Chére Eleonore,

Je suis à Paris maintenant pour un voyage avec mon ami Taylor. Paris est une ville magnifique, grand et peuplée. Il y a beaucoup des monuments!

Hier, Taylor et moi sommes allés à au musée de Louvre. Aussi, nous avons mangé dans un resto trés génial. J’ai mangé le meilleur déjeuner de ma vie! Après, nous avons vu un film dans sur les Champs-Elysées.

Aujourd’hui, nous avons visité Notre Dame–c’est une cathédrale très beau belle. Mais, il pleaut et il fait un peau peu frais donc maintenant, il faut porter beaucoup des vêtements! A 16h, nous  aurons irons a Les aux Invalides a voir le tombeau Nàpoleon.

Finalement, a demain Taylor et moi, nous visiterons l’Arch de Triumph, l’Opera, et la le Jardin du Luxembourg. Je pense que nous dinerons avec un amie de Taylor aussi.

Actuellment, j’aime cette ville. Je voudrais habiter ici et je ne veux pas partir de Paris! Mais, je devraisa aua lundi. Je suis te téléphonerai toi à lundi quand je rentrerai a chez moi! retourner travail

Bisous,

Miguel

The following is a rough translation for those of you who don’t speak French. Please bare in mind that I wasn’t really shooting for style or deep-thoughts!

Dear Eleonore,

I’m in Paris right now for a trip with my friend Taylor. Paris is a city that is magnificent, big and populous. There are many monuments!

Yesterday, Taylor and I went to the Louvre. Also, we ate in a great restaurant. I ate the best lunch of my life! Afterwards, we saw a movie on the Champs Elysees.

Today, we visited Notre Dame–it is a very beautiful Cathedral! But it rained and it is chilly, therefore it is necessary to where a lot of clothes! A 4PM, we will go to Invalides to view Napoleon’s tomb.

Finally, tomorrow Taylor and I will visit the Arch de Triumph, Opera, and the Luxembourg Garden. I think that we will eat dinner with a friend of Taylor’s, as well.

Actually, I love this city. I would like to live here and I don’t want to leave Paris! But, I have to return to work on Monday! I will call you on Monday when I return to my house.

Kisses,

Miguel

So that was my written exam for which I received a “bien!” from my teacher. A lot of red marks, but I’m not going to lie…I was quite pleased with myself. Considering that I had never studied a single word of French prior to coming to Paris, I think things are coming along quite well for 5 weeks. I guess there is hope for not being a mono-lingual American after all.

Learning French in Paris...

While private tutoring is probably the best option (if you have a good tutor), it is also going to cost you a lot more than classes. On the other hand, while still pricey, both Alliance Française and La Sorbonne will cost about the same–roughly €800/month (4 hours/day, 5 days/week). While I have heard good things about both Alliance Française and La Sobonne, it seems to me that there are some key differences in the teaching style and atmosphere at each school.

La Sorbonne appears to be a much more “traditional” style of teaching French, with lots of notetaking, listening and repeating phrases from headsets, along with brief presentations. I’m also told the class moves very quickly (maybe too quickly?) and can be, at times, somewhat intimidating, especially for a beginner. On the flip-side, Alliance Française is a less-traditional and more free-flowing casual atmosphere. Casual is not to be considered synonymous with easy or unprofessional, however. Alliance Française is known to cater to students from all over the world and it has gained a reputation for being a top-notch school that will suit French-speakers of all levels well, especially beginners.

From my own experience at Alliance Française thus far, its reputation is well-deserved. I’m enrolled in “Intensive General French” classes (4 hours a day, 5 days a week) and the day is broken up well into listening to native french speakers, completing workbook exercises, practicing spoken french (introductions, counting, questions), group activities, etc. Each day ends with a few homework assignments, which I’m told increase in difficulty and length as the course progresses. Currently, my homework assignments take roughly 30 minutes, but that’s because we have so little to work off of in day 3. I’ve been spending additional time at the school’s library (roughly 2 and 1/2 hours) to run through complimentary exercises that are provided in workbooks free-of-charge. The library also includes many other bonuses, including movies (in every format: French w/ French subtitles, English w/ French subtitles, French w/ English subtitles, etc.), computer stations with practice lessons, books from beginner to advanced levels, and so on.

While it’s only my first week, I already feel like I’m starting to pick up a few things, though I know that having any real understanding of the French language is a long way off. I’ll continue updating my progress as the moth progresses and provide you all with an assessment of the program in the coming weeks.

[Please note, these reviews are only from the research I've done and what I've heard. If you have had a different experience with either school, please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section.]