I have spoken often before about learning the language of your adopted country. Without speaking the language of the people in your community, you cannot be part of the community. In order to integrate, understand and contribute, you need the means to communicate -- to listen and understand, to speak and be understood.
Since my arrival in France 18 months ago, I have been attending an excellent language school right here in Bergerac on a regular basis. It is without a doubt the best 'general' language school I know of and offers a selection of courses for students at every level.
But when looking for other places where I could go often to speak and listen and learn and improve and polish and hone my French, I have found little more than small groups led by every person who speaks the language and has some free time on their hands and saw an easy and pleasant way to make a few extra euros.
The problem
And of these there are many to choose from. Every Mairie, every library, every second local's house is turned into a class room. I could, if I wished, go to a different, reasonably priced 'class/lesson' every morning and every afternoon of the week. But I yet have to find one that is worth the money or, more importantly worth my time. Almost all of those I have tried and tested are badly planned, with no long term curriculum, consisting of groups of every level, where, if you are slightly ahead of the rest of the group, you have to sit and twiddle your thumbs while they struggle through basic grammar and a mish-mash of attempts at anglicised vocabulary.
If I sound harsh in my criticism, I am afraid that I must plead guilty.
Teaching a language is a highly skilled art. There are just too many people around who see an opportunity to milk the ready market of 450 000 English speakers to the area, who think that offering lessons at low prices will make up for the fact that they are in no way qualified to teach; and then there are just too many non-French speakers around who are desperate to learn the language but who are not willing to spend money to do so. One will hear them sitting in the square on market day, and over a cup of coffee, complain about how nothing is working because of the unreliable French plumbers and French electricians and French builders, and then - hear them try to place a simple order for a second cup of coffee in the most appalling French whilst singing the praises of the most wonderful French teacher they had found who is ever so cheap!
Do I need to say more?
The Solution
Is my French perfect? Absolutely not! After 18 months here, I found myself at an impasse. All of a sudden I realised that my spoken French was not improving – but rather regressing. Speaking French as often as I can, and trying to “just speak it!” without worrying first about getting the structure and grammar and syntax and vocabulary right and then finding the conversation has moved on into different realms, I have been picking up bad habits. Many bad habits. I found that I was using, more and more, my Scrabble trick – making up words, and I was making up words by turning English words into French words – they work and people understand me – well, most of the time they do! – but these words which have been creeping into my vocabulary do in fact not exist! (Probably the reason I could, for the life of me, not understand what the big fuss was about when Segolene Royale used the home-made word “bravitude”). I also started using the conditional and the subjunctive freely – I love using the conditional and subjunctive in any language I speak – but although the way in which I use them may be correct, the occasion seldom is!
So – I saved up my pennies for a few months and enrolled in a Total Immersion French Course. The best thing I have done since arriving in France! One concentrated week of one-on-one language tuition. And I do mean concentrated. The name says what it is -- Face a Face -- one-on-one. It is a residential course, which means that you stay on the premises 24 hours a day -- and what beautiful premises are chosen for the students! Even in this, every detail has been thought of. The place I stayed at was a small chateau in the beautiful Anjou which is managed by the most charming couple - who are both interesting and interested, and who provided hospitality - and meals! that deserve at least three Michelin stars! In my case, my ‘class room’ was directly next to my bed room. Not that there was too much time wasted on sleep! We started at 8 am in the morning with breakfast with the teacher, worked the entire day, including lunch, and ended with dinner at 8 pm – which usually went on until 10 – 10:30 pm, after which I updated and sorted my notes, going to bed -- or rather, falling into bed at midnight.I would have loved to have been able to afford two or three weeks, but even if I could have, I would not have been able to stay the course. At that pace and intensity, one week was perfect. Had I stayed longer, there would have been a weekend programme that is more relaxed and when the student is taken out and about by the teacher, before returning again on Monday morning for the second week.
The teaching programme is custom made for you -- planned specifically for the individual student. When one enrols, you send off a test which indicates to the teacher at which level you are, and the curriculum that was planned for me started exactly at my level and took me several notches up.
It is also very, very cleverly devised to allow the student to speak about subjects that interest him or her, thus not only putting him at ease to speak freely – and becoming impassioned about that subject should the occasion require it!, but also enabling him to acquire the necessary vocabulary in the subjects that he is most likely to want to raise in general conversation.
The teacher is gentle and patient and empathetic at all times – and it has to be said that she too has to have the stamina of a super hero for staying the course! Always ready with the answer, always ready with the explanation, always ready with just that little extra information to ensure that the knowledge not only is absorbed, but filed in a place where it will be readily available when needed. It should also be mentioned that she does not let you get away with mistakes. She corrects you when you are wrong. And I mention this because there are more and more people around who have come through an education system where the student is never wrong – and where, in my mind, it is impossible to learn and improve. (If you do not have your mistakes pointed out to you, how will you ever correct them and improve? – but that is another little thorn in my side -- for another time!) The cleverest of all was the way the teacher had examples and topics ready every day where words and phrases and grammar learned during the previous days would come naturally into the conversation, thus underlining, re-emphasizing and re-establishing those new words and phrases into ones everyday language. I have always found it quite easy to learn new phrases and expressions, but unless I use them regularly, they disappear only too quickly into the recesses of my brain. Not so with this method. I loved that by the end of the week, one of my most dreaded little exercises had become one of my most favourite little exercises --- finding synonyms for words and phrases with the same meaning. I still have a lifetime of learning vocabulary ahead of me, but I now have the confidence to open my mouth – and speak – of things other than the most basic day to day events.
I cannot praise this course enough -- it is excellent. A language teaching method that is scientifically and meticulously planned to offer each individual every opportunity and every tool to learn and/or improve their language skills. If you are looking to learn French or improve your existing French, you need to look no further.
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