My 16yr old daughter really wants to learn French and is considering an immersion program this summer. We’ve been looking online and reading reviews, but most reviews seem to be about programs for adults or are outdated.
6-8 weeks
She has just begun the A2 level, so really knows almost no French..
Any recommendations would be fantastic!
What she is looking for:
small class sizes
excellent teachers
clearly structured courses
homestay
fun outings
similar aged kids: but not a party scene as that’s not her thing
good supervision: so that if there is any issue, she has reliable adults to turn to
In addition to France, you could also consider programs in Canada. There are for example programs at Universite de Moncton in New Brunswick, Universite Ste. Anne in Nova Scotia, as well as programs in Quebec City and Montreal. I expect that there are probably programs elsewhere in Canada as well.
As one example, one daughter took a 5 week course over the summer. First they explain the rules in English, and test your French ability, then the rest of the time is entirely in French, except that they repeat this in the middle. In the morning they have lessons (which for the lower level lessons would be partly in English), then in the afternoons they have activities in French. For example, if you play le soccer, and if you are open, you might want to say “ici” rather than “open” or “here”. The morning lessons were at multiple levels, ranging from complete beginner to relatively proficient. Our daughter started at the beginning level, but advanced a level or two when retested after 2 1/2 weeks. After the entire program she and I were able to just sit and have a simple conversation in French, which is about all that I can handle at this point (I have lived in the US since the 1970’s, so my French is very rusty). The whole thing was shockingly affordable.
The program that my daughter attended had some programs for adults, and some for university age students (which she was). I thought that they also have some programs for high school students although I am not completely sure.
On weekends they had some optional activities such as a visit to Les Roches Hopewell. There are two differences between Les Roches Hopewell and the Hopewell Rocks. One has tours in French and the other has tours in English, and the tours start 1/2 hour apart. Otherwise these are of course the exact same thing and the exact same place. These are rocks that look a bit like what nature might have built if nature were trying to make Easter Island statues, and are in New Brunswick on the Bay of Fundy where the tides are quite high. New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province in Canada (which is why there are tours in both languages).
There might be EF tours available or one of the other companies that mostly specialize in high school.
I know Metro State University in Denver did sponsor 6 week intensive programs in France in early June, but only every other year. Covid screwed that up and I don’t know where they stand now. The kids might be a little bit older (although during the school year a lot of high school students take courses on campus as DE courses) so suspect your daughter might not be the only teenager. The housing is with families and the program is classes in the mornings and then other activities to use their new language skills.
There is also the Concordia language camps in Minnesota.