When booking a French language course in Paris or elsewhere in France and reviewing websites your immediate concerns will be school location, the kind of course you want to do and prices.
But there are some less obvious things that you may want to confirm before you go ahead and enroll.
How long has the school been Established?
Enrolling with a school that has been around for a good number of years is one way to help ensure that you will be with a quality, reputable institution with many years of experience catering to students needs.
Class Schedules
Exactly how much time will you get with your teacher after break times are taken into account? Does you schedule involve some time doing self-study or using language labs?
Class Sizes
Being in a small class is obviously much more effective than being in a larger one as you get more time with the teacher and classes can generally progress faster.
Nationality Mix
French schools in Paris are really international with students coming from all over the world to study. An American, for example may want to be at a school with many of his or her compatriots or he or she may wish to meet more people from other countries. Meeting new friends from other countries who may not speak your language is a great way to practice your French.
Hidden Costs
Most schools are up front about all the costs that will be involved but you may want to confirm that there are not hidden charges for things such as textbooks or using school facilities.
Accommodation
If the school is providing your accommodation then you should find out their policies on accommodation changes. You may not like your home stay family or your apartment and you need to know if the school will charge you if you require changes.
Refunds
What kind of refund policy does the school have in place? If your plans change and you can't commence on the starting date or you have to cancel the course are you able to have fees paid in advance refunded or able to have tuition deferred to a future date.
If you take the time to do some research and ask the school registrar a lot of questions about the school then you stand the best chance of finding a great French course in Paris and having an amazing educational and cultural experience.
Click here to visit the website of Accord Ecole Des Languages in Paris, the school that I recommend to my students. They recently celebrated their 20th birthday, are accredited with the French Governments 'Quality Award' and they have been nominated by Language Travel Magazine as one of the top four schools in France in 2007 and 2008. Steve Sutherland is an education agent in Taipei, Taiwan who has placed Taiwanese students into language courses around the world. |
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