Culture Package

I learned a lot because I had a lot of lessons and I have been living there 4 weeks but the definitely I don't recommend the school.

classes- completlly mixed... it was a nightmare.. I'm a level B.1.3 so they told me that my level is A2.2 but during first week we made exercices from level B1 and during individual lessons teacher provided me lessons from B2 level. In my group there were person beetwen A1 and B2. I have no idea why they did tests to check the level..... Standard lessons were mix of everything ( usually it was to easy for me)

teachers- it depends from the teacher but generally there is no communictaion beetwen teachers ( for ex. at the morning we are doing grammer at b1/b2 level in the afternoon they provided us exercices at a1/a2 level...). Teacher have really big problem to involve the whole group in disscussion/ lessons ( for ex. 4 person in group two of them about 50 years old, one 30 years ols and one 18 years old and 1,5 hours dissuccions about films from 70-80' years . We pointed few times that we don't know that films and we can talk about more contemporary films becouse only 2 older personnes could talk about this topic however teacher didn't want to change the topic so we spent this 1,5 hours in the silence listening disscusion between 2 older ladies). Teachers don;t moderat disscussions/ lessons. Sometime one student was speaking all the time and noone stop them ( 12 persons in group so it should have looked like that). In second week I had the strangest teacher in my lifeit was completely mess. School should give back my money for that! Waste of time and money! For ex she told us: "we have time so you can disscuss. ok about what subject? I don't dissucuss about something. Ok so maybe about the hunger game book? No fine something another?! " or she wrote on the table some letters and told us gusse what is our topic today, 15 minutes later we stil tryied to guss what she wants from us ( no more hints), or she told us today we will talke about "subjonctif" give me an example. We gave and she told ok so we can listen something ( the end of grammar learning). Of course there were some exceptions and I had also good teachers but even good teacher with mixed group can't provide good lesson.

The level was to easy for me and I had problem with one teacher so I asked about group change, unfortunatly school director told me that it isn't possible ( becouse of my individual lessons beetwen morning and afternoon lessons). For other students ( also with individual lessons!) it wasn't a problem and she moved them to other school. Sometimes she moved to my group people from A2 level who definitelly was at very begining of A2 level so I HAVE TO TEACH THEM! Sometimes she moved people from A2/begining of B1 level to B2 level becouse they wanted to change teacher. I don't understand at all how levels are selected in this school... such actions serve no purpose and cause a terrible mess. I talke with other people in the group and all of them told me the same.

location- in the guide there is information that school is about 10-15 minutes by walk from the residence.
In fact it is about 22 miuntes :) It is longer walk mostly uphill. For me it wasn;t a problem but I recommend you to updat a guide.

acivities- complete disaster! I was there for 4 weeks and didn't take part in any of them. I wanted to, but they were all during my lessons. A large part of the students have an intensive course, so even when the school prepared something, there were only a few people because most of them had lessons at the same time. Moreover, the information was very hidden and you had to be very determined to find it.

housing- residence was quite good. there were only 2 problems- in my room a lot of things (for ex. forks) were missing. I had to asked the guy from reception about everything ( also so basic thing like a broken lamp or a missing bulb in the kitchen. He was very helful but reception is open only in some hours. The second problem was that the boy in reception communicat only in french. I can understan why and it's good becouse we were there to learn french but sometims some phrases in french are very difficult ( I had to prepared earlier to say in french that: "a broken lamp or a missing bulb in the kitchen" xD). For me it was a challenge but ok my level is B1.3 so it is a time start to communicat such things in french but for people at level A0 or A1 or A2 it is completly immpossible! It was always very funny... and many of them finaly changed housing becouse they can't communicate.

