Our First Day at School - Actilangue in Nice

After another rather long night (both Keith and I didn't sleep well) we were up and out the door to walk to school at 8:20. As mentioned previously, school is only about a 7 minute walk from here so it is very convenient. We were greeted by the director of the school who ushered us into one of the classrooms where we were joined by two other girls. One hails from Cuba, but now lives in Nice. Her husband is an opera singer and performs throughout the country. She and her husband speak Italian. The other is from Singapore and teaches English, but can also speak Malaysian and Chinese. Apparently another gent from Australia was supposed to begin today as well, but failed to appear this morning.

Our first task was to complete a written exam which took us about half an hour. While those were being marked, another professor, Blandine, came into the room to test our comprehension and oral language skills. She asked each of us basic questions about why we wanted to learn French, where we were from, if we had studied French previously etc. In turn, we answered while she took note of our responses. Based on the results of our written test and our oral/comprehension abilities, we were placed in our respective classrooms. Brian and Keith are in the same class with Blandine as their professor. There are only 3 students in their class right now, so they should have ample opportunity for individualized attention.

My professor is Michel, a very kind man with a dry sense of humour. He speaks relatively slowly and clearly which makes it easier for me to comprehend. My class is large in contrast to the boys'.  There are presently 12 students from around the world and as usual, I am the oldest. However, I really liked them all. They seemed to be serious about learning and they spoke well. For once, I felt like I belonged. I could understand the prof and the other students most of the time. Perhaps testing one's abilities in advance is the best way to determine appropriate placement. In addition, we were all given manuals according to our level of learning. I haven't had a chance to read through the manual, but I plan do do so over time. 

For the last 45 minutes of our school day, the three of us chatted with Blandine. This time is meant to be interactive and a chance to improve our oral language and comprehension. She speaks much more quickly than Michel, so consequently it is harder to understand what she is saying. Today we learned about numbers including the use of the telephone, languages spoken in nearby countries etc. She invited us to think about topics we were interested in and share those with her tomorrow. That will be our topic of conversation over dinner this evening. 

I have to admit that today I am much more optimistic about my French learning experience. It felt good to start on a positive note. This school is much smaller than ILA and I feel more comfortable in this milieu. I'll keep you posted on our progress. Now it is time to do some homework.