French Intensive Course in Nice

Hannah Ridgley
Intensive French Course
2 weeks in Nice

Linguistically I was hoping to improve my written French but also gain more confidence in my speaking.  But writing and listening were my main priorities.  Generally I was hoping to meet others with the same interest in French and meet other Europeans, not English people!  I also hoped all the lessons to be conducted in French.

The French school atmosphere was great and I met loads of nice people with similar interests and the centre was really vibrant. The teachers themselves were absolutely fantastic and were always willing to explain if you didn’t understand.  The French Intensive course in Nice worked brilliantly for me. I really liked the vocab building techniques and the book of grammar they gave us was great.  The teachers really were the best element of the course, as they were so patient, friendly and encouraging.

The French school in Nice was in a good location, not far from the bus stop.  Good sized classrooms, and altogether a pleasant working environment.  As is always the case it was the staff that made it though and they were good, approachable if you had a problem and did their utmost to help us learn.  I also loved the school excursions – complete with school guide and they were well priced.

There were not many Brits – which worked for me – lots of Germans and Swiss Germans who were very serious about wanting to improve their language skills.

I would definitely recommend the Intensive Course with the afternoon lessons as this extra spoken skills works and the games really made a difference, I don’t think I would have progressed as much without those extra 3 afternoons of work each week and there was still time to explore Nice.

Nice is a great destination, as it is lively, hot, good beaches, with something for everyone; museums, shops etc.  It was quite pricey, but then it’s the Rivieria so I was expecting that.  Good food, which wasn’t too pricey.  The night life was good with lots of restaurants and bars to chose from.  Good tip – go along the coast to Villeneuve-sur-Mer for nicer and less crowded beaches and check out the Toursit office, next to the main station for advice on everything that’s going on – they are just so nice!

My hosts were so sweet.  They were the best of all the hosts I’ve stayed with (and I’ve done several homestays in both France and Germany).  So willing to help, collecting me from the airport, giving me lifts to the station and providing a lovely clean room, and great food.  They were also so encouraging about me speaking French when I was with them, it did my self confidence the world of good!

I loved Nice and I’d recommend it to anyone – whatever your age.  It’s a good school and CESA’s service was terrific too, got me through that nervous period just before the course starts and made sure all went smoothly for me.