!!!Internet!!!!- dears we are living in XXI century and the word looks like another then 50 years ago really it's time to understand tah and accept that! Firstly - alle the time there was a problem with school only in some areas there was wifi (usualy it doesn't work). In the school and in the residence there were problem with server proxy and vpn so it keeps kicking me out of the network and I had to log in again, including the password and setting all the settings. It is IT issue and they really needs it service to change it ( all students and teachers had the same problems). Second thing is that teachers don't recommend/ don't allowed to use phines during lessons ( dictionaire or internet guide). It doesn't serve any purpose because there are adults there who want to learn, so a dictionary or help to check the conjugation of a verb is useful. No one abuses it and it is also a form of learning that takes less time than reading verb conjugations in a book. In today's world, we use the Internet every day. There's no point in pretending it doesn't exist, it's not primary school.

programm junior- it was a nightmare! There were lots of children everywhere behaving as if they were in primary school. I specifically chose the September/October date for course so that there would be no brats. They were everywhere and the school staff devoted 300% of their attention to them, and when we wanted them, they were outraged that we were bothering them. If the school cannot provide conditions for adults, why does it offer these courses? Teachers also did not always remember that they were dealing with adults, not children. Besides, we should be divided into two schools, unfortunately the key to selecting the school will also remain a mystery...

classes too big,teachers good/very good, facilities a bit old.did not participated in any activities.had my own housing

My class and teacher was great, as well as the location. We did receive next to no information beforehand, about the level and the classes. And ended up going to the wrong school on the first day, no information was given about changed location. But overall a very good experience.

The class was really good, But The information before we arrived was lacking. We got no e-Mails after we signed up and got The tests. That was months ago!

Overall my experience at the school was positive. I joined a B1 class for two weeks and learnt quite a bit. There were 7 students in the class the first week and only 3 in the second week. In the afternoon oral class, I was the only student. I fully expected the teacher to cut the lesson short, but she taught the full two hours, which was great for me.

The only problem was that both teachers had trouble connecting their computers to the school network. This happened several times both weeks. The negative part is that the classroom was extremely cold. We had to put on our winter coats.

I stayed at one of the student residences which was adequate. The shower was rather dirty. A thorough scrubbing is needed.

I really liked my class, I think it suited my level of French and it was nice to have people in the same level. My teacher was really nice and helpful when it came to learning French, she was patient and understanding! The location of the school was very nice I liked that school by the port more because I liked the surroundings but the school “le château” had a really nice of you and environment. I really like the residence that we stayed in The only problem there was that there was no fan in the bathroom which made it really humid. But Dominique was really helpful, nice and social.

The classes were good. A lot of variation during lessons. My teacher was good however sometimes I felt she was speaking more than us students, and I would have liked to have left the school feeling a lot more comfortable speaking. I definitely made progress in my 5 weeks but I would have hoped to be given more varied ways of speaking. For example not having to answer a direct question in front of the whole class as you are too put on the spot. The facilities were good. Nice classrooms. The Port was located in a lovely part of Antibes. Le Chateau was a bit further away so it was nice to switch between the schools during the weeks. Aragon residence was really nice! Dominique was excellent. The room was nice however the bathroom didn’t have either a window or a fan so it became very very humid and I’m surprised there wasn’t mold in the walls. Other than that we were very happy with our stay.

I very much enjoyed my time there. The classes weren't too big and the teachers were nice. I improved a lot while I was there.

I was at the school for 3 months and i would do it again. The teachers are competent, i learned a lot and the location is great. The classes are not too big and you can make good excursions from Antibes and discover Cote d`Azur. I was not there during the high season, so things like an oral exam at the start, activities, and the cafeteria was not open. But that was not a big deal, there were many alternatives in the city. What could be improved: Organization and information sometimes, for example: When i arrived i had a problem because i was told i would be picked up, but no one came. I was not told which residence i am and went to the wrong one. My room in arabel had a bad internet connection, and the residence in aragon is much more confident. But all in all i am very satisfied and recommend it to everyone.

Teachers, lessons and environment were superb. I only took a week long course but it was incredibly unselfish and I hope to come back again in the next year. I have already recommended this school to 3 friends.

The location of the school in the city center is convenient, but the classrooms are NOT air-conditioned. The castle facility is 10min uphill from the Place de Gaulle. The classrooms are air-conditioned and there is a canteen with a nice terrace (6e main dish, 1e coffee, 2.5e salad...). We have rented an apartment in Juan-les-pins (near Jardin Pauline) and it was convenient to get to the Place de Gaulle by bus line 1 (only 3-5min one way, 10e weekly ticket).

