Immersion courses.

[Chantemerlière]

I am

interested in doing an immersion course to improve my French and I am looking

for somewhere in Poitou-Charentes.

I have

found courses offered by “Le Logis Des Tours” in Villefagnan, which would be very

convenient but I have a couple of reservations.  These courses are for small groups and therefore

likely to suffer from all such group activities in that everyone will be at different

levels and will learn at different rates. But the most likely problem is that

if there is a small group of people they are going to fall back to speaking English

to each other thereby loosing the benefits of the immersion course.

Has anyone here

done one of these courses, either at the “Le Logis Des Tours” or elsewhere, and

what do you think?

Thank you.

[fromage]

When we move to France permanently we are planning to do a course at Poitiers University (http://cfle.univ-poitiers.fr/en/Cours/organisationC.htm) as recommended to us by the Dutch Agent who we bought our house from and who is (now) fluent in French.  They seem to be good value when compared to some of the weekly courses that are offered but you do need to do 13 weeks at a time.

If you have the time, but Poitiers is too far for you, then try looking at some of the Universities in your area to see if they do similar courses.

Hope this helps!

 

[YCCMB]

La Rochelle University does them as well, but I think (I haven't looked for some time) that they're only summer schools. They do, however, stream students appropriately by level and ability, which would address your concerns about that.

There's also CAREL in Royan.

[Benjamin]

I haven't studied it but you may find something of interest on this English lanuage site for La Rochelle University.

http://www.agglo-larochelle.fr/anglais/entreprendre/mat_universite.php

Sorry, you'll have to cut and paste the link.

[Chantemerlière]

Thank you all for

your contribution.

I forgot to

mention in my original post that I am 62 years old and I am looking mainly to

improve my oral and listening skills, i.e. nothing too academic. Also I should have provided this link to the “Le Logis Des Tours” to indicate the sort of thing that I am interested in. http://www.lelogisdestours.com/content/view/36/55/  But, what worries me about this particular course is, can you have complete immersion in a group situation?

The language course at "La Université de Poitiers" looks very interesting and if I was younger and lived closer I would consider having a go.

Thank you

[mint]

You might or might not decide on the Poitiers course but, whatever you do, do NOT let your age be a barrier to your learning.

Quite often older people have the time and the motivation that younger people lack (for all sorts of reasons) and if you feel like a go, then do it!

There's nothing like a mental challenge to keep senility at bay.

It's important not to talk yourself out of doing things because you feel "too old".

[Chantemerlière]

Thank you for your encouragement and yes, I quite agree with these sentiments but, it is not my age as such that would prevent me taking up a course in Poitiers. I was just trying to say that, for the moment, I do not want an academic course, rather just a couple of weeks immersion to enable me to more comfortable communicate with people whom I come into contact with on a daily basis.

[tegwini]

Hello

I teach English in the school holidays to foreign students.  I also teach English part-time in a well known grammar school during term time.  The college I work for in the holidays would never or rarely put students having the same language into the same home, and it emphasises this in its literature.  Generally students go into a family situation living with their teacher and thus cannot speak their own language and make good progress.  This is what is normally considered to be an 'immersion' course.

Having officially retired, and being a similar age I do not consider age to be a problem.  Motivation and effort are more important.

I have investigated the Poitiers Univ. course and it sounds OK, and quite good value.  I am planning to do this course once we move.

It's a good idea to start now and the BBC has lots on its web site, also www.bitesizedlanguages.com is very useful, and f.o.c. and arrives daily, with clickable sound too.  Other www. sites too,

Bonne chance!

Tegwini

 

[odile]

learning a language is one way to prevent the onset of Alzeihmer's - so go for it. If you ae in a group, you can really influence the language used by insisting on speaking French, and encourage the others. Just firmly but kindly state that the course is very important to you and cost you a great deal of money, etc.

[Albert the InfoGipsy]

Something nobody's mentioned yet is money. A proper immersion course will be expensive.

When my missus worked for Berlitz, many years ago, a total immersion course involved one or two teachers per student for a full working day including lunch. Even 1:1 you're looking at a minimum of 1,000€ a week with a freelance professional teacher at provincial French rates. For an established teaching organisation you can double that. Or more!

Mrs IG is a highly qualified & experienced French teacher to adults and she is no great believer in immersion and crash courses. Spending the same amount of time & money spread over a year or two is likely to give better results because the student has more time to absorb and apply their learning. The only reason I have known her to recommend a short intensive course has been to deal with a very specific need, such as how to chase French customers for late payments. These usually work best with students who already have a decent general level in the target language.

