All the way to France - to the very end of Brittany - and back…

As part of the rich and varied activities our little group enjoys running; here’s one for the books. We hope it inspires others to do the same! In case you are new to our bespoke teaching methods, The Way to France offers residential week-ends in France. A group of people gathers in a gîte to learn about individual regions, local traditions and specialties. Activities include going to the market, cooking, singing, watching a film or going for walks. Enjoying cultural activities and local delicacies all the while practising the French language under our guidance... These courses inspired an expat English couple, who’ve already moved to a beautiful part of Brittany near Quimper, to request a custom course, to support and speed up their integration there. Many British people have moved permanently to France and although they thoroughly enjoy their life there, they don’t always get as much opportunity to immerse themselves in the French language and culture as they would like. Understandably, they tend to mix with other “expats” who live nearby and thus speak and hear a lot of English at home. Improving one’s communication skills in French can therefore be slow and arduous. As to the local culture, it is not always readily accessible unless you are guided by French nationals. We're here to help!

Founder and Director, Francine, personally accepted the challenge of tailoring a course suited to David and Mary, a couple who had already established themselves in Brittany. The purpose of this custom course was to speed up their language learning process and gain a deeper appreciation of the region they have chosen to adopt. Providing her own version of “super nanny” (away from the cameras), Francine was able to pass on as many tips, shortcuts, advice, anecdotes in 8 hour day sessions over a 5 day period. She was welcomed by these two delightful people who are already living the dream in their wonderful home in rural France. Each day was divided in different activities which took place in different parts of the house or the garden. There was French spoken all the time, everywhere, complete with plenty of jokes and laughter over various explanations. In addition to the daily tuition, an extra 4 hour “exercise” was organised on the Wednesday night, where David & Mary, accompanied by Francine, joined two other French nationals for dinner! Following a fun evening, everyone needed a change of pace on the Thursday morning by “doing” something different, so discussions revolved around David and Mary's hobbies, a majestic Harley Davidson and delightful dolls' houses respectively.

An amazing amount of cultural knowledge and linguistic precision was added to David and Mary's existing knowledge of French. Not to just mention their discovery of Brittany's comic strip heroine 'Bécassine' as well as perfecting the way to pronounce the dreaded French word for leaves, "feuilles", which came in quite handy in an over the fence conversation with the neighbour!

"I enjoyed the week very much and understand the difference between the passé composé and the imparfait better. I am determined to make more use of the ‘lui, leur and elle’ parts of a sentence. I was amazed that I could make myself understood for a whole 40+ hours speaking French!" Mary

"The week was well structured and I learned (re-learnt?) a lot. We both enjoyed your company (and that of Becasine!)." David

"We would be happy to recommend your services to anyone wishing to learn French." David & Mary

There was also the day spent in the company of an English artist at the week-end. The view from her balcony overlooking Douarnenez Bay was absolutely stunning. Her 8 hours’ tuition on the Saturday was followed on the Sunday by a long walk to “La Pointe du Raz”, a picnic in beautiful sunshine and a visit to the Art Gallery in Audierne where Penella. is going to exhibit her work this winter.

What an adventure for all! If you want custom tuition, don't hesitate to contact us. Our website will give you an indication of the types of options you can choose from, yet above all, our aim is to provide you with solutions that work for you, so tell us how we can help and we will schedule it in! See more photos on our Facebook page and become a fan for updates.