The Alliance Francaise is a great place to learn or brush up on your French language skills or simply connect with the French culture. They have branch locations all over the world, and I was delighted to find one in Dallas that was nearby. I actually have a degree in French, but like anything, if you don't use it, you lose it. There was at least 20 years of dust and cobwebs to wipe off my broken language skills. I specifically went to AFD to brush up on my conversation skills before heading to Paris. The AFD has a variety of French classes at every level. If you are new to the language, take one of their submersion classes to build your foundation quickly or slog away with their once a week classes which are often 2 hours. Either way, you will eventually get to a point of basic proficiency. If you are more advanced, you can take their free online placement test to see which class to register for. I took the test, but opted to dive into their conversation classes instead of their regular classes. The latter requires you to purchase textbooks, but the former does not. The conversation class was very small. It ranged between 5-7 students. A student that was there one week might be gone the next, and sometimes new people would show up. The student to teacher ratio was always very low. I got to know the other students in the class quite well. We even met for a brown bag lunch at AFD to continue practicing our French outside of class. My conversation class met for two hours during the weekday. They also offer night and weekend classes. Some classes last 8 weeks, others are much shorter. My conversation class was about 4 weeks, but the teacher gave us an option to extend for two more weeks. The French Language for Travelers met just 4 times. There are also one day workshops occasionally. My conversation teacher was Parisian and regularly engaged us in partner work and games to keep us entertained and learning in a fun, safe space. The class was conducted entirely in French. Some students were more advanced than others, but we all helped each other out when we were stuck finding the right word or conjugation. I really appreciated that the teacher didn't stop to correct us. We were free to make mistakes and build our confidence through use of the language. The teacher helped when we asked her for help, otherwise, she simply provided the class structure and guidance in doing the activities. AFD also has lots of specialty classes like pronunciation, grammar, literature and French for travelers. The French for Travelers goes over all of the basic vocabulary you would need to survive in the francophone world for vacation. It was a great review for me, but others seemed to be overwhelmed with the amount of material. We also had very little time to actually practice what we learned, but I was thankful for the review and an additional opportunity to hear and speak the language in a safe space. It is worth becoming a member of the AFD. Members get a discount on class registration. Also, you have access to a library where you can check out books and videos. There are cultural events each month, and even cooking classes. My favorite part of the membership was the automatic enrollment in Cultureteque, an online library. It has newspapers, books and novels in French. If you are new to the language, there are books designed just for language learning. They have easy readers with vocabulary explanations in the margins and an aural option for having the books read to you. This is great for improving your listening and pronunciation skills. They even have reading comprehension checks at the end of each chapter. There are books for children, teens and adults. Wherever you are, be sure to find your local Alliance Francaise so you can immerse yourself in the French language and culture. It is an amazing organization. I wish they had the same for other languages. read more

Today was the first day of my French lessons. Always wanted to learn French but never did take professional classes until now. I missed the first class that was last week because the website listed it as starting today. 3 students showed up like me today and 3 began last week. That's why I'm not giving a 5. Class was informative and the instructor was very patient and a native speaker. Accent was totally French but sure it's great to learn from a native with real-life scenarios and context. A bit challenging to me since I felt lost considering that I didn't attend last week. But everyone insisted I keep this course instead of waiting for the next term. So I have a lot of studying to do! Classes are for 2 hrs each wk. $240 plus membership for $40 (gives you access to events at a discounted rate for a yr). Oh and book is $70- yes it's quite expensive. Not sure if I have to buy another book in the next course. I don't understand anything in the textbooks as their all in French... Not even instructions...Term is for a month and a half (if I recall correctly). read more

Alliance Francaise - The workbook and text book all in French. - Language Schools Near Me - Dallas, Texas

As a first-time workshop visitor, I was impressed by how friendly and welcoming their staff was. I hope more and more Dallasites discover their services and events. read more