French Language Schools: Coeur de France or Ecole de Trois Ponts?
 

My husband, who speaks no French, and I, who am an advanced beginner, want to spend 2 weeks this fall at a language school in France. I have read reviews and trip reports about these two schools and they both seem appealing. We want a fairly relaxed, non-intimidating format for this first endeavor. Any additional suggestions or input to help us make a final decision would be greatly appreciatedt!

I have done 5 linguistic stays in France and one in New Caledonia. I recently wrote a blog post about considerations when choosing a language school: http://femmesfrancophiles.blogspot.c...rogrammes.html

Good luck with your decision.

I can only report that I attended Ecole des Trois Ponts two different times and really liked it -- that was a number of years ago, before they moved, so I can't say anything about their current accommodations and facilities. The individuals on the teaching staff have changed for the most part, but Rene and Valerie are still there and they are the heart of the school.

It was a very relaxed, non-intimidating format, I thought. The meals together were probably a highlight for me.

That's all I can think of right now.

Sandy

Thank you for that informative article! I enjoyed the links provided as well.

It IS a big decision--from the reviews I have read of these two schools, they both seem above-board. They seem to meet our criteria--and I am actually leaning toward the latter because I get the feeling there are fewer English speaking customers.

Sandy--that says a lot! Thanks!

When I was at Coeur de France, all of the students were anglophones.

Wren, when I was at Ecole des Trois Ponts, both times, there were non-English-speaking students, e.g., Japan, Korea, Germany, etc. In addition, English speakers came from the U.S., the UK, and South Africa. Pretty eclectic groups.

That was, as I said, several years ago, but you could certainly email them and ask about the current mix. Valerie has always been very responsive.

Sandy

Grandmere, thanks for your input. (I had read that you preferred the school in Tours as far as getting results. I got the feeling it was more intense than either of these schools. That is exactly what we want to avoid this first time--my husband needs a kinder, gentler approach as languages are not his forte!)

Sandy--did you do only group classes or did you supplement with private lessons?

Wren, the first time I went - for three weeks - I did both group classes and private lessons. Enjoyed and appreciated them both. Valerie was my private tutor for one of the weeks (they switch instructors each week), and one day we went into Roanne so she could show me where to schedule a pedicure!

The group lessons were fun, because all the instructors that I had made a great effort to keep them interactive and to vary the activities.

Sandy

i haven't done a french course but did one in Italian last year. i would say that the tips offered in the blog are spot-on for any immersion course, particularly trying to have a mix of nationalities and ages. our class of 4 [fortunately all the same level] was greatly enlivened by the 20 something german girl and it was very interesting talking to the other 2 participants [in italian of course] who happened to be danish.

that is the one tip that i haven't seen anywhere else - there was a strict rule that amongst ourselves, even if no teachers were present, we spoke only italian. by and large we all bought into this and i found it a great help to have my mistakes corrected by my fellow students.

bon chance!

I second the point from annhig about staying at all times in the target language. I am working on another post about making the most of your linguistic stay. Hopefully will get it published before you go :)

I hope so, Femme!

My 20 year old daughter attended a French Language school for 2 weeks in Lyon (Lyonbleu) at the end of last year http://www.lyon-bleu.fr/2-32-Home.php . She really enjoyed the experience and is hoping to go again.

Her class was made up of people from all over - Asia, Europe, Australia. Some were living in Lyon and some had come specifically for the course. Some were short term students and some were there for a year. There was a businessman improving his French, a nanny, and a German lass who was married to a Frenchman.

Lyon is a lovely city to do a language course in. The city has plenty to do and yet has more of a big country town feel to it. We stayed in a lovely apartment very close to the language school .... sorry cannot give you the link as it no longer seems to be listed on the website we booked through.

I would be interested to hear what school you finally decide on.

You know, you mentioning 'relaxed, non-intimidating' makes me think of the French course I had. It was just the right pace to push me along while being fun/enjoyable. I just wanted a class for a few weeks to better appreciate being in Paris, and my prof became a French friend pretty quick :)

I'm really into architecture and monuments so she mixed that into my lessons...good way of getting the vocab and the conversation practice I had with her to stick. I would try Nouqa Langues if that sounds like something you might like!

Thank you all for your input. Poireaux--do you have a link? When I google that, it comes up only as a children's school--unless I am not looking at the site correctly.

PRLCH-I think a smaller town for the language school is more what we are looking for this time. Also, I notice that the classes can have up to 12 in them. I do appreciate your response though.

Sandy--I just read your trip report from 3 Ponts--very nice--I am really leaning toward that school at this point.

Wren, glad you found my report useful. Don't forget, it's from a long time ago. I think the atmosphere would still be very much the same, but some details will certainly differ.

I'm sure that you and your husband will enjoy whatever school you choose. I hope you do a report yourself.

Sandy

I spent 4 weeks at the Ecole des Trois Ponts in June 2016 and thoroughly enjoyed it. The school only takes a limited number of students, so classes are small (3-4). Meals are eaten together around a large table (seats up to 12) and conversation is in French, plenty of wine available with dinner!. There is on site accommodation (8 rooms ensuite, several single and some double). Off site accommodation is also available for those on a tight budget or wanting to spend more time with a French family. Many of the students I met were multi year repeaters and came from as far away as Japan and Australia or as close as Germany and England. Riorges is a pleasant suburb of Roanne and has a wonderful park which runs along the edge of a river, excellent for an early morning walk. I will be back!

Wren, after seeing this post I investigated some more, as I would love to do the same thing for 2 weeks. I only got so far as the Ecole des Trois Ponts, their website and reviews on Trip Advisor. It sounded so perfect, I stopped right there! I would love to this in the Spring, so please update us on your decision, and especially, please do a report about your experience if you go to either of those schools. I'll be anxious to hear. My only reservation is that I would be quite a bit older than anybody else! I know that there are older people at these schools, but not quite "elderly", as I am!

Sue, this thread is more than 4 years old, so I'm not sure you will get a response from the OP.

I found only one mistake in their tests, in the idioms.