Montreal French Schools - for a week

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James29
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Montreal French Schools - for a week

Postby James29 » Sat May 12, 2018 9:52 pm

Hi. I'm going to be going to Montreal for a week this summer. A few times when I traveled to Latin America I went to Spanish schools for a week here and there. I'd like to do the same thing in Montreal. Unfortunately, I am having a hard time finding a place where I can go to a basic French school for a week in Montreal. The problems are 1) the schools do not often offer a one week option and 2) if they offer a one week option the "registration" and "placement" charges make it cost prohibitive. Any suggestions?
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reineke
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Re: Montreal French Schools - for a week

Postby reineke » Sun May 13, 2018 3:22 pm

http://www.berlitz.ca/websites/main/private-lessons

(I don't see you sightseeing and listening to The Little Prince).
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Speakeasy
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Re: Montreal French Schools - for a week

Postby Speakeasy » Sun May 13, 2018 9:34 pm

Anyone wishing to take language courses in Montréal should be extremely cautious in their dealings with the Collège Platon, which the CBC French-language programme "La Facture" revealed as having been found guilty on numerous occasions, and fined, for their deceptive business practices.

Report in English
http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2016/09/28/montreal-language-school-accused-of-defrauding-foreign-students/

Report in French
http://www.rcinet.ca/fr/2016/09/28/etudiants-etrangers-floues-par-le-college-platon-de-montreal/

Caveat emptor
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sctroyenne
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Re: Montreal French Schools - for a week

Postby sctroyenne » Thu May 24, 2018 1:55 am

Funny to see College Platon mentioned. It was right around the corner from my first place here and my roommate told me about the huge scandal.

Doing a quick search I see some programs pop up that will do courses for just a week (like Sprachcaffe or Sainte Anne) though I couldn't speak to the quality of any of them. I don't love giving traffic to MTL Blog but they have a list of some programs and some of them do just one week. Somewhat ironically it might help if you search in French for séjour(s) linguistique(s) (some of the free language courses for newly-arrived immigrants are advertised on public transportation...in French). The institutions I recognize as being reputable, such as the various universities and the YMCA, don't seem to have anything for just a week. Though the YMCA has private classes available which you may be a good option - the value of Canadian dollar vs. your home currency can make it an affordable option and you can do fewer hours with more results being one-on-one.

You can also check out language exchange groups such as Mundo Lingo which has several conversation nights a week as well as the many, many French Meetup groups/events (explicit language exchange ones as well as social meetups in French).

Also, instead of or in addition to classes for learning French you can also take a bunch of other classes that just happen to be in French such as cooking classes, fitness/dance classes, music classes, go to a board game cafe, go on walking tours in French, check out films or live theater, check out AirBnb "experiences" (various tours/classes/workshops) for stuff in French, etc. Another thing to consider - summer is festival season so there may be opportunities to volunteer while you're here to get a lot of experience talking to the public in French (such as Juste Pour Rire during the end of July). If you need any help finding cool stuff or cool events to enhance your French experience let me know and I can suggest some more specific things for you.

If you don't already have lodging set up I'd just say your best bet is to stay in neighborhoods that aren't around Downtown (especially around Concordia and McGill) since they'll be a lot more Anglo, especially with summer events bringing a lot of people from out of town into the city.
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