 

 

[Chantemerlière]

[quote user="Albert the InfoGipsy"]

Mrs IG is a highly qualified & experienced French teacher to adults and she is no great believer in immersion and crash courses. Spending the same amount of time & money spread over a year or two is likely to give better results because the student has more time to absorb and apply their learning. The only reason I have known her to recommend a short intensive course has been to deal with a very specific need, such as how to chase French customers for late payments. These usually work best with students who already have a decent general level in the target language.  [/quote]

This is a very interesting point of view and one that I had not considered.

My French is not too bad and what I am looking for is to have the rough edges taken off. I can read and understand an article in a magazine, although not every single word and I can follow conversations on the radio station "France Culture". I have to add here that I am not a highbrow; but they do speak very clearly and they cover a wide range of topics including current affairs. My problem is one of confidence in speaking the language and this is why I had thought that an immersion course would be best for me.

I am always open to suggestions so thank you again to everyone who has contributed; all very interesting.

[mint]

Have you considered a Conversation Group?  I know that these are run by the so-called "French-English" Associations set up principally for Brits but also for French people who want to learn English.

Sometimes they are run by a French teacher (perhaps under the auspices of GRETA) and sometimes they are independent groups of people who meet to speak French.

I can't tell you more because I don't go to one.

 

[odile]

Shame you are not a plumber, and shame you want to go to Poitou. I would happily take a student free of charge in the Jura against help with installing 2 shower rooms next year.  I love the idea of swapping skills/labour without money exchanging pockets via the tax-man!

[Chantemerlière]

[quote user="odile"]Shame you are not a plumber, and shame you want to go to Poitou. I would happily take a student free of charge in the Jura against help with installing 2 shower rooms next year.  I love the idea of swapping skills/labour without money exchanging pockets via the tax-man!

[/quote]

What a pity Odile. The plumbing part would be no problem, but I live in the Charente-maritime and unfortunately the Jura is just too far to commute, but thank you for the offer.

[odile]

An immersion course (no need for immersion heater!) could be over several weeks - hosting and all thrown in. When you see the cost of such courses (I have 30+ years exp. teaching French + German, and have been running residential courses in our UK home for past 10 years, for kids and adults- in groups of 1-6) ...

Maybe somebody else out there? (just in case anybody is wondering about my motives, I am very happily married to Englsih OH (39years now)).

[Chantemerlière]

[quote user="odile"] (just in case anybody is wondering about my motives, I am very happily married to Englsih OH (39years now)). [/quote]

Your motives were never in question as far as I was concerned Odile and I do think that it is an excellent idea to swap skills/labour.

[NormanH]

Rather than taking a course have you thought of joining an Association where you would be the only non-French person in the group?

I brushed-up my conversation both by working in an all-French team (which may not be possible for you) but also by being on a couple of committees where I had to express my self in French because nobody else was  confident in English.

It's amazing how quickly you develop, providing you already have the level you describe.

[Chantemerlière]

We have already discussed something similar NormanH and I am currently awaiting a reply about joining a local society. Also, a nearby village organises weekends away (the last two were to Amsterdam for the tulips and Toulouse to see the Airbus works) and we are awaiting the details of  the next one. A French friend always goes and she is encouraging us to join them next time.

I do lack confidence and I think that something like the above, or as you suggest, will be a big help.

Thank you.

[Doodle]

Have a look at the open university courses for french. It costs around £450 but is much cheaper than an immersion course and you do a little everyday which I have found very helpful for my old grey matter! The course lasts for around 9 months and you do monthly assignments which are marked. You can do a paper course or an online course. You are assigned a teacher that you can converse with by email or phone and you have access to a chat forum which is very helpful. I have done the beginners course and can recommend it. Chris

[Cendrillon]

[quote user="Chantemerlière"]We have already discussed something similar NormanH and I am currently awaiting a reply about joining a local society. Also, a nearby village organises weekends away (the last two were to Amsterdam for the tulips and Toulouse to see the Airbus works) and we are awaiting the details of  the next one. A French friend always goes and she is encouraging us to join them next time.

I do lack confidence and I think that something like the above, or as you suggest, will be a big help.

Thank you.

[/quote]

I think the weekend away would be a brilliant and most enjoyable way to improve your French. It should be lots of fun, a relaxed atmosphere and before you realise it you will get to know the people in the group and be chatting and laughing with them.

Bon courage, just go for it![:)]