You’ve no doubt heard that many times as you announced your departure for France.
And you’ve definitely made the right decision.
Especially here on the Riviera with so many sun days and such a variety of
landscapes and activities to enjoy.
But to really make the most of it and immerse yourself in the French way of life which
is all about living life to the fullest; you need to speak French! After all, how will you
buy your cheese and wine and enjoy all those long lazy lunches if you can’t speak
the language?
French life is filled with surprising cultural idiosyncrasies that can be both bemusing,
and endearing.
Speaking the language not only helps you to survive these and to navigate your way
through French social customs and etiquette but also opens up an array of social
opportunities and makes the relocation experience complete.
Learning French is not as daunting as it may seem and the French love the English
accent!
There are many options for learning French: you can sign up for courses at a
language school, and there are many to choose from. This option is great for
socializing with other expats but less personalized. Or, if you are looking to throw
yourself totally into the French experience you can look for a private tutor whose
courses are tailored to your needs and cover all those day-to-day situations where
you need to get the gist and make yourself understood: everyday errands, deliveries,
admin, organising get togethers for the kids, small talk, eating out and many more.
“We arrived in France 9 months ago with almost no French and thanks to our weekly
lessons with Gilian we can now live our new life with confidence and have the skills to
understand and to be understood. We enjoy our French lessons and look forward to
the new words and phrases each week brings. Gilian tailored our course specifically
to our needs and she has helped us through many tricky situations that have arisen
as we settled into life in a foreign country – restaurant reservations, medical
appointments and organising car repairs were all much less daunting after our
lessons with Gilian!” Kendall and Ryhan, Australia
Gilian Clark "30 years' experience in language training" gilian.clark@gmail.com
