MissZiegfeld

Hi all!

I'm currently enrolled at the Alliance Francais in New York; I love it and will continue there, but I would also like to take an intensive immersion course in Paris, sometime next year. I'm thinking for three weeks.

a google search gives me dozens of schools, so to help me narrow the possibilities down I'd love to hear any comments from those who have done this before.

A lot of them give me accomodation options--either staying at the school's dorms or a homestay with a family. Does anyone have any experience with the latter?

Thanks!

Christine

Travelnut

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34537879

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34492337

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34461353

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34501306

weber6560

I have homestays 5 times while studying Spanish in Spain, most recently in May in san sebastian. Absolutely the way to go. You get a side of life you can get no oher way.

schnauzer

ttt - also interested in some more responses.

MissZiegfeld

thank you for the links! if anyone has any recommendations to a school in Paris with an immersion program I'd love to hear it.

justretired

A comment: although Paris is great, it's not necessarily the best location for a <i>language immersion</i> experience, because English is so widely spoken there.

Thus, when you are not at the school, and try to practice your French, people are apt to hear your accent, and reply in English. You will also hear a lot of English being spoken around you. Immersion works best if you can totally avoid your native language during the immersion experience. That's when something seems to &quot;click&quot;, and your brain seems to say, &quot;I guess I can't get along with English any more - I'd better take this French thing seriously as the only way to express my thoughts.&quot;

That's why for my first language study trip to France, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth (well, 1960, to be exact), the program I used picked the city of Pau, in Southern France. They also had programs in other cities, but they avoided Paris. And in my most recent language study trip, I went to the Ecole des Trois Ponts in Roanne, a bit west of Lyon. Roanne is a nice town, but there aren't many foreign tourists, and when I spoke French there, I was answered in French. Nobody ever tried to speak English to me. My trip report, with photos, can be found on my personal web site, at:

http://lkrakauer.home.comcast.net/france04/

The version I posted on the Fodor's Forum, but without the pictures, can be seen at:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34529009

But if Paris particularly interests you, go for it.

- Larry

justretired

Sorry, there's another piece to my trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34533499

- Larry