French Language: Continuous Course

Want to take a French language course at alpha.b language school in the heart of the French Riviera? If you are considering taking our Continuous Course: this article contains all of the necessary information that you’ll need to know and even describes an example morning class – read on to find more…

The Continuous Course at alpha.b is the basic French course offered by the school, which also acts as the basis for all of the other courses provided.

If you decide to take a Continuous Course here you will have 20 French lessons per week, equating to 15 hours (as each ‘lesson’ is 45 minutes).

Normally, the lessons take place in the morning from 9:00-10:40 / 11:00-12:20 – but, during busy periods, there is a possibility that the lessons will run from 16:15-17:45 / 18-19:30.

The course can be followed from 1 to 50 weeks and anyone can participate in the Continuous Course as people of all French abilities (from A1 to C1) are eligible.

However, rest-assured that you will be in a class with those matching your ability as to ensure maximum productivity and progress.

These class groups with a maximum of 10 students are decided on Monday afternoon after you will have completed an entrance test on arrival at the school which assesses grammatical knowledge, oral and writing skills. (However: don’t be put off by this – it is not, by any means, daunting and only aims to improve the time you spend here at alpha.b!)

Our Continuous Course primarily focuses on key aspects that will aid you in mastering the French language. For example: teaching and reinforcement of grammar rules; gaining new vocabulary; improved oral confidence; reading and listening comprehension and writing skills.

In order to support your learning, you will always be given homework to complete for the following lesson (the next day). But again, do not worry, as you will be provided with an ‘alpha.book’ – a grammatical, phonetic and vocabulary resource created by our very own alpha.b French teachers that you can use if you are stuck.

After spending the morning in a B1+ Continuous Class I was able to witness first-hand the quality of teaching at alpha.b. First of all, the lesson followed a clear and organised structure and it was taught at a continuous pace ensuring maximum efficiency. However, the teacher also recognised when he was required to slow down and give more in-depth explanations on certain areas, allowing him to truly cater for everyone’s needs. It was also evident that a variety of linguistic skills are worked on in each lesson through the implementation of practical and interactive activities.

The morning started by concentrating on the ‘Style Indirect’ a grammar topic that often raises issues for learners of French. Although the class worked on this grammar point as a group, pupils had to respond both individually and orally which allowed the students to improve their speaking ability whilst the teacher could observe and assess them individually.

Following this, the class began to read a text together – demonstrating the collective and inclusive environment present in alpha.b lessons. Not only did the class work on their reading comprehension, they were also able to put into practice the grammar they had learnt in the previous part of the lesson and learn some vocabulary that would be essential for the following part! As with many lessons at alpha.b – the text chosen lead to a discussion around the topic and encouraged the class to tackle some current world-issues such as sustainability and politics.

This morning lesson was rounded up with an exercise that tested their listening comprehension. Using the modern tablets, the students watched YouTube videos based on the article that they had just read. Their teacher constantly reiterated that they were able to complete the task at their individual pace which demonstrates that even though the classes at alpha.b are already small – the teachers really value the importance of each pupil!

Although they were not obliged to do so, the teacher offered the students extra optional activities on the ‘Conditionnel’  tense that they could do at home and bring back to him to be marked. This is testament to how you can really push yourself whilst staying at alpha.b with the support of our university-graduate teachers.

If the Continuous Course sounds right up your street, find out more information on how to sign up, on our website: https://www.alpha-b.fr/en/your-general-french-course-in-nice/.