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Summer stay in Southern France, by Mathias (Denmark)

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Summer stay in Southern France, by Mathias (Denmark)

Language Immersion in Montpellier

I spend summer 2016 taking A French immersion course in the lovely southern French town of Montpellier. The city is said to be the 8th largest city in France and is a wonderful place to enjoy a french immersion summer program. The city life is buzzing, though most of the day and evening when it is cooler, and there are lovely local shops. It offers entertainment in the form of wine tastings, live music and adventure experiences such as wall climbing and canoeing. Apart from culture and excitement, the city also has parks, clubs and language schools. It was in the French language immersion school ILA that my girlfriend and I enrolled for the month of August in 2016. We spent 4 weeks there to learn French, from Mondays to Fridays in the intensive French course, and we enjoyed every minute of it. In our spare time between classes and on weekends, we went on excursions (events also arranged by the ILA French immersion school at very reasonable prices) or to one of the many beaches surrounding Montpellier.

Learn French in France!

The classes were great! As I wrote earlier, we were enrolled in the French intensive course, meaning that we had 2 different parts a day, with two different teachers. The highly qualified teachers were very sympathetic and took excellent care of the students. If you had a hard time catching what was going on (which, to be honest, happened from time to time) the teacher was happy to help explaining the matter. Our teacher was particular awesome! His name is Julio and he combined speaking French with almost dance-like movements in order to explain the topics and exercises. The classes were only in French, which seemed difficult at first, but not many days passed before you got the hang of it. Days were usually divided between speaking and hearing exercises and grammar, which puts adds nice variation to the day. The ILA French Immersion School itself was very modern, with Wi-Fi, 40 computers and both electronic and non-electronic supports (it also had a decent coffee machine, which is very important at times). The best thing however is that you are forced to speak French which really boosts the learning process. In just the first week, we learned so, so much, that I believe that we’d already improved our French tremendously.

Living and learning in France

Booking through the excellent French school website, we had the opportunity to either stay at a hotel/apartment, a student residence or staying with a local host family. We chose the last option. The family was great. They spoke both English and French (which was nice to avoid awkward silences) and were very helpful with every inquiry. We lived in a sort of flat next to their house, with our own small kitchen/living room and toilet/bath. Meals were eaten in the main house with the family or the other students staying there. As someone who has experienced options, I would really recommend staying with a local host family in Montpellier. One of the most awesome pros was that we got to eat French food, almost every day! If one wants to experience other cultures, this is the way to do it.

Unique tours and experiences

Aside from the classes, ILA also arranged after school activities, some even for free. They ranged from language cafes with local French people (aiming to improve your speaking ability while making new friends), wine and cheese tastings and full or half day excursions. Personally, we took all the full day excursions we could. The first trip we were on was to the small French town of Roquefort. The trip departed from the school and drove us directly to the small town where we had a tour (which was in French) of the cheese factory facilities. The tour ended with a tasting. Though the tour was great, I want to highlight the easiness of which you get to experience something unique in southern France. Many of the tours are concentrated around stuff you wouldn’t normally think of doing, and it is indeed a great bonus offered by the ILA French Immersion School.

In conclusion, enrolling at ILA was an awesome decision. We met many new friends, awesome experiences, tasted so, so much excellent French food, partied, relaxed AND learned an awful lot of French. ILA is a great school offering excellent French immersion courses combined with lots of fun. Vive ILA! We will be back soon!

Mathias, Denmark (ILA student)