John - 1 week - October 2011

"It really was all that you could wish for from an immersion experience - I was also impressed by the value for money!"
I was fortunate enough to spend a week at Myriam’s home, and it really was all that you could wish for from an immersion experience. Myriam generally only takes one student at a time (unless by prior arrangement – eg people go there as a couple) so things progress at the pace that is right for you. Also, Myriam is incredibly generous with her time – she just absorbs you into her life so you really feel that you are experiencing the French lifestyle. On a typical day we would start by watching the morning current affairs shows then have breakfast, followed two hours of structured French lessons. After lunch we would either go on an afternoon excursion together, or I would have free time to explore the region by myself. The first day Myriam took me into Bayonne for a tour of the old town. Other days we went shopping at the local market, visited the Thallisotherapie centre (warm seawater spa) the home of Edmond Rostand (writer of the play Cyrano de Bergerac), or took a drive to some of the old Basque towns in the hills above Bayonne. We also spent a whole day taking a tour through some of the beautiful countryside and Basque towns in France and Spain. For my free day on the weekend I took the train to San Sebastion in Spain, and had lunch at a great tapas bar that Myriam recommended.

With this system you get a couple of hours per day of structured learning, but the rest of the day is spent talking and listening to French in a more relaxed setting. It is a wonderful way to learn French, and I was amazed how much I progressed in only one week.

I was also impressed by the value for money - for less than the cost of a half-decent motel room you get accommodation, 3 meals a day (Myriam is a great cook), 2 hours of French lessons, the opportunity to speak and listen to French all day, and the opportunity to see a unique region in company with someone who was raised there and who quite obviously loves the place. Camille commented on how much I had improved after only one week of immersion – I felt myself that my comprehension skills improved significantly in the time I spent with Myriam. I have been to other French language schools in France, while living with French families, but my last experience was that I felt like I was intruding into their busy lives and I didn’t get as much out of the experience as I hoped. In contrast, I couldn’t recommend Myriam highly enough – the balance between formal lessons and casual conversational French was just right for me, and the ease I felt in the environment really made learning a lot easier.