Where to learn French

Any advice about locations or specific schools for learning French? I'd like to do an intensive course over the summer for 3-4 weeks for at least 20 hours/week and am not an absolute beginner, but have very basic French.

I have read that the Tours area is recommended for courses - it's not far from Paris and there is supposed to be good schools there. This one looks good to me: http://www.institutdetouraine.com/.

Do you think that I should definitely avoid Paris due to the temptation to speak English? Or perhaps because there are more interesting things to do in Paris, I would spend more time out and about?

What about doing this 3-4 weeks in Dakar, Senegal? I've read that this is one of the best places in Africa and I'd enjoy the Africa experience, but perhaps it's best to learn a more standard accent.

This post has been removed by its author.

If learning a language is the main reason for the trip i would personally focus on finding the best school, regardless of actual location.

This subject has been brought up on many threads back as far as 2007 and Montpellier (in the Languedoc region)
often comes up. Here's links to some of the more recent threads:
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/europe-western-europe/france/live-in-french-language-schools-Montpellier
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/europe-western-europe/france/recommendations-for-french-teachers-schools-anywhere-in-france
And here's the online LP guide to the city:
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/france/languedoc-roussillon/Montpellier
As #2 noted, finding the best school should be a priority, but I would qualify that and add:
What is your budget?
Here's a variety but some look like they might be pricey:
http://www.institutdefrancais.com/french-immersion-courses/
http://www.coeurdefrance.com/
http://www.centerforstudyabroad.com/university-paris-sorbonne/
https://www.lsf-france.com/intensive/
https://www.golearnto.com/language-courses/learn-french/france
https://www.frenchtoday.com/learn-french-in-france

My experience in France was that unless you're staying in a hostel
where English is spoken more than other languages you'll be drawn
to speak French because it makes things happen...even if you make
mistakes (I certainly did), your honest efforts will be appreciated.
I was buying stamps at a post office (Paris) and the woman smiled
when I asked her to excuse my poor French, and told me it was just
my pronunciation of "timbre"....she told me an easy way to get the
'im' sound, I repeated it twice, she beamed with pride at her success
and I left with the stamps and an invaluable lesson.
Same thing, buying band-aids at a pharmacy. I would thank the person,
tell them how fortunate they are to learn French as a child and what
a beautiful language it is (both which I do believe) and that helped
very much.
Do you watch French films to help your vocabulary and accent?
If you have a US ipi, you can subscribe to a site with French films
which I enjoy. Look up MhZ. Yes, there are subtitles but I try to not
read them...
Good luck

If you are worried about Tours being a bit too quiet, look into some of the larger cities, can't help with schools but I think Toulouse is a great city not too big with lots of nice places to visit close by.

Tours is often recommended because there are a number of language schools there, and the Loire Valley is known for having the purest French accent. I wouldn't want to base myself there for a long time, however. I would definitely look into Montpellier and Toulouse.

In the meantime, you can start practising online with tools such as News in Slow French, and get up to speed on current events in France while you're at it.

One rule of thumb regarding language acquisition is, "what you don't use, you lose."

So unless you'll be in a position to consistently practice your new language skills once you leave France, there's a good chance you'll forget most of what you learned.

That's what happened to me. After 3 weeks of semi-intensive Italian lessons, I took a month-long, very intensive teacher training course in English. And all that Italian (it wasn't all that much, frankly, but I was an absolute beginner), flew right out the window.

It's also what happens to my students when they take a month-long holiday in August without practicing their English. And they aren't beginners.

Lessons may not be the best use of your time and money.

A less intensive way to learn and speak French may be to join language tours : you discover new places and at the same time learn some French (about culture and daily life). You may combine such tours with more traditional lessons. There is such a possibility in Rennes, in Brittany (http://visite.bretagne.free.fr/index.php/en/brittany-differently.html).

I think that the best place to learn French is France! The best city for this is Lyon - here i explain in more details: If you cannot travel and you want to learn French and for free - here is my useful list of suggestions.
. I hope you like it useful! Let me know if you have other questions.Good luck!

This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you.