French Immersion Programs, Episode 288

<p>Are you looking for a French immersion program in France? This episode will help you think through some of the things you should consider before making your choice. I must point that this episode NOT sponsored by any language school, my guests are making recommendations based on their experience and preferences only.</p> <p>My guests Janice and Caroline recount their experiences and what they consider the positives and negatives of language programs.</p> <p>Janice Chung has been a teacher and school principal and is now retired. She has a lot of insightful experiences about what makes a good learning experience. That's why I thought she would be a great guest to talk about French immersion programs. Janice also has a <a href= "https://www.francetraveltips.com/what-to-expect-when-you-take-a-french-immersion-course-in-france/"> blog</a> where she shared more details about all her experiences with French language schools in France.</p> <p>My second guest on the podcast is Caroline Stanford who studied at two French immersion programs. One in Tours and on in Besançon, both medium-sized cities in France.</p> <h2>Language Schools Discussed in this Episode</h2> <h3><a href="https://www.3ponts.edu/">Ecoles des 3 ponts near Lyon</a></h3> <p>Janice started going there years ago and keeps returning. The experience is great because you're speaking French 24/7 and class size is small. There are 3 hour of classes in the morning, then either free time to do homework, or cooking classes, or visits.</p> <p>They center the experience around student's needs. If a student is having difficulties with a particular concept, they create lessons to address it. That's very different from schools where they follow the book and don't deviate.</p> <p>For this school you take a short test online to decide what's an appropriate level for you. But on the first day you also get evaluated and then they place you in a class.</p> <h3><a href="https://www.accentfrancais.com/fr">Accent Français in Montpellier</a></h3> <p>Here you have a couple of