5/5 Marilyn E. 11 months ago on Google
A
friend
and
I
spent
two
weeks
Chez
Julie
in
March,
2023.
Both
of
us
are
retired
and
have
been
taking
French
classes
through
Alliance
Française
in
the
US
as
well
as
other
language
programs
in
France
for
the
past
three
years.
We’re
probably
at
A.2/B.1
level
of
competency,
give
or
take.
Julie
arrived
at
the
student
apartment
–
oui,
it
is
as
spacious,
light
and
well-appointed
as
advertised!
–
at
9
each
weekday
morning,
and
we
began
our
day
together
while
enjoying
a
healthy
petit-déjeuner.
Morning
lessons
were
held
in
the
salon.
Afterward,
she
prepared
our
déjeuner,
using
fresh,
local
ingredients
to
create
a
delicious
entrée
(salad),
plat
(main
dish)
and
dessert.
After
a
leisurely
lunch
and
conversation
(en
français),
Julie
left
at
2:30,
and
we
were
free
to
stroll
through
Avignon
and
enjoy
the
many
winding
lanes,
cafés,
shops,
parks
and
attractions.
Twice
a
week,
we
took
excursions
after
our
morning
lessons
and
enjoyed
exploring
nearby
villages.
Dinners
were
on
our
own;
Avignon
has
plenty
of
very
good
restaurants
(modest
to
high-end).
Our
first
week’s
lessons
focused
on
practical,
conversational
grammar,
vocabulary
and
honing
pronunciation.
Julie
used
a
variety
of
teaching
methods
and
activities
(exercises,
games,
conversation)
to
engage
us
while
building
on
our
strengths
and
addressing
our
challenges.
She
changed
things
up
during
our
second
week,
having
observed
that
we
had
the
basics
in
our
brains
but
needed
to
practice
speaking.
So,
the
theme
of
our
second
week
was
“Parlez,
parlez,
parlez!”
And,
“Parler,
c’est
ce
qu'on
a
fait!”
We
played
games
and
told
each
other
stories
while
Julie
coached
us,
helped
us
with
pronunciation
and
wrote
down
whatever
we
got
stuck
on
so
we
could
go
back
later
and
see
the
word,
the
grammar
rule,
the
sentence
structure
that
had
challenged
us.
We
had
fun!
Both
my
friend
and
I
made
substantial
progress
in
our
oral
comprehension
and
fluency!
Our
two
weeks
flew
by!
I
wish
we
had
stayed
for
three!
“Le
français
chez
Julie”
receives
10
stars
from
me!
An
ideal
location,
lovely,
comfortable
accommodations,
delicious,
home-cooked
meals
and,
most
importantly,
a
skilled,
insightful
professeure
who
was
kind,
patient,
fun
to
be
with
and
helped
me
gain
confidence
and
significantly
improve
my
French
–
C'était
tout
ce
que
j'espérais
et
plus
!
Marilyn,
Seattle
WA
March
20233