Recommend a French Class?
 

Hi there- <BR> <BR>You guys have been so helpful in the past, I was wondering if someone could help me with this. I live in NYC and went to Paris for the first time in March. My husband and I loved it so much that we're returning in June 2001. I bought a French dictionary, CD-Roms, and language books, but I really didn't feel that they helped so I want to take a french class. Has anyone taken Berlitz or Alliance Francaise? How about a class at one of the universities? Can anyone recommend a good immersion class to take to prepare me and the hubby for our next trip? <BR> <BR>Merci Beaucoup!!

Chere Toi, <BR> <BR>Since you live in NYC you might consider a private tutor, there should be many French nationals available to you. <BR> <BR>I've been working on my French for about 10 years. Initially I took an adult Ed class and eventially found a private tutor. My turor is now our dear friend who we travel to France with every year and have wonderful French meals with on a monthly basis. Also as your French improves you can have conversational one on one classes, I.E. converse in French as opposed to didactic lessons. <BR> <BR>I would also recommend the Champs-Elysees tapes which come out once a month and are an hour long with abundant info about what's going on in France, Art, Literature, Politics, Music, Cinema, etc. The tapes come with a written transcript and are in normal speed spoken French. They are great for improving your comprehension of the spoken language. <BR> <BR>Bonne Chance, <BR> <BR>Randall Smith

Thanks Randall for the advice. I'm not sure I can afford a private tutor but when you were taking the Adult Ed classes did they help? As I said, I've tried the CD-roms and language books and they can be so unrealistic (when am I going to really use the phrase for that is a brown cat?). Also, how do you I get a hold of the Champs Elysee tapes? That sounds interesting. <BR> <BR>Thanks again for your response. <BR> <BR>And others are welcome as well. I'd love to hear what others think.

I have taken French classes off and on over the past five years or so in NYC. I've taken courses at NYU, The New School, and at the Alliance Francaise. I also took a private course at Berlitz. <BR> <BR>All have advantages and disadvantages. The NYU and New School courses are more typical of your regular college language courses, although the make-up of the student body is much more diverse since these are continuing education courses. Class sizes vary depending on your level. The beginning courses can be fairly large (30 students or more) while the more advanced classes are smaller (~10 students from my experience). The courses are useful for teaching you grammar and vocabulary, but you won't necessarily gain much proficiency in speaking. With 30 students to a class, there is very little time for each indiviudal to speak. The advanced classes, particularly those focusing on conversation that are taught in French, are more useful for speaking practice if you are at that level. <BR> <BR>The Alliance Francaise courses tend to be smaller (~10-12 students), so you do get more time to speak and interact with the instructor. However, I have to say that I found the environment to be somewhat cold, and have not returned there in several years. <BR> <BR>Berlitz has both group and individual instruction. I took an individual class, which was useful because it is only you talking to the instructor for the entire duration of the class. I did, however, find this one-on-one attention quite intense. Sometimes I wished that there were other students there so that I could get a break! You do, however, get much more time to practice your spoken French this way. <BR> <BR>Since you are going to Paris, you might also want to look into taking a French language course in Paris. I did this also a couple of years ago and had a great time. I was in a small class of six students, and all of my classmates were European. We communicated only in French throughout the course, which was a lot of fun. <BR> <BR>To summarize this long-winded reply, I think the best option depends on your current level of French, and what you hope to accomplish (e.g., reading/writing proficiency, verbal proficiency, etc.). Hope this helps. <BR> <BR>

Dear Toi, <BR> <BR>I did take 3 years of French in high school, and typically learned to read and write some but the conversational aspect was lacking. It did however set the stage for my love of the language, culture, and French people. <BR> <BR>The adult ed class I took was very helpful at getting me started again in French. <BR> <BR>The most extensive tapes available that I am aware of are the Foreign Service Institute tapes used by the United States Diplomatic Core. They are available through Audio-Forum or at Borders Book Store (At least the first Unit). They are quite expensive but the best I've found. The complete series is probably over 100 hours of tapes. <BR> <BR>Learning French is going to be a continuing endevor. You will not all of a sudden say that's it I've learned French. It is something you need to continue to work on and cultivate. That's why I think a private lesson is the best. Plan on spending $25/per hour or so per week. Think of it as an investment. And use your free time to listen to tapes, music, French movies, and reading French Periodicals. <BR> <BR>The URL for Champs-Elysees is http://www.champs-elysees.com/cehome.php3 <BR> <BR>Again it is in Fast everyday French much like listening to French radio or television, and is excellent for developing listening skills. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps, <BR> <BR>Je vous souhaite une bonne etude, <BR> <BR>Randall Smith

