Hello ! My name is Caroline, I’m 20 years old, I am Colombian, and I would like to share with you my best experiences during my language course in Montpellier. It all started when I asked my parents to send me to France to learn and improve my French. They quickly got excited about this idea and so I quickly started looking for a school. We decided that the best option for me was to integrate the ILA school in Montpellier. I arrived on the 10th of July 2016 for an 8 week language course.
My opinion of the ILA school
Courses at ILA are just awesome. Our teacher is adorable, funny and really helps us to learn French. He makes sure that our stay in France went well in general. In class, he corrects our mistakes and explains what we do not understand with the best patient in the world. On the other hand, I love the current methodology that is educational and fun. We study grammar, reading, and also writing. Every day, we make up plays on varied and interesting topics; all courses are different and never monotonous.
The classes do not exceed 10 students, it really is a perfect number to communicate and learn together. What I like the most is that we all come from different backgrounds, so we have the chance to enrich culturally and learn new things about different countries while learning French. In addition we forge friendships, what else could you ask for?
Learn French outside the classroom
In addition to taking courses to learn French, ILA school also offers a range of activities to entertain us and enjoy the summer with our friends. Every week, we have a schedule with different daily activities to better know the city and the French culture around Montpellier, or activities to learn to communicate.
I had the chance to participate in various events and I loved it!
The first event was the “Cruise Party” boat trip. It is a party on a boat at sea, where we enjoy a meal with a refreshing drink. The music was great, and so far it was one of my best nights in Montpellier. I had the chance to meet other ILA school students outside from class and spend a great evening with them.
The second activity in which I participated, was a cheese tasting. Before the taste, one of the ILA professors explained how the cheese was manufactured; she showed us the different varieties of cheese by region and how to find them. She also talked about the culture and customs around the cheese and especially how to eat them. There were at least 10 different cheeses served with fresh bread and a nice bottle of wine.
The third event was a trip to Nimes. It is a small French town with the oldest garden in Europe, an impressive Roman arena, a magnificent Roman temple (well-preserved). After the guided tour with the school teacher, we had free time to wander the streets.
Since I have arrived, I have had very good experiences and I say this truly! I’m really happy and am really aware of my improvements of the French language. I love learning abroad, getting to know people and meeting new people from all over the world. After all these experiences I have been fortunate to live during my first month here, I’m excited about the weeks to come!
Carolina, Colombia (ILA student)