Many students ask us what a typical French immersion in France is like. Here is some interesting information.
Your teacher wants you to feel at home. You will be warmly welcomed and treated like a member of the family.
Generally, you will need to arrive on Sunday afternoon. Your personalized classes will begin at the agreed upon day and time, in the morning, Monday through Friday. The schedule may be different depending on your arrival dates and if there are morning activities due to the weather.
In general, in a day at your teacher’s home, you start with breakfast with guided conversation, then you have private lessons with your teacher, followed by lunch with guided conversation. In the afternoon you will go on an excursion with your teacher to practice speaking in a natural environment. In the evening, you will share a meal with your teacher, another good opportunity to speak French!
French course
Your teacher will assess your French learning needs and design a curriculum that works best for you. This is your course, and we want you to enjoy it and improve your French as much as possible, so please let your teacher know at any time if there is anything you want to learn! One lesson is equal to 1 hour. Please bring your own materials to take some notes, at your teacher’s home you’ll have access to books and dictionaries.
Activities
You will go on tours with your teacher as a guide. An activity lasts about 1 to 2 hours, sometimes more. A great way to learn more about our culture and improve your conversational French skills. The activities are time spent with your teacher where you practice the French language in a natural but guided way because your teacher is there to correct you if needed. Your teacher will help you practice naturally and correct the grammar and vocabulary points that you need to consolidate.
The price of an activity includes the time spent with your teacher and the personalized coaching. If you want your teacher to accompany you on an excursion that requires a fee (tickets, transportation), then you will be asked to pay for both yourself and your teacher for the additional costs associated with this activity.
Upon arrival, your teacher will propose a list of possible activities according to your taste (with and without extra fees) and you will be able to choose according to your wishes.
Meals
You will share meals with your teacher and will have the opportunity to join in the daily life “à la française” by learning some recipes for example. A meal lasts about 1 hour (sometimes more) and about 30 minutes for breakfast. Meal times are also dedicated to natural guided conversation, another good opportunity to practice the language with your teacher. As you may know, the French like to have conversations while they eat, so your meals are linguistically active. The conversations you have play an important role in the progress you make and give you more confidence to speak.
The meals are often typical dishes to introduce you to our culture, so we are sure you will enjoy them! Please let us know if you have any restrictions, your teacher will prepare the meals according to that.
Drinks taken outside
If during an activity you wish to have a drink with your teacher, this is not included in the price of the stay. You can decide with your teacher if each one pays for his or her own drink, if he or she invites you or if you invite him or her.
Free time
During your stay you will also have free time, which means you can explore the area on your own or just relax and do homework on your own. Your teacher will also have free time to prepare lessons, menus or do other personal activities.
Rules of use
Your stay is in a family atmosphere and respectful. It is different from being in a hotel. You will discover, with your teacher, the habits of the house. For example: what day are the sheets changed, what day is the housework done? Your teacher opens his house to you, you are his guest and he is your host.