Location

The Place de le Nation campus is located in the elegant neighborhood of Bastille, on the border of the 11th, 12th and 20th arrondissement in the Eastern end of central Paris.  The campus is self-contained and consists of a beautiful 19th century building that houses classrooms, a student residence, cafeteria, computer room, lounge and sports facilities.  The campus is only minutes on foot from the Nation metro and RER stations. There are many shops, cafes and restaurants in this neighborhood including a large Printemps department store. It is only about 10 to 15 minutes by RER or metro to the heart of the city and places of interest such as the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, Rue de Rivoli and the famous Champs Elysees!

Program

The program offers an ideal mix of French lessons and French culture, including exposure to cuisine, history and art as well as fashion and cinema.  It also offers the unique opportunity to meet and make friends with students from all over Europe, Latin America and Asia, making this a very popular program for students who are looking for a truly international experience. Depending on how intensive you want to make your studies, you can choose from 15 or 20 lessons per week with both options offering sports and cultural activities as well as full and half-day excursions to a variety of places of interest such as Versailles, the Loire Valley and Fontainebleau Castle. 

Level Placement

On the first Monday of the program, you will take both an oral and written placement test to determine which class you will be placed in.  There are a minimum of 4 levels offered including beginner, elementary, intermediate and advanced.  If you have no previous experience with the French language, you typically do not have to take this test and will automatically be placed in the beginner class.

Teachers

The teachers are all native French speakers and teach in the local high schools during the school year.  They bring a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to the classroom and design each lesson to focus on speaking and listening skills with appropriate attention paid to reading and writing.

Supervisors/Monitors

The program supervisors and monitors are all over 21 and have an amazing amount of energy! Their goal is to make sure that you get the most out of your program and they do this by being available 24 hours a day to answer your questions, provide guidance and look out for your overall safty and well-being. 

Activities and Excursions

Included in the program are 1 full-day and 2 half-day and excursions every two weeks. In addition to this, there are a variety of cultural, sports and leisure activities offered every afternoon and evening.  These are all included in the program fees. Optional activities and excursions are also available. On Mondays, you will be provided with a weekly schedule that lists three groupings of activities and excursions for the week. You can sign up for the grouping that you like best and follow that schedule for the week. 

Accommodation

You will be accommodated on campus in comfortable single or double rooms. Each single room is equipped with a single bed, a wardrobe, desk and chair. Some single rooms have lofts with a small study area. Double rooms have two single beds with wardrobes and desks. All rooms have their own ensuite with a wash basin and shower. There are shared toilets for every 4 to 6 rooms. 

All rooms are also equipped with internet access. if you are bringing your laptop, make sure you bring along a plug adaptor for your power source as well as your USB cable. If you choose not to bring your laptop you can use one of the 20 computers in the computer room for staying in touch with family and friends.

Meals

This program automatically includes a half-board option (breakfast and dinner).  Students will have breakfast at the school cafeteria.  For lunch you can eat at a restaurant of choice on a pay-per-meal basis. For dinner you will be given vouchers for use at a variety of pre-selected restaurants in the neighborhood.

If you have selected the full-board option, you will have breakfast at the school cafeteria.  For lunch and dinner you will be given vouchers for use at a variety of (approx. 4) pre-selected restaurants in the neighborhood.