Feb 16, 2017 02:40 PM
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I did a level 1 course from Alliance Francais(Cuffe Parade, South Mumbai) in 2009-2010. It was a weekend batch with a schedule of three hours each on every Saturday and Sunday, spanning over a period of 3-4 months.
I had never ‘formally’ learnt french before in school/college or any other coaching class etc. So it was my brand new first ever tryst with this exotic lingua. Looking back in hindsight, I reckon it was a wonderful experience and an excellent decision to choose Alliance Francais.
It has generally a relatively professional and sophisticated ambiance there. The teachers are highly knowledgeable and experts not only in the language but also in other aspects such as french culture, etiquette, mannerisms, customs etc. This is the best part of Alliance Francais that they don’t just teach you french, but you also get to learn all these important aspects of French culture. You not only learn but get to ‘live’ this experience in real. There are practical workshops, in which everyone has to ‘role-play’ some character and speak and interact in french language and culture, like introductions, dining etiquette, ordering food in restaurants, reciting french verbs, phrases, dialogues, stories, poems, songs etc. It is a fabulous experience. Almost like living in France on the weekends!
So you surely get plenty of value for money, given that the rates are reasonable as compared to the value addition and personality development that happens. From day one, the teacher purely interacts with you in French only without using the crutches of any other language. So you learn french in french! It can be a little tricky for newbies but after a few days you get well-acclimitized to this style and start loving the pristine, unallowed experience. French anyway has a lot of overlap with English, so vocabulary-wise its not such a huge learning curve. Grammar of French language is also relatively easy to pick up, given that it is quite consistent and logical. Rules of pronunciation are also very logical and consistent. So it is not difficult to pronounce new, unknown and strange words. This cuts down on the time needed to acquire ‘Reading Skills’ in French.
Apart from the beauty of the language, French culture is simply adorable and lovely. A lot of emphasis is placed on etiquette and mannerisms. The french pronunciatations are also soft and gentle. France is known for its beauty, creativity, all kinds of arts – painting, sketching, dance, music, sculpting, theatre; museums, fashion etc. Since many centuries, various kinds of artists from all parts of the world have been coming to France to showcase their skills and try their luck.
So overall, the experience at Alliance Francais has been quite awesome for me. I learnt lots of good things and enjoyed living the French culture with my fellow classmates very much. I would highly recommend having such magnificent experience to those interested in French language and culture.
