to my pleasant surprise, well within walking distance (as was most of the town).
The following day, my first morning, my school French was put to the test. Every student is given an assessment, in which, we are told, reassuringly, ‘You cannot fail’. Although the test determines your class you can be sure to make friends with those of differing French abilities; invaluable if, at first, your French is not sufficiently up to par for interacting with locals.
The teachers at the school are extremely helpful and supportive. They have a friendly and relaxed, or ‘French’, attitude towards their teaching and a comfortable rapport with the students. They too effectively become friends, and within this pleasant learning environment, they are able to teach grammar, vocabulary and those intimidating French verbs.
Although, your initial goal may simply be to improve your French, you will not be able (or indeed want) to escape the social aspect that goes hand-in-hand with this course. During my stay I made numerous friends from over 24 countries.
The school provides a variety of excursions. I was studying during the winter months and found the most popular activity to be the ‘Sunday Ski Day’, I was lucky enough to visit over 12 different world-famous ski resorts. As one American friend on the course commented, ‘I never thought I would make trips to the Alps part of my weekly routine; we can’t really complain can we?’ I guess the answer to that was ‘No’.
Cactus offers General and Young at Heart French courses in Chambery, and a wide variety of other locations in France too
Tags: french, learning, france, cactus, course, chambery
Posted by Laura Harrison under Experience Cultures,
Permalink