The morning groups are 12 people, and the afternoon classes are up to 6 people. The lessons are mostly focused on conversation (level A1). We improved substantially our communication skills, however the lessons were a little bit too slow. Probably the reason is that the groups are very mixed and there were some people who struggled with pronunciation and basic grammar. The french grammar is not that hard honestly, especially for people who speak Slavic languages or those who had exposure to Italian or Spanish. In two weeks (2 x 25 lessons, one lesson is 45min) we covered about half of A1 that is fine, but not something exceptional. Loic and Giussy are great teachers. We enjoyed lessons with them.

The school does not follow any book in particular (I personally like Edito very much). They have their own program and distribute copies in the class.

The location was easy to get to by train and also by car. The “chateau” where classes were held had a lovely outdoor terrace. Classrooms were basic but fine. We only had around 6 people in the class so it was a great little intimate class. 12 people would have been a lot in one class. Our teacher was absolutely fantastic, we had a lot of laughs at the same time as learning heaps and it was great that a lot of the class involved speaking and listening. The people in my class and others I started with in different classes were really interesting and a lot of fun in and out of class. After the tests we were placed in classes but the school was very flexible in allowing people to change if the class was too easy or too hard.

First of all, I was amazed at the professionalism and organization displayed from the beginning by all the staff from the correspondences by email all the way to the First Class. I was surprised by the excursion organized on my first day of Beginners' Class, and the vibes we got during the short tour from Place de Gaulle to the Port Vauban, having spent some time in the Antibes and having some questions from seeing all the places I had been to in the past weeks, was like money well spent on the Course for the week.

I was again surprised at the venue I was assigned to for my class...the location was perfect and also were the teachers. My small group was perfect for my level and we all were carried along. I have 4 more weeks of lessons from end of November to the week of December 21st.

I am looking forward to this experience and I know for sure that I will recommend this experience to friends, families and others who may want to know how come I speak the French Language so well.

Thank you for an awesome experience of learning. In my opinion, this is what real immersion should look like. I would like to know if you have a similar centre in Paris?

Regards,
Temituoyo

When I arrived I already had a nice level of French, so I didn’t need much but it definitely helped reaching my goal and passing the C1 exam.
Private lessons with Olivier have been really interesting and helpful. I will raccomend it!

The school, while a 20 minute walk in the searing heat away from the residence, was well climatized, clean, had a good restaurant with a nice cook and clean toilets. The cook was especially nice, because he payed attention to my gluten deficiency and always informed me which food I could eat and which not. He even bought me dietary bread once.

The coffee machine made shitty coffee, though and the other machines were broken for a week and a half.
The teachers had very different styles, but were all good humoured and helped me improve my french in various areas.

Other students were the bast part of the experience though and a significant factor in the betterment of my oral production. Everyone was fairly nice, the staff too, it's a great thing the interns are all around the students' age, I'm sure it makes their time there better as well - although as with all interns, I think they deserve a higher pay. I mean they have to deal with my stupidity and that of a pack of teenagers running about as well. Not an easy job.

The teenagers being in the Castel Arabel was a bit obnoxious, they really had a low regard for their fellow residents' comfort, if you go by the trash they left about and the noise they made, although half of that was just their music taste not being very close to mine. It was a lot more pleasant after they had left.

Then again, some of the other people in the Castel, as great as they all were as company in the evenings and afternoons, didn't seem to be the best kitchen mates. One of the two giant sinks in the communal kitchen was always either clogged or full of dirty dishes or both. It also kind of pissed me off that I didn't get a fridge and therefore could only use the kitchen if I had a way to plan my meals perfectly, so there'd be no leftovers or if I found a person with a fridge with a kind enough heart to let me use theirs.

The room was fine, although it was the smallest of the three that were on our side of the second floor - perversely the biggest of which was always occupied by a single person, while our tiny one in the middle (17) was a two-man room. But the terrace was great, had lots of good times there and it served well as a place to dry our clothes. It also saved my and my roommates lives when the a/c died on us after a week. It never got fixed during our stay...

