Living as an expatriate in France is an experience you need to comprehend. Selin shares her experience as an expat living in Bordeaux and her stay at the Alliance Française to improve her French and integrate into the local culture.
Living in Bordeaux as an expat: a well-considered choice
Originally from Germany and Turkey, Selin has been living in Bordeaux for 2 years. Charmed by the beauty of the city and its surroundings, she decided to stay for good. Read her account of her stay living as an expat in Bordeaux during her stay at the Alliance Française.
Bordeaux : chic, elegant and pleasant
When Selin arrived in Bordeaux two years ago, she fell in love with the city and decided to move there permanently. But what does she love so much about this metropolis? Well, she loves its beauty, its surroundings, its nature, its aesthetics and above all the people of Bordeaux. For her, Bordeaux can be summed up in three words: chic, elegant and pleasant.
In fact, the city’s neo-classical and Haussmann-style architecture is typically French, and Bordeaux expats love it! There are plenty of parks, cafés and terraces to stroll around in the sunshine. Last but not least, the locals and other expatriates in Bordeaux are always very welcoming!
In fact, it was while talking to expat friends in Bordeaux that she discovered the Alliance Française and its French language courses.. Thus, she decided to take the plunge to strengthen her knowledge of French and to be able to integrate better as an expatriate in Bordeaux.. It had worked for her friends, why not for her too?
- Watch Selin’s video testimonial in English to find out how to learn French better with intensive courses:
- Click here to watch Selin’s video testimonial in German
Learn French fast and efficiently!
After spending two years in France living in Bordeaux as an expat, Selin decided to take some French courses. Although she learned French there with her international friends, she wanted to continue her learning in a more academic way to really master all the rules of grammar and conjugation for example. She knew she wouldn’t be able to learn via an app and that lessons would be more beneficial..
That’s when Selin started taking intensive courses. These consist in 4h of French courses per day, Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. This can seems a lot butaccording to her, having blocks of 4h of coursesallow a more efficient and quicker apprenticeship of the language.
What is the perfect level?
Before starting a French course, it’s important to determine the students’ level. Selin took a French test and was then placed in the appropriate class. Having taken this test very seriously, she was pleasantly surprisedto realize that she had been placed at the perfect level for rapid progress.
But what is the perfect level? For Selin, it’s simple: it’s a class where you learn lots of things everyday but doesn’t drown us in information.
Fun and enriching courses
Selin loved the importance of the group in the intensive courses. For example, exercices oftentake the form of peer-to-peer discussions between classmates or competitive games to motivate thestudents. These learning methods have enabled Selin to learnall sorts of grammar notions or phoneticsbut in a entertaining way.
Learning French culture, but not only
During her time at the Alliance Française de Bordeaux, Selin learned a lot more than just grammar rules. In fact, Selin was in the company of expat students living in Bordeaux and visitors from Spain, the USA, the Czech Republic and Turkey. She also learned a lot about different cultures.
So to sumup Selin‘s experience in 3 words, itwasintensive, : , efficient and fun. And her favorite word ? Voilà !
If you are living in Bordeaux as an expat and would like to improve your French, contact us by e-mail at inscription@alliance-bordeaux.org !
