French language & Volunteering

I enjoyed Lyon and liked the location of the school within the city. It was a rich cultural experience. But the first day was chaotic, and the faculty were scrambling with more students than anticipated. The orientation was in rapid-fire French, and as a beginner, I didn’t understand any of it. My instructor also assumed we were all conversant in French, even though it was the beginner level. An immersion is fine, if done in a way that can be understood through simple phrases and examples. That was not the case in this class. The grammar lessons were helpful, since she then slowed down enough to explain the concepts and used examples. But the bulk of the classroom time was beyond me. So, while I did learn more grammar, I did not become more confident or conversant in French.
It seemed that the major focus was on providing students with certification for their university programs, which is fine, but I attended with the hopes of actually learning to speak French!

The facilities were very nice. The teacher was clear with times and places. She paid close attention to puzzled faces. She used English when necessary, but slower more basic French might have been more helpful than her rapid conversations.
Our classes taught basic French, but the teacher spoke very rapidly as if we already were fluent in the language. The points were eventually made clear, but the style was not the best for A1 and A2 students. Similarly, the initial 40 minute lecture with basic school information when we arrived was delivered in very rapid French and mostly unintelligible, I think, for at least half of the audience. The classroom instruction included developing an imaginary animal, but no exercises in how to order a taxi, discuss charges, or similar basic needs in French. Of course, grammar is very important, but unless one is studying for months rather than weeks, stepping into a class, such as we had, was not very helpful. Finally, simply hearing so much French certainly tuned our ears a bit, but more thoughtful instruction would be nice. I took French, Portuguese, and Spanish in college and was able to converse, read, and write in each language, though I have been fluent only in Spanish. I appreciate the language immersion idea, but holding people under the water too long drowns them in French rather than educates them in French

An excellent experience:

ALPADIA is a very organize International language school for persons who want to learn french or brush up their French, you have student from all over the Globe!! all ages!!!
It is a great experience I am taking a super intense french course a total of 36 hrs a week and also ALPADIA has different activities besides the classes that anybody is free to participate all are very interesting.

Teacher are good overall it is great experience.

I do want to give a big thank you to KRISTELE from LANGUAGE INTERNATIONAL, she is super personable and professional she found the perfect french school according to my needs and she was easy to contact her at all times, thanks to Kristele I am where I am and I do strongly recommend LANGUAGE INTERNATIONAL.

Definitely I do recommend ALPADIA and LANGUAGE INTERNATIONAL anytime!!!

ALBA HOLLEMAN

The Alpadia school in Lyon is a perfect school for those who need to undertake training in a new language. The school staff is very kind and available for any clarification. The teacher is very knowledgeable, patient and understanding. We work a lot and every Friday we take a test to check the progress of learning. I do not have any negative comments.

The classes in Alpadia were great. During my first week, I had my classes in the morning starting at 9 am and I usually finished at around 1 pm, which was much better than my second-week classes which started at about 2 pm and ended at 6 pm. My first week I felt like I had more time for myself and explored the city more. I generally had an easier time learning in the morning. When I finished at 6 pm I was too tired to do anything else.
The teachers I had always tried to make the classes a lot more interesting and engaging. My grammar teacher was really nice and kind and even took us on a trip to Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse, where I was able to practice some real conversational French.
My first "conversation" teacher was only my teacher for a week, but I enjoyed talking with him the most. My second "conversation" teacher was very understanding and patient given the heat wave that was happening in Lyon at the time. I generally enjoyed talking in the smaller group that I was in for my first week.
The school's location was perfect, right in the centre of the city, but I was very unlucky enough to live 30 minutes from the school, which also made it difficult for me to arrive on time on my first days because there were problems with the buses.
At the time that I was there, it was very hot outside, and the school didn’t have any air conditioning which is my only complaint about the school. In my short stay, I didn’t have time to go on any activities except for a small walking tour, which was okay.
My housing situation was very good. Mrs. Fannya was kind, helpful and patient even with my poor French skills.
Two weeks in Lyon are far from enough, so for my next time I would go for more than two weeks, but still, I learned a lot and had a good time.

I enjoyed both my private sessions as well as the group class. I thought the teacher (Doriane) was attentive to what I wanted to learn in the private lessons, and was great with the entire class, all of them came from very different language origins.

Location of the school was in one of the best places in Lyon. Most of the teachers are helpful and each teacher has a different teaching technique and I think that's a good thing.

During my three weeks at Alpadia I had two private teachers. Both of them were very well educated and very kind. On my request, the private conversation lessons I had booked, did not take place in a classroom at Alpadia. Instead, we conversed while taking nice walks, sitting in a park or café, and we event went to see exhibitions together. This form of private lessons provided us with lots of different topics to talk about. I thorougly enjoyed them and my spoken French has very much improved during my stay in Lyon.

I very much appreciate the school's efforts and flexibiliy to offer me this tailor-made French course.

As I did not take part in any of the activities and stayed in a private apartment, I cannot comment on these aspects.

I really enjoyed the stay in Lyon. It was very helpful and I learned a lot and the facilities were good. There were a lot of possibilities to eat at lunch. The school activities were a lot of fun as well and Lyon has a lot of activities to do so it was perfect for a 3 week stay.