The Côte d'Azur is pretty enough, with olenty of stuff to visit and see, be it museums, some nature, some cities, some ancient ruins or some overpriced clubs - it really is a shame though that so many of the beaches are quasi-private thorugh legal loopholes.
All in all the bad parts couldn't drag down the atmosphere and experience of learning and drunk comradery with the other students and interns and young employees staying at the residence.
I loved it. Just get more reliable mechanics to fix the a/c, I probably spent twice as much on the laundry machine because of aöl the sweat.

I had a good experience studing French in France. I liked Professor Mireille, the students of different ages, from different countries, a good atmosphere in class.

Accomodation in the LAMBERT Michèle apartment near the "Le Château" school, the "Le Port" school in the town center near the beach but no Wi-Fi.

I am very satisfied with the work of the The team of the INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF ANTIBES, also well organized transfers to the airport.

A big thank you to Michèle LAMBERT for hospitality and the teacher Mireille for patience and character.

We had classes with Mirelle in the morning with a total of 4 students. She was excellent and very enthusiastic and made learning fun. She concentrated on the verbs and I feel she was focused on giving us the best out of the week we were there. In the afternoon we had Fredericke who was also very engaging and charming, we were only 2 pupils and felt privileged to have such intense lesson. The location was lovely and convenient to go around the town. The lunch break was, maybe too long but that's just part of the French lifestyle.

For three weeks, I attended morning sessions with 10 - 12 students and afternoon sessions with 4 - 6 students. The morning session during the first week was awful. The teacher, Francois, just babbled on and on and did not teach anything. The students who were in his class during the previous week(s) were fed up and were looking forward to the end of the session. Fortunately for me, he was not at the school after that week (I do not know why) which meant I had a different teacher for the next two weeks - Amine. He was a fantastic teacher! In the afternoon, for two weeks, I had Jean-Luc who was also a good teacher. The third week I had a new teacher who I was unimpressed with on the first day (he was not able to work the technology which he had planned to use and therefore also just babbled for two hours). On the second day there was a substitute who flat out told me she did not understand me and I felt dismissed. I am 61 years old and my brain is not as facile as it used to be... so learning French is slow for me. I had gained a lot of confidence during the first two weeks, which was just shattered with this very uninspiring teacher (Lela, I think). I walked out of the class and went to the head of the school and they handled the situation very well, I think, by providing me with two private sessions to replace the remainder of the afternoon sessions during my final week of the school.

The setting for both schools was very nice (it would have been helpful to know that a student might switch from one location to another, which I did not know). Luckily the apartment I had rented in the old village of Antibes was convenient to both. I was at the Chateau for two weeks and the harbor for the third. The classrooms were very hot (in September) in both schools. It was difficult to have the windows open at the harbor due to the noise outside. I was also surprised at the lack of the use of technology that is now available. The negative thing about the Chateau was that it was full of young kids, who were unsupervised when they were outside of the classroom and noisy. That, in addition to not having a non-smoking designated area outside meant there was really no place for older, non-smokers to go during the breaks and the two+ hours between the morning and afternoon sessions.

I did not use the housing offered by the school, nor take part in any extracurricular activities.

Overall, my experience was very positive. Since I spend 4 - 5 months a year in the area near Antibes (Golfe Juan), I plan on returning to the school in the future and can only hope that I have Amine as my teacher once again.

During OFF-Season it's worth doing a class of French in Antibes because nothing can distract you.
The classes were small - up to 10 people - and important to mention age-wise mixed! I, being 31, didn't feel too old.
School was demanding but in the end: how much effort you put into learning is up to you.

I really liked the classes and the teachers; they were just amazing.

Chateau was nice as it had a lot of space, but it wasn't in a good location. There were no restaurants near, and the restaurant in the school should be open to all the students, not only juniors, since it's extra pay. The rest were fine.

I didn't participate in the activities.

With regard to the accommodation, the property was nice but the rooms were not good. In my room, the sink was leaking, and there were no towels to put on the floor. They lacked materials to clean the room, with only one machine to do the laundry, and the coffee machine was not working. It also said that the residence was 10 minutes away by walking but it took 20 minutes at the least. Also, people don't respect the rule about noise after 10PM. Internet doesn't work in the whole property.