Thursday 9 May 2013

A French Immersion Trip !

When you start learning a foreign language (French in my case), it is a bit tough getting a hang of it. But when you eventually reach a certain level of comfort, you start enjoying it, you want to explore mediums other than your text books, like comics, songs, movies (with subtitles off course) and at an advanced stage, novels and documentaries.

At this point, to work on your speaking skills, take up a French immersion trip and experience the French countryside at the same time.

Being one of the most taught languages worldwide, there are not only a hoard of language schools in the country, some of them have taken this learning to another level; THE FRENCH IMMERSION SCHOOLS

The ones I’m fascinated with are the schools that offer courses ranging from as short as 2 weeks to as long as 9 months.

You study throughout the weekdays and on the weekends, explore the city, the country or the neighbouring countries even.

School 1: Institut de Touraine (Touraine; Central France) http://www.institutdetouraine.com/


Situated in the small city named Tours in the Touraine province, the place is accessible from Paris and other major cities via the TGV train.

Course Durations: 2 Weeks (€480) to 48 Weeks (€9,000)

Arrive in Tours on a Sunday, sit for an orientation test to get your French level assessed (if you are a fresher, join the fresher level straight away) and start your classes from Monday. 

for 5 hours a day on the weekdays, immerse into the French texts in a classroom with only 10 - 15 students.

In the evenings, explore the beautiful city, the Loire valley and the immense chateau, val de Loire



On the weekends, explore the local cuisine and check out the Cafe and Boulangeries or better yet, hop on an overnight train to Paris/Nice/Lyon/Marseille or to an exotic land in any of the 20 nearby countries connected by Eurail.

Accommodation: Living with a host family is the cheapest mode where you pay €175/week. the family will pick you up from the train station, provide breakfast and dinner on weekdays, 3 meals on weekends along with laundry, room cleaning and free wi-fi access.

Other options include a twin shared room (€100/week, cheaper than the host family but scarcely available) to rented apartments (€175/week) but without the food and other amenities.

All the books, materials and learning equipment is courtesy the institute and you receive a certificate as you complete the course.

Check out this video for more:




Estimated cost for a 1 month course (Visa + Flights + Insurance + Tuition + Accommodation): Rs. 200,000 

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School 2: Institut de francais (Villefranche-sur-Mer, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur; Southern France) http://www.institutdefrancais.com/

Course Durations: 2 Weeks (€1,400 in non-peak months – €1,700 in peak months) to 4 Weeks (€2,800 – €3,400) 



Located in a small hilly fisherman town right on the serene French Riviera, this school will tell you what exactly an immersion trip means. 

Drown yourself in French 8.5 hours every weekday where you sit inside a classroom for some of the time, spend time in a listening lab and have one-to-one lessons with the teacher every single day. 


Coupled with outdoor teaching, meals and tea, this is one of the best places you’ll come across when you’re out on a learning plus exploration trip abroad.

On weekends, take a small ride to Nice, Marseille, Cannes or better yet, Monte Carlo and experience their cuisine and nightlife.


Accommodation: Live in a student community apartment (€380/month – €600/month) or a private studio apartment (€1,000 above) overseeing the ocean. 

All the books, materials and learning equipment is courtesy the institute and you receive a certificate as you complete the course.

Estimated cost for a 2 week course (Visa + Flights + Insurance + Tuition + Accommodation): Rs. 1,80,000 



Estimated cost for a 1 month course (Visa + Flights + Insurance + Tuition + Accommodation): Rs. 370,000


I will be off to one of these 2 schools next year and will surely update this post about it. Till then, you have info on a better school or have any further questions, reach out to me.

Bon Voyage !!

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