French Group Course in Nice

Stephanie Shaw
3 weeks
Standard course in Nice

The best surprise for me was that the CESA staff seemed to be so knowledgeable and asked plenty of questions to help me properly consider where I wanted to go and what course would best suit me!  A great start to what proved to be a terrific language course!

I expected to improve in confidence, I really wanted to work on the fluency of my spoken French and to a lesser extent (though I understand it’s important) more grammar and formal skill learning.  I expected to be taught by native French speakers (which I was) so that my spoken skills became less stilted, more casual and believable.

Three weeks isn’t long once on the course, to achieve such goals, but I think the French school in Nice, did a great job and undoubtedly my confidence and fluency really improved.  Okay I still won’t be mistaken for a native speaker, but I do feel my conversation is less stilted and I can concentrate more on what I want to say, than how I should say it – which is a great leap forward.

The native French teachers were fantastic and enthusiastic.  They really wanted us to succeed, and their keenness rubbed off on all us students, even on those days when the grammar seemed beyond us.

I enjoyed meeting a very diverse group of students.  There were very few other native English speakers.  I also appreciated the fact that many students were there for equally serious reasons, exams or jobs so were truly focused on learning French.  It wasn’t a holiday with a bit of French thrown in – it was seriously challenging and we all saw rapid progress as a result of the effort we made.

I enjoyed being in Nice – plenty to see and do whatever your taste.  Hit the beach or the shops or be more cultured as you prefer.  Also you can easily and cheaply get a train or bus out of the city to explore other places.  I visited Monaco and Cannes, but tended to stay near the harbour and old town in Nice most of the time.  For a great night life, days on the beach or chilling out in town Nice is fabulous.

My hostess was very welcoming and I got on well with her and found it a great way to practise my French out of class.  The apartment was small but quite close to the school and the city centre.

The French school’s teaching style worked really well for me.  A good investment in terms of my time and my money!