Learn french, summer in France?

Question

My sister wants to go to France in the summer and learn french, she is a Non-native speaker which means she is learning from scartch. I was wondering if someone could recommend a program to learn french from scratch and be fluent by summer's end. Thank You

Answer 1

Speaking from experience, I would say that your sister's goal is unrealistic. A year would be a more realistic time frame in which to develop fluency. I know many students (with 3 or 4 years of French lessons already) wo have been away for 3 months. They return improved, but by no means fluent. After a year, however, the majority of my friends who went to France were fluent. To increase the value of her time abroard, your sister should focus on learning the basics BEFORE she leaves for France. There are many programs available, and a lot depends on the age of your sister. Avoid programs where she will be surrounded by other foreigners. The best option is home stay with native French people, who DO NOT speak english. This should be reinforced with classes at a language centre, like the Alliance Francaise. Fluency can only be developed by TALKING the language, so she must be devoted to immersing herself in French culture. I spoke basically only French for a year on Rotary Youth Exchange and became fluent.

Answer 2

The best place to learn French is maybe by following the lessons given by the Alliance Française – the teachers are all very qualified and have a lot of experience, the schools often orgaise trips, the range of lessons available suit any need. The Alliances are usually located in major cities, which would also mean that your sister would be able to enjoy the cultural life without feeling too obviously foreign, like she might in a smaller place. Those schools can also help their students look for lodgings. Also, the classes always have students of mixed nationality, so they're a great opportunity to meet lots of interesting people!

Answer 3

Hello !
I'm French, I can recommend you this :
In my university, there is a special school teaching French to strangers from all around the world. This means that students learn from scratch and speak only in French (nobody's shy, since all students are all beginners). They also have a summer session.
Here is the address :
CIDEF
3 place André-Leroy - BP 10808
49008 Angers Cedex 01
tél. : [phone]

(it's in the Western part of France).

Answer 4

Hi, i'm french...

There's a very good summer program at the University of Strasbourg. A friend of mine did it.
you can send them a mail at :
[e-mail]

or have a look at their website :
http://www-ulp.u-strasbg.fr/article.php/1/2/1-080-659-707/french-for-foreigners#

as far as I remember it was even quite cheap. And Strasbourg is very well connected with the rest of the world because it's very close to Frankfurt.

Answer 5

She should try to find a site that has a forum so she can actively use her newly aquired french. She should also read a lot of books in french. there are many level one french bookes, like pauvre anne and petit nicholas. bonne chance mon amie!

Answer 6

http://www.france-pub.com/french/
http://www.france-pub.com/french/index2.html
http://www.frenchassistant.com/default.asp
http://www.frenchtutorial.com/
http://www.bonjour.com/
and many others. just type free french lessons on your google browser and you'll have lots of sites to choose from.
bonne chance !