Thank you thank you thank you Randall and Jayelle! You really don't know how much I appreciate your help with this. As you said Randall, I do hope to continue learning so I will definitely look into all of the options you've both suggested, as I plan on going to Paris as much as I possibly can (as well as other European locations). I studied Spanish throughout junior high and high school and although Spanish and French are similar in that they are both Romance languages, I still am very much a beginner when it comes to French. You have been very helpful. <BR> <BR>toi

I don't live in NY so can't comment explicitly, but knowing Alliance Francaise and Berlitz, I would not recommend Berlitz to anyone unless it was your only choice--Alliance would be better. I think the best for really learning to speak and read French is a real univ-level basic French class where you get a grounding in grammar; second, something like Alliance Francaise. I took a course at Berlitz once as a brushup, I knew French fairly well but don't get a chance to speak it often so just wanted it for that. Perhaps it varies by city, but I took one in Wash DC and it was not very professional, did not really teach you French very well (luckily, I had a good grounding, others did not), and was EXTREMELY expensive. Also, they were developed for business people and continue to orient their curricula, textbooks, etc towards business persons, even when no one in the class is taking it for that reason, so they tended to have texts and dialogues that were rather useless phrases that no one needed or cared about. Also, they were disorganized and you never knew who your teacher would be any given night, they moved teachers around to suit their own convenience, there was no class continuity and you were not guaranteed the same teacher throughout your classes. They make you buy their own materials for the class (which all classes will) BUT theirs are not very good IMO, and their books cost 2-3x the rate of other books. Also, they had inappropriate levels of people in the same class to save money (ie, threw virtual beginners in with people who'd had years of French because they couldn't come up with a lot of people at the same level, and wanted to take your money rather than not offering a class). They were terrible and very overpriced.

I can't really address your questions on French, but I took German in High School for 2 years. I didn't think that I learned a thing until I went to Germany and started trying to learn German. The grammerical structure, alphabet, etc started comming back. The result is that after a couple of years there, I could and often did pass for a German. This might help you in deciding how to approach French. <BR>

Hi Toi, <BR> <BR>I’ve taken two Alliance Francaise courses and found them to be good. The classes was small as another poster mentioned and focused on verbal skills with some grammar. There are all levels of courses from beginner to advanced literature and you take a short written test before they place you in the appropriate class. Alliance Francaise does not have the level of competition, homework and tests that you would find in a university. Alliance Francaise is very low key, there are no grades and little after class work, about an hour a week. They have a relaxed atmosphere and small classes where you have a lot of opportunity to test your verbal skills. If you’re a working adult I would recommend Alliance Francaise since you would probably prefer the environment to one in which you’d need to do a lot of studying for grades. Also, they have classes on Saturdays. <BR> <BR>Best of luck with your French and have a great time on your return trip to Paris. I’ll be there in June, 2001 also…maybe I’ll see you there with a French dictionary tucked under your arm! <BR> <BR>Adrienne <BR> <BR>

I've taken Alliance Francaise and Berlitz and was not too impressed by the enthusiasm of the instructors (maybe I was just unlucky). <BR> <BR>When in Paris I would suggest one of the smaller schools. Langue Onze comes to mind. The instructors seem to care a bit more and it's more like the instructor's contribute to the quality of the class than the other students. They're also more creative with their teaching. That's guaranteed. And less expensive.

Hello, I can certainly make a recommendation that would work marvelously. I work for a French company in the US. Naturally,we have American employees that must travel to France on business and conduct their business in French. We have our own French instructors on site, but we also use a company, ALTA, that will set you up with a monitor and computer and provide lessons in which you speak live to your instructor in Atlanta. As you look at the screen you see your instructor at the center of the screen, video clips at lower left, his/her written comments, on another segment, etc. They are the fastest, best way to do a crash course of the type you would need. We have used them now for about three years. You can call them at 404 240-1816. Regarding price, since we have a contract for training "x" number of people I'm sure it would not be pertinent to your situation, but you might want to call them to check on it. Very friendly, very responsive and able to meet your schedule. I was using them to keep my skills up since it's been quite a few years since I worked in France. They do well!

Thank you all for your great responses. My husband and I are weighing all of the options mentioned and will let you know what we decide. Either way, it will be fun learning French in preparation for our trip next year!