As readers of my previous journals might know, I’ve been coming to France pretty regularly since 2015, the year I spent six months on sabbatical in Paris. Since then, I’ve grown to love both Paris and France, and have always endeavored to learn more about the country and its culture through conversations with those I meet on tour. I’d been able to muster some rudimentary French over the past several years, but conversations usually reverted to English or, at best, Franglish.
On returning to the US from my 2022 long-term stay in France, I resolved to get more serious about learning French. I enrolled in an online course sponsored by Alliance Française Raleigh, a chapter of the international Alliance Française, “an international organization that aims to promote the French language and francophone culture around the world.” After a very brief written and oral assessment, I was placed in an Advanced beginner class (A2.2 for those familiar with the DELF classification system) with six other students from the Raleigh-Durham area. The class met for an hour twice weekly on Zoom, and the early classes emphasized grammar and French conjugation. At the end of each 10-week session, everyone advanced to the next level, no exam required. I found the courses enjoyable, informative, and they certainly increased my level of competency in French. By the start of 2024, I had advanced to B1.1, an intermediate level, though the lack of independent assessment left me pretty suspicious as to how far I had actually advanced.
This year, I had planned to take a short trip to Provence in early March with some friends from Iowa. Due to a death in their family, however, the trip was canceled and I suddenly had some extra time in Paris before starting my spring tour in Spain and Portugal. And so I decided to enroll in an intensive, in-person French class in Paris. I considered the Alliance Française Paris classes, but their course offerings did not fit my schedule. In the end, I enrolled for two consecutive week-long intensive courses at Lutece Lange –3.5 hr/day, Monday thru Friday, all French, all the time.
I took the pre-enrollment assessment before arriving in Paris – it included a 5-10 minute conversation as well as a four page written exam that probed all levels of French grammar. Yikes! I walked into Lutece Lange two weeks ago with some trepidation, nervous as to what level I’d been placed. A sneak peek at the roster indicated early Intermediate – similar to my online level. However, I was taken aback as the other students entered our small classroom and began to speak rapid-fire French – many of them knew each other from previous Lutece courses and all had been living in Paris for many months to years.
I was overwhelmed, but determined to hang in there. And while difficult, I found the courses to be most enjoyable. The teaching material included written and oral exercises, but the greater emphasis was on speaking. Role play and games were used to foster our ability to orally communicate using our expanding vocabulary and employing the rules of French grammar. Maryse is a wonderful teacher who allowed the class to stray from the planned activities and engage in off-topic conversations that related our own experiences, cultures, and opinions. But she always brought us back to task and made sure we were mastering the fundamentals.
We were a small group of 4-7 students with an international composition: two other Americans the first week but also students from Ukraine, Turkey, Syria, UK, and Germany. It was a congenial group, sharing croissants, chouquettes, and lunch outings after class. I found the whole experience to be extremely rewarding, as I not only improved my French but also forged some new friendships in Paris.
My school for the past two weeks, Lutece Langue offers a variety of classes and workshops for those interested in learning French
The intensive French classes were exhausting, and much of my time over the past two weeks was spent in class or at home napping or studying. The cold and rainy weather provided an additional incentive to stay home, and my explorations of Paris were largely confined to a few meet-ups with friends, lunch with fellow classmates, and my walks to and/from school. One unexpected meet-up was with fellow CycleBlazer Jonathan Hecht, a Portlander who was spending a couple of months in Paris. We met at an American-style coffee shop near his apartment in Saint-Germain-des-Près where we lingered nearly two hours talking about touring, Paris, life, etc. It was so enjoyable that we agreed to meet for dinner the next week – at a place I promised would offer a little more than the entrêcote and frites typical of many Paris bistros. The meal delivered, and we departed promising to get in touch should our paths cross again.
Coffee time with Jonathan Hecht - yet another great CycleBlaze meet-up
Fellow Lutece student Zerin, originally from Turkey, led a group to Restaurant Ella, her favorite Turkish restaurant in Paris. My choice was Ali Nazik, lamb brochette with garlic eggplant purée. Yum!
Other than class, the most enjoyable moments over the last two weeks were my walks to and from the school. It was about 40 minutes by foot from my apartment to Lutece, which is located not far from Musée d’Orsay. I left home around 8:15 each morning and joined the parades children on their way to school as they skipped, ran, scootered, cycled and/or held hands with one or both of their parents. Nearly all wore big smiles, and their laughter and excited chatter filled the morning air. I overheard a conversation between a French-speaking ~5 yr old girl and her anglophone father – she dreamed of one day owning a store - he was encouraging, but noted that she would need lots of money. I walked among a gaggle of kindergartners clad in bright orange vests heading out on a school trip, and was cautioned against taking their photo by the class proctor. I smiled, put my camera away, and assured the woman that the photo would be tossed. It was a reminder that posting a stranger's picture on the web is not always in their best interest.
Kindergarten children heading out for a field trip. I took another photo of the group while we were all stopped at the corner - a picture that showed the faces of some of the children. One of the accompanying adults informed me that taking such pictures was not allowed - a surprising concept but one I found refreshing
My morning route varied a bit each day, but I was always within site of the Eiffel Tower and the Dôme des Invalides, where Napolean I is entombed. Other notable landmarks were the gardens of Musée Rodin and L'Arpège, a Michelin 3-star restaurant where vegetables are the focus of the menu. After-class routines varied as there were often lunches with fellow students or errands to run. However, afternoons always seemed to include a nap – after a morning immersed in French, my brain needed some well-earned down time before reviewing the day’s lessons and tackling my homework for the following day.
An Hausmannian apartment building on an early spring morning in Paris
Looking across the park along L'avenue de Breteuil - the lawn area is fenced off while the grass is in "hibernation" - soon it will be full of picnickers, bathers, and children at play
In all, the two weeks flew by and left me eager for another week in Paris at Lutece. For now, I’m soon off to Spain and Portugal, where my language skills are scant. I did hear that many Portuguese speak French, so perhaps I’ll be asking someone “parlez-vous français?”
A final shout-out to Maryse and my fellow classmates at Lutece - thank you for a splendid two weeks
Kirsten KaarsooSounds like a great two weeks. I would like to do something like this. Hopefully, one day. I remember when I was raft guiding and working in French ( many many years ago!) for weeks on end. It was both mentally and physically exhausting so I understand your need for a nap. :) Reply to this comment 7 months ago
Susan CarpenterTo Kirsten KaarsooI really enjoyed the classes and hope to take more whenever I have a stretch in Paris. It really helps me speaking/understanding, though I’m still butchering the grammar Reply to this comment 7 months ago
8 months ago