Intensive French Courses/Language school in Vaud? [Lausanne, Montreux]

Language Corner
41
I'm at Ecole Agora - having lessons daily (3 hours/ day) and feel like I'm making progress! It's been 3 months, and we are preparing for Delf A2 (started from the very begining!). Any queries/ questions - just ask! It's a family-run business, and they are really friendly and seem to care!

42
Some very good information here, thanks to the posters who have shared their experiences. I read with interest about schools such as Agora, Fazel etc. in Lausanne. Can anyone recommend similar schools in or around Nyon or even Geneva? Cost and quality will be the major concerns for me. Many thanks in advance.

43
I registered for ecole agora the beginner lvl (A1). The course should start from last monday. And i was sick. I will be able to join tomorrow, but i've missed 3 days course or 9 hrs lesson. Is it still possible to catch up? or is it better to join next month? I haven't paid.

44
I went to Ecole Agora today to register for a course. I didn't come across the recco on EF but through a colleague of my husbands'.

I have studied French in college and also before moving to Switzerland, so my grammar and basic knowledge of writing and grammar are not bad. However, the speaking is an entirely different matter. I fumble and forget everything I know when it comes to speaking French.....learning a new language should be fun, not intimidate the learner, and teachers should be patient and have a sense of humor....even at the risk of stating the obvious.

At Ecole Agora, my husband and I met with the director/propreitor of the school...what a horrific, unpleasent experience! He was rude, arrogant, not willing to spend any time with us to explain the teaching method....and quite frankly didn't give a damm whether we signed up or not!! Just an incredible jerk!!! When I tried to uderstand what level I would fit into and explained I have studied French before, he proceeded to ridicule the fact that I didn't *speak* even after studying it and the teachers I had must have been incompetent!

I was literally shaking when I walked out of there. I understand that there is no dearth of students wanting to learn French, integrate to life here....but how does one condone this kind of attitude?? Appaling....

I have taught English to students in the US and to me this was a reality check to what students experience when faced with teachers like him.

A common decency is lacking in this place. Stay away!

Feeling disillusioned, I came home and got on EF. I came across this thread. I called Wessex Academy based on the reccos here and will be joining their intensive course from Mon. They were pleasent, cheerful on the phone and helpful. Thank you everyone on this post for all the info shared. I am also doing Rosetta Stone online self study course for French and that's fun and interactive too. . I will let you know how things go at Wessex. Have a good week and weekend! Cheers!

45
Hi all,

I'm not too sure on the forum's policy on promoting one's own business, but I have set up a website specifically to help to bring together students and teachers. For students it is a cost/risk free venture, and hopefully will let you meet a teacher you get on well with.

If you are interested, feel free to have a read of this thread ( Find a Teacher - www.findateacher.ch ) or visit the site in my signatures.

Apologies mods if this oversteps advertising bounds.

Cheers,

StirB

46
I second Institut Fazel. Our international company use them for new employees.

Cheers

Sean

47
maybe this:

http://languagelinks.ch/home.html

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48
Hi all!

Thanks a lot for al these info but i haven't seen anything more recent than 5 years here. I just moved to Lausanne and i would like to hear if anyone has an update on available language schools and their experiences... Please let me know. I am in urgent need to learn french

Alex

49
Alex, have you found a good school for learning French yet? I just started on the idea of learning French somewhere in the western part of CH for one to two months. Since Lausanne will be the most convenient for me to get to by train I'd prefer Lausanne as location. Any other recommendations are welcome too.

Cheers!

50
For both of you who have posted recently, I have to recommend Institute Fazel. I have been going there for 6 years now and they are just excellent.

They will start you out with an intensive two week course, which is every day, but then you can pick and choose how often you want to come, which day, what time, etc.

You only pay for the classes you actually attend. In other words, if you miss a day, you don't pay for it. If you are interested in passing one of the exams like the B1, etc., they will center your lesson around the things you need to know. If you just want to learn conversation, they will put you in a class geared for that.

More importantly, the teachers and staff are just nice people. They are so helpful and they truly, truly want you to be comfortable and learn at a pace that works for you. I swear, I don't work there and they are not paying me to say this.

The website is here: http://www.institut-fazel.ch/

51
TheSpouse, thank you very very much for your detailed informations. I definitely will look closer into Institute Fazel. What I have noticed while skimming through their homepage is that they don't offer accommodation or homestay with locals. I would like to live with french speaking people during my short time there (except weekends). Have you suggestions on that too perhaps?