A Day in the Life of a Student at ACCORD Paris – Improving your French communication skills
Let’s join Jenny, a marketing manager from the UK, for a day during her French course at ACCORD Paris.
7.30am: My alarm goes off on the last day of my French course in Paris. I get ready and have a quick coffee and croissant with the Parisian host family I’m staying with. I’ve loved every minute of my homestay experience and I’ll be sad to say “au revoir” tomorrow. They’ve been so friendly and our evening conversations have helped my French come on leaps and bounds. It has certainly helped me improving my French communication skills.
I take a short walk to the metro and join the commute into central Paris. That’s another advantage about being in a homestay: you get to experience real life as a Parisian and feel like a local. Taking the metro is really exciting: the noise, the hustle and bustle, people rushing in every direction… it’s action-packed and 20 minutes goes by in a flash. I get off the metro at the Dupleix station and make a quick stop at the boulangerie across the road to pick up a “pain au chocolat” for my morning break.
Now it’s time for me to get to class. I just have time for a quick “Bonjour” to the lovely staff in the Reception Area and I head to my classroom where some of my classmates are already waiting.
One of the fantastic things about being a student at ACCORD Paris is that you get to meet students from all over the world and of all ages and it is great to get to know each other and make friends with them.
9am: Our teacher certainly is ready and raring to go… and so are we. Something that’s really stood out for me during my week here is how different the teaching style is from back at school. ACCORD’s motto is “learning by doing” so there’s lots of role play and speaking, which is exactly what I was looking for when I booked my course. I wanted to do something different this year and push myself out of my comfort zone. I chose to study at ACCORD Paris because their teaching method is based on improving your French communication skills and boost your confidence when speaking, which is exactly what I wanted.
I’ve always loved France and visited several times but felt like I’d get more out of the experience if I spoke the language better. Then at work, we started working with a French company and I had a lightbulb moment! I realised how much of an asset improving French would be not just personally, but professionally too, in terms of business relationships and making me an essential part of the team. I also knew I had to improve my French communication skills so I could be confident during meetings, taking phone calls and also sometimes making presentations as well as building a good relationship with our French clients. I also wanted to brush up a little on my grammar and writing skills.
I decided to study in Paris because there are lots of airlines and flights to and from the city (plus I wanted to have an “Emily in Paris” moment) and contacted Active Languages, a language company that helped me choose Intensive Course ‘C’ which includes French lessons in the mornings and 2 afternoon workshops. I chose Intensive French Course ‘C’ (26 hours per week) because it meant I was in class five mornings from 9h00 to 13h00 Monday to Friday focusing on General French and two afternoon lessons from 14h00 to 17h00 dedicated to topics such as Oral Communication and Writing/Grammar. I went for the French oral communication lesson on Monday to boost my French oral communication and one Grammar and Writing workshop on Thursday because I need to communicate at work is by email , read reports, etc.
We have a quick break mid-morning so I join my fellow students in the coffee break area for a coffee and catch-up. As student at ACCORD Paris I love to chat with my classmates and also the other students at school. It’s meant I’ve barely spoken a word of English since I got here and had to keep up my French outside the classroom too. It’s time to head back to class for some more fun-filled activities before a well-earned lunch… yes, I’ve already eaten my “pain au chocolat”!
1pm: Et voilà… school’s out! The teacher spent the last few minutes of class handing out end of course certificates for the people leaving today and when I got mine I was delighted to see that I’d made a lot of progress. When you book a French course at ACCORD Paris, you are sent a written test which you have to return completed usually a week before you start your French course so that ACCORD’s Head of Studies and his team can place you in the class of your level.
This means that when you arrive on your first Monday, you can go straight to your lesson without wasting time taking tests, etc. As student at ACCORD Paris I really enjoyed this as I had attended a course in another language school years back and I spent the whole Monday morning being tested and wasted a whole morning of lessons.
