Having been to many french evening classes over the years we were both painfully aware of how long it takes to make progress in a foreign language. That was until someone suggested going to France and enrolling in an immersion course where French is the only language you hear from waking up in the morning to going to sleep at night.

After much searching on the internet and scouring through magazines, we decided to sign up for a two week intensive immersion course at the Ecole des Trois Ponts language school in Roanne. We chose Roanne because, unlike other places, it is is not a tourist hotspot where most people speak English.

The Ecole des Trois Ponts language school is based at Château de Matel on the outskirts of Roanne. The château, formerly owned by André Citroën, is a beautiful 18th century building set in 32 acres of woodland.

Our first week started with a quick assessment by Pascal, one of the teachers, to determine our level of ability and our aims for the week. Every morning we had a three hour group lesson after which a buffet lunch was served. On Monday and Thursday afternoons we also had a two hour group lesson before dinner. Each class comprised a small number of students, in our case five. Since we had signed up for an intensive course, we also received one-to-one instruction two afternoons a week.

The lessons were fun and based more on speaking and using the language rather than performing endless verb drills like French classes at school. During the course we both had to give a number of presentations in French on a variety of subjects and then answer questions from the rest of the class. By the end of two weeks we had both learnt a great deal and managed to consolidate our existing knowledge.

The atmosphere at the château was relaxed and friendly with the staff joining us at meal times. Daniel the chef produced dish after dish of excellent traditional fare as well as presenting five new cheeses for us to taste every night. Given that there are over 1,000 cheeses made in France, we were not going to taste them all in a fortnight, but we made a good start!

The school operates a French only policy at the dinner table which provided an excellent way to practice the new language we had learnt with our fellow students, who came from a variety of countries and backgrounds. The teaching staff were on hand to help with any language difficulties although after a few glasses of red wine everyone had lost any inhibitions they may have had about speaking French.

One of the highlights of the first week was an evening wine tasting course run by local wine expert, Stephan. This was very interesting and enjoyable although by the end of the evening the amount of wine consumed was starting to have an adverse effect on our French comprehension!

When not in class there were plenty of things to do including lounging by the pool, walking along the nearby canal, or cycling into town to try out our newly learned French on the unsuspecting locals. At the weekend we hired a car and were able to explore the Loire valley and some of the surrounding wine growing areas.

At the end of the second week we were given a detailed report on our progress and after dinner on the last night, we were presented with a course certificate.

The château was very well run and all the staff, especially René and Valérie, ensured that we had a very enjoyable stay. If you are looking for an immersion course in a good location with a friendly atmosphere and good food and drink, you could do a lot worse than sign up for a course at the Ecole des Trois Ponts.

For more details, contact René Dorel.