French courses abroad

French courses start at €70/week in 2026, and a four-week stay with tuition and accommodation together usually lands between €1,200 and €4,500. Inside France, Lyon and Nice are easiest on the wallet at around €70/week, with Paris higher at €200. French-speaking Switzerland sits higher, Montreux from €298/week, while Montreal opens around €157. Your final number comes down to three things: intensity (general, intensive or one-to-one), where you sleep (host family, residence or apartment) and the extras (transfers, the DELF exam fee, the activity programme). Your local advisor prices it to the euro, or grab the free brochure.

Your goal, your budget and the kind of trip you're after settle it. France pulls the biggest crowd: the widest course choice, the reference accent, a different city for every mood. Paris for culture and a career boost, Nice for the Mediterranean, Lyon for food and student life. French-speaking Switzerland (Montreux, Lausanne) buys you smaller classes and weekends in the Alps, at Swiss prices. Canada hands you a North American accent and the option to fold in some English. And for French with sunshine on it, Guadeloupe and Réunion Island offer the same language against a very different backdrop: a tropical beach.

There's a French course for almost every age, from 8 right through to your retirement. The junior camps take 8 to 17s on full board with round-the-clock supervision, mixing lessons with sport and excursions in Nice, Biarritz, Montreux and Leysin. Adult courses start at 16, every level, every length. And the 50+ programme is built for over-50s: smaller classes, mornings of study, afternoons exploring alongside travellers of the same generation.

Your passport and how long you stay decide it. With an EU or EEA passport you need no visa for France or Belgium, any length of stay, and Switzerland is visa-free too, though past 90 days you register with the canton. Canada waves most EU passports through for up to six months. On a non-EU passport, France allows study trips of up to 90 days on a Schengen visa, with a long-stay study visa beyond that; Switzerland asks for a national D visa past 90 days, and Canada a Study Permit once you cross six months. Rules shift over time, so our advisors stay current and fill in the forms alongside you, free of charge.

It depends on your nationality and the visa you travel on. Within the EU and EEA, students can usually take on some work within local term-time limits. Non-EU students on a long-stay study visa are often allowed limited part-time work, while a short Schengen stay generally rules it out. The detail varies by country and changes over time, so your ESL advisor confirms exactly what applies to your passport and destination before you book. In practice, most students park the job and give the French their full attention.

This is the part worth taking slowly. Our advisors boil it down to five quick choices. Purpose first: a fast refresh, a DELF or DALF for university, a career step or a long break, each pointing to its own course. Accent next: standard French in Paris, the Provençal turn in Nice, Swiss French in Montreux, Quebecois in Montreal, every destination with its own ring. Then cost, with France in the middle, Switzerland at the top and Canada mid-range but cheaper day to day. Then the weekends on offer, Versailles from Paris or Mont-Tremblant from Montreal. Finish on length: one or two weeks to refresh, four to twelve for real progress, six to nine months for fluency. Still torn? Request the brochure, or book a free 20-minute call.

Booking with ESL costs exactly what the school charges direct, plus a stack of things a school rarely throws in alone. It starts with a free comparison and a shortlist mapped out before you commit, all carried by the best price guarantee: find the same course cheaper elsewhere and we refund the difference. Visa guidance covers France, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada wherever it applies, and a pre-departure briefing walks you through the city, the transport and what to pack. While you're away, a 24/7 emergency line stays open, with free changes if plans shift before you fly. Every course carries an activity programme too, from museums to food walks, at no extra cost. And your advisor stays within reach from the first call to your return, in person at any of our 40+ offices or by phone, email and video.

Wherever you're starting, from a true beginner (A0) to full mastery (C2), the courses follow the Common European Framework. Sit a free online placement test before you go, and day one puts you with students at your level. Beginners (A0 to A2) build survival French: the travel basics, the present and past tenses, the confidence to order and ask. Intermediates (B1 to B2) tackle work, study and the news, the level most employers and Francophone universities look for. Advanced learners (C1 to C2) chase nuance, debate and exam technique. If day one feels like the wrong fit, the school moves you within 24 hours. From B1 you can sit the DELF, DALF, TCF or TEF, each one recognised across Francophone universities and by most international employers.