I only did a week in Lyon to brush up on my French and was so happy with my decision to study at Alpadia. I stayed with a host family who were very accommodating and willing to share all they knew about Lyon and French culture. The school is located in the heart of Lyon, with plenty to do just outside its doors. My teacher was patient, kind, and funny, everything you'd want from someone teaching you a foreign language. The classes were interesting and were tailored to the level of the students, I never felt like the class was too easy or too hard.

I liked the location of the main building of Alpadia. It was a beautiful building both inside and outside. Because I took my course during July-August period, the weather was extremely hot. Although there were multiple ventilators inside the building, would have been better if there had been A/C. But apart from that, I was satisfied with all the facilities, activities, but in particular, the friendly, helpful and warm director and the team of teachers. They were dedicated, patient and supportive, however I found the time dedicated to grammar education insufficient and the overall grammar education weak. I am aware of the fact that the French grammar is difficult and takes time to settle, however, I also think it's extremely important to have a solid grammar foundation to be able to improve a language in an efficient and effective way. Another point that I think may be improved is the vocabulary training. The teaching method that the Alpadia teachers were using was speaking oriented, which has given me confidence and courage to speak French both at the school and in my daily life, however, I believe I'd have left the course with more and more settled vocabulary had the vocabulary training been per topic and taught in a more categorised and organised style.

What I didn't like was the extra building I had to use for one the levels, which was the Lycee Japy. It was inconvenient that there was barely anyone at the reception due to its being summer holidays and the two doors that I had to go through [the outside and inside door] would need to be opened by someone. This was problematic and stressful when there was even 5 minutes delay. Had to call either my teacher or someone from the class [which was no problem] but had to cause an interruption. Although it's students' responsibility to be ready on time, an unexpected delay due to unexpected circumstances is likely to happen.

Alpadia classes are ok.
Teachers are well educated to give students the knowledge of the French language and trying to all their best for the students.
Location of the school is perfect.
Facilities as i knew it is highly standard.
Activity was excellent.
Housing selected carefully hospitals and clean houses.
B.reg.Bader

Great Location and qualified teachers - require a better system of evaluating students to ensure all students are adequate for the level of the class.

Intersting experience, motivating environment.
Teachers are the best asset in the school
I really enjoyed every hour

My experience at ALPADIA-language schools Lyon, was remarkably pleasant. There I met people from several countries, all very friendly. I made new friends and I was able to increase my knowledge about new cultures.

The school is well located, easy to reach, in the center of Lyon, close to tourist attractions and all kinds of shops. The school has facilities appropriate to teaching, with large classrooms and didactic material all provided by it. The staff are very friendly and helpful and are always available to students.

There are extra classroom activities with visitation to the interesting points of Lyon. The teachers are very capable and friendly, with a total professional dedication, and with patience lead us to learning in a simple and efficient, making everything simpler and easier. The teachers were above all friends and made us very comfortable.
I loved the experience, and I would love to be able to repeat it, continuing my studies at ALPADIA, where I felt at home.

To the masters and employees my thanks and see you soon!

Your overall rating from ALPADIA - Language Schools Lyon: EXCELLENT

I liked the facilities, the location but I think the material and method, poor. The teacher was good, but I aspected much more. I aspected the course were much more intensif, because the teacher let us speak but she doesn't corrected.

I spent 4 weeks at ALPADIA Lyon and I really loved the teachers in general. I had 6 different teachers because I moved to another level on the second week and also the teachers rotate from time to time, which I think is a good feature.
I liked the activities (games and music) during the lessons as well as some social activities. The school facilities are good enough and it is well located.
The only downside I saw, was the bed in the school's studio in which I spent the four weeks. The bed is very cheaply made and got me some severe pain on the back. There is no TV on the studio which means that we cannot be in contact with the local television for a continuous practice of the listening skills.

My trip started on the 24th of August when my host-mother came to Part-Dieu train station to pick me up.
At the beginning I was so scared about meeting her because I didn't know what to expect but she seemed so nice that I trusted her the moment I met her. The house in which I stayed at was just so lovely and the family who hosted me was very nice to me and gave me everything I needed so I felt very comfortable in the house situation.
As regards the school environment, everything was amazing. My teachers were incredibly funny and made for their role. They helped me improve a lot and also made the lessons interesting and amusing. My schoolmates were perfect, now I can say that I have brothers and sisters all around the world and I'm so happy about it. The school provided so many interesting activities which we can do together and that was a good thing because you can meet people and make friends during your first week, thanks for that, which was very important if you're a shy person. At the end of my trip I didn't want to go back to my country, because I felt like Lyon was my home. Everything was just amazing and I miss France so much!

I liked the teachers and the environment with classmates at school.
Teaching has been well-supported and has been motivating.
The material has been adequate in the classroom. The whiteboard and videos that have been used were very interesting. The school did not like to change the schedule week to week. I found it problematic to go in the afternoon. But the director explained the reasons to me.

I thought the environment was cramped and that the teaching style was a bit harsh to begin with. The teacher avoided me in class, with preference to other more competent students. Sometimes it felt uncomfortable. I am a teacher, so I am aware of the importance of engaging students. Some of the activities were a bit unclear and at times boring.

The afternoon session was pointless as it was only 40 minutes long.

Classes in this school are great. Teachers all always making a big effort to communicate themselves in the best way possible to the students. The atmosphere down the school is friendly. The school is located in front of the Rhone--a great view and near everything interesting. Activities are fine, it's nice to do them twice a week. My house family facilities weren't as I expected, I wasn't really comfortable and very far from the school. Everything else is just as I had in mind.