Justcol

Hi all
I'm an expat living in New Zealand with my youngest son (23) now living with his french girlfriend in Pantin, Paris.
He doesn't know any other Brits there, and has told me today he is starting to feel extremely frustrated and isolated
due to him not being able to have proper conversations or express himself beyond basic commands and questions
He's making some headway into the language but is now starting to struggle with the complexities.
He has told me french lessons are very expensive (4 weeks @ 15 hours a week is 1000 euro)

So does anyone know of any groups or better options for learning French
all replies are welcome

Thanks

dmu

Hi, if his French gf can't help him along, he could try the Alliance Française

https://www.alliancefr.org/cours/app...ivre-en-france

vastly cheaper than the figures you gave, and he'll make friends with other Anglophones!

Justcol

Thats still around 750 a month but its a still a saving

bhamham

My wife goes to Alliance Française in Paris and it's expensive, i.e. +250€/wk for 20hrs. There are other fewer hrs/wk options that are less expensive.

I go to Association Philotechnique in Boulogne - Billancourt, much cheaper - a ten week, 6hrs/wk, FLE course is €225. My instructor is very good.

Accueil

There are many French language courses in Paris. Here a few more:
https://www.wice-paris.org/french
https://ilcf.icp.fr/en/navigation/pr...0.kjsp#onglet2
Ecole de Français Langue Etrangère| Langue Appart' - Paris

Cours Municipaux d'Adultes of Paris is good so I've heard but hard to get in
https://cma.paris.fr/

Justcol

is that for the week or the whole 10 week course ??

bhamham

It's for the course.

dmu

Sorry, "vastly" wasn't the appropriate word! It also depends on how many hours per week....
From Pantin, bd Raspail may be easier to get to than Boulogne-Billancourt, but that may be a minor detail....

cyrian

French lessons are IMHO essential for learning a new language and grammar.
However, he would be advised to join a club to interact with native french speakers which will force him to speak french.
If he then identifies his mistakes, he can ask his tutor why he made a mistake and how to correct that and similar errors.
That is what I did.
I went to the Alliance Française for individual lessons which were good but I learned more by making real time mistakes and then correcting them. (still do)

My OH goes to a "language café" in France where a group of french speakers want to learn English and there are a couple of Brits who talk with them.
It costs nothing other than the coffee.
We have made friends through my club and the language café.
His best tutor is his girlfriend.

bhamham

Absolument!

The worst thing IMO is to make friends with other anglophones; he should be hanging out with his girlfriend's family and friends. It's too easy to fall-in with english speaking folk and put learning French aside.

petitefrancaise

Your son should enquire at his local mairie, they will be a able to give him the details of any local organisations that have french classes, the mairie may well organise classes themselves.
Depending on his existing level this may be of use. It was acquired by Rosetta Stone a few years ago but this remains free.

https://www.duolingo.com/course/fr/e...-French-Online

Look on leboncoin.fr for anyone offering french classes?

Join an anglo FB Paris group and ask for recommendations on there?

Justcol

Thank you all
I have passed all your suggestions on to him.

dmu

He may be, but the first post says he's frustrated and isolated, which means that his gf's "tuition" isn't sufficient. I guess he'd also like friends of his own...
Cyrian's suggestion about joining a Club or Association is a good one. He would meet French people with the same interests, which in turn would improve conversations elsewhere.
At the same time he could do a few hours per week for the Grammar.
We don't know what his status is in France (student? employed? job-seeker?, "inactif"?). If we can help with other aspects of life in general/bureaucracy, don't hesitate to ask! The gf won't necessarily know her Administrations from an expat's point of view...
P.S. Sorry, I made a mess of the highlighted part of the quote...

Tweedpipe

I'm sure you won't do it again DMU.......
Forewarned is forearmed.