When I arrived at ACCORD French Language School, the teachers had assessed my French level and the results put me at B1 according to the Common European Framework that ACCORD Paris uses to assess their students. As student at ACCORD Paris I can’t believe how much progress I’ve made in just a week and confident I feel when speaking. I had definitely chosen the right school to improve my French communication skills with the help of Active Languages. It just goes to show how much of a difference it makes actually being in the country where the language is spoken, being surrounded by native speakers and being in a school that focuses on improving your communication skills rather than the finer points of conjugating irregular verbs in the past subjunctive (something that still terrifies). Now I have my certificate, I know what level I’ve achieved and I can put it on my CV for future employers. I take a photo of my certificate and post it on Instagram and LinkedIn for all my friends and followers to see. I’m so proud. I think I deserve something special for lunch…
Together with my new Spanish friend from class at ACCORD, we head off to one of the many bistros near the school, Le Café de Presles where the staff is very friendly and always speak French to us.
2pm: Full after our “menu du jour”, we need to walk off lunch, so we head into Champs de Mars for a bit of fresh air in the lovely green park. It’s like Central Park in Paris… but right next to the Eiffel Tower! When I first enquired about studying French in France and Active Languages told me that ACCORD French Language School was within easy walking distance of the Eiffel Tower, I thought it was just a sales pitch. But it’s true! I timed it the other day and it only takes seven minutes to walk from school to the iconic Paris landmark. How amazing is that? To be studying French, in Paris, right next to the Eiffel Tower?
As student at ACCORD Paris I’m a very lucky lady. Yesterday I was in my last Grammar and Writing workshop of the week and today I’m making the most of my last afternoon in Paris to hit a couple of museums with Cristina. We wander over to Musée du Quai Branly for an eye-opening look at their indigenous art collections. It’s totally different to your usual art collection and they’ve got this fantastic audio experience at the moment that brings the pieces to life with spoken word, music, nature and city sounds. We’ve spent ages exploring everything the museum has to offer so decide to call it a day.
5pm: We turn our backs on the Seine and make a beeline for Cavo Vino Sapiens, a cute little wine bar and shop, for “un verre de vin”. We settle into our seats and choose the tipples we fancy from the wine menu. I notice that I’ve read and understood all the wine descriptions in French without even realising it. We order and the waiter doesn’t ask us to repeat what we’ve said or ask us to point at what we want… maybe he thinks we’re actually French!
What a confidence boost it is to be able to communicate with natives in their language and not worrying about being misunderstood. If there was something I hadn’t heard of on the menu, I feel confident that I could ask the waiter what it means in French and understand his definition.
Cristina and I discuss our French learning journey at ACCORD Paris and how we’ve grown. Personally speaking, I’ve realised how adaptable I must be, as I’ve come to a city I’ve only visited as a tourist, stayed with a real French couple in an actual Parisian apartment, taken a French course with people from all over the world and loved every minute of it! I’m a sociable person but I was nervous about how shy I’d be speaking French to everyone. I needn’t have worried though! What will I take away from the experience? I think the main thing is the language: it’s been an intense course and I don’t want to lose something I’ve worked so hard on. The teachers recommended streaming the French radio to have on in the background or watching French films or TV with subtitles (or without if you’re feeling brave), so I’ll definitely be doing that.
I’m really looking forward to showing off my improved French communication skills: speaking confidently to our French partners, responding accurately to emails emails. I’ve already told my boss what a rewarding experience it has been. He said we’d talk more about it when I get back to the office on Monday but if things go well with the company we’re working with across the Channel, I wouldn’t be surprised if he sends a few of us to ACCORD Paris for a Business French course (Active Languages suggested it to me when I first enquired about a course in Paris – it sounds amazing!). Now though, it’s time to get back to my Parisian pad for one last evening with my lovely hosts before I pack my bags and head off to the airport tomorrow morning after a good night’s sleep. It’s not goodbye though, it’s “au revoir”!
If you’d like to follow in Jenny’s footsteps and study abroad, just get in touch with us about which language you’d like to study and what you want to get out of your stay. Sit back, relax and let Active Languages take care of the rest! Contact Active Languages
