Rachel Johnston: 16 week Languages for Life Course

I arrived on the course knowing very little French (I could hardly count to ten), so I expected to improve with both understanding and speaking ability. I also expected to make a lot of new friends.
Were my expectations met? Yes! I met some amazing people and some friends I hope to keep for life. My French has come on very well, but I still have a long way to go!

I was impressed with the lessons themselves and the class sizes were always relatively small, which meant there was a good teacher to student interaction. The school was comfortable and clean, the staff and teachers extremely friendly and always willing to help.

The location of the French language school was great for the beach. It was a 15/20-minute walk to town but really quick by bus. There was quite a high turnover of students at the school whilst I was there, which had a lot to do with the summer season but that just meant more friends!

The college arranged some social evenings, such as a dance party at the end of each month, free ice-cream parties and a few buffets, which were all well organised and very enjoyable.
Cannes is a very interesting place to stay. It was possible to eat well and cheaply if you know where the good cafes and bars were. The locals were very friendly and sometimes a bit eager to speak English. However if you mention that you are from the college they are more than happy to help you practice your French. Cannes is very well situated in terms of accessibility to other towns and is also very lively.

There was always plenty to do during the day and evening. The nightlife is good, a great place to go is a club called ‘ 5 on 7’ in the centre of town, lots of students meet there.
I was very satisfied with my accommodation in the Campus Residence. It was basic but very comfortable and had everything I needed. I think I was lucky because I was allocated one of the newly decorated rooms for the duration of my stay.

CESA were very friendly, easy to deal with and they made everything very straightforward for me.

Would I go again? Yes! I’d also recommend Cannes to other students; I had some great moments there and made lots of friends! The weather was fantastic too.

Thanks CESA!