Austin, United States
4101 Medical Pkwy #105-106
N/A
+15124511704
I signed up for classes to attempt to get my French speaking skills back because I used to be fluent, but never used it for years. It was supposed to be a way of self-care during this global pandemic. I am a psychotherapist and working 7 days a week right now trying to help others. Because of the increased suffering of so many right now, I found I was not able to take time off when the class was offered, and I only made it to one class. I requested my payment be applied to the next session of classes. I was told no, and there was no compromise. I am shocked. I am a member of this group to try to support them when it is so hard for companies to keep running. I did not request a reimbursement, just to have it applied to a class day and time that I could attend. The Dallas location was much kinder and acted like family. As far as the quality of the teaching, if you do not already speak French, even the beginning class will be difficult for you. The text they use is very busy full of multiple exercises on each page. The sessions consist of the teacher going around and asking each student the answer to the next question. There is absolutely no teaching, simply an explanation if the person gives the wrong answer.
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I’ve been taking classes at the Alliance Française for a couple years now at the intermediate level, and I’ve enjoyed them all. I find the small class sizes ideal to be able to learn, speak during class, and build a good relationship with the other students and the teachers. I’ve had classes with Julia the longest and she does a great job keeping each class interesting, finding the learning methods that work best for us, and suggesting activities that we can do in between classes to continue to improve our skills. Also, a quick shout out to the Ciné-Club she organizes – it’s a great way to get a taste of French culture and filmmaking. Each movie she chooses is unique, deep and interesting, and the conversations afterwards are great – often she has the director or someone involved in the creation of the movie available for a Q&A in person or on Skype. I took classes with Elisabeth for several sessions and I always enjoyed them. Most importantly for me, she wasn’t afraid to point out skills we honestly needed to improve (dang it, subjonctif!), and she always did it with her unique brand of humor. This forward approach helped me focus on what I needed to spend the most time on. Plus, its always fun to have a quick conversation with Elisabeth when I run into her after a class. I’ve only taken one conversation session with Maryvonne so far, but I’ve been struck by the good chemistry between the students she helps maintain which I’ve found is the key to any conversation class.
I am pleased with the teachers, the classes and the community activities.
My wife and daughter love this place! They are thoroughly enjoying the excellent instruction in French that they are receiving here! The teachers are brilliant and energetic, vibrant women! Thank you Alliance!
Please do not make my mistake and sign up for these classes. The teaching is completely disorganized. I signed up for a beginner level French course AL Level 100 with Elizabeth Vedrine who has to be one of the most disorganized and illogical educators I have ever experienced. I felt 100% lost and frustrated the entire time. I should I also mention that I signed up for the course with three friends who all felt the same way. You leave class not only feeling overwhelmed, and unmotivated but as though you have learned nothing. This is supposed to be a basic - basic class and they haven’t even gone over numbers. I speak two languages and this was to be my third. I could not be more disappointed in the structure of this course.
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