Living in the Languedoc: Languages: Learning French
If you do not already speak French then
learning it is the best investment you can make. The language
is half the culture. Without the language you will condemned
to life of dealing with other people like you, stranded in
an alien country, surviving rather than living, watching CNN
and reminiscing about Watney's Red Barrel.
Here are some ideas for learning before you set off for France:
- Colleges in the UK offer French lessons - these can
be a good place to start but are increasingly affected
by the creeping bureaucracy endemic in the UK.
- There are plenty of French natives living in the UK,
some of whom offer private French lessons.
- Founded in 1910, the Institut Français is the official
French government centre of language and culture in London,
check here. http://www.ambafrance.org.uk/institut/language/lc_corner.php.
It is one of 150 Instituts in more than 50 countries throughout
the world. French language courses are also provided by
another French Institute in Edinburgh, and various Alliance
Francaise all over the UK (Bath, Belfast, Bristol, Cambridge,
East-Midlands, Exeter, Glasgow, Jersey, London, Milton-Keynes,
Manchester and Oxford) and around the world, For comprehensive
information, please visit the Institut Française' website
or contact the Bureau des Etudes en France: Ms. Swarna
Arora Institut français 17 Queensberry Place London SW7
2DT T: 020 7073 1378 studiesinfrance@ambafrance.org.uk
- Books and tapes. Try Michelle Thomas. Expensive but
still good value.
- Courses in France. Click here for courses in the Languedoc
Once you are in France, the options are much the same except that you now have the opportunity to mix with French people all the time, so tempting as it is you should eschew all your non-French friends for a while.
If you don't know any Brits, Americans, Australians etc, count yourself blessed.
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