Learn French online and also in France is an extraordinary adventure that offers many advantages! Juan Diego, originally from Venezuela has lived this experience! As a student at the IEF for several months now, he started his online learning and as soon as he could, he came to France, to Montpellier. It was his dream!
It all started in July 2020! Juan, highly motivated to progress in French, got up at 4 o’clock in the morning to take his French courses online. A few months later, in November, he arrived in Montpellier with his linguistic luggage. He was warmly welcomed by Eugénie, the person in charge of accommodation at IEF, and by his host family, where he stayed for a while to continue his online courses since the health situation did not allow him to follow the face-to-face courses at that time. Juan was delighted, he was in France and proud to be able to express himself in French from the moment he arrived and to be able to exchange with his host family. Since January, he has continued to learn French in the classroom, in face-to-face classes. We have interviewed him so that he can share his story with you!
Learn French online and in France, Juan Diego’s experience!
Could you introduce yourself in a few lines? Where are you from? What do you do in life?
Hello everyone! My name is Juan Diego Penagos, I am 18 years old and I am from Venezuela. I am currently a student at IEF in Montpellier!
Arrival of Juan Diego in Montpellier. With Eugenie.
Why did you decide to take French courses?
First of all, I always wanted to learn French, another language than my mother tongue. Also, I would like to do my university studies in France. It is for these different reasons that I decided to start learning French with IEF.
What level did you have before starting French courses at IEF?
When I started with the IEF, my level was what I call “the level of films”. I knew the most popular words like “yes” and “hello”, but I was a complete beginner at the lexical, phonetic and grammatical level of course. Now I’m in the middle of level B2 and I feel able to have a conversation or have more confidence to express myself with other people.
How did you find out about our institute? And why did you choose IEF?
I discovered IEF thanks to Luis Arria, director of a very reputable agency specialized in language stays in Venezuela. And when I saw that Montpellier was a student city, I didn’t have to think much because it was perfect for me!
Can you tell us about your experience in learning French? How did it go from your first day of class until today?
First of all, the option of learning a new language online scared me. Fortunately, the way of teaching online with IEF is very dynamic and well organized for those who want to learn French without being in France. Then, after taking the online courses, I arrived in France and the experience was exactly as I had hoped for my online experience, even better!
Are you satisfied with the courses at IEF and your progress?
Yes, I am completely satisfied with the courses, the teachers, the school and of course I am really satisfied with the level of French I have now.
Would you recommend IEF’s Blended & Collaborative Learning (online courses, immersion courses and unlimited access to the e-learning platform) to others? Why would you do so? What did you like about this offer?
Yes, without a doubt! I will recommend it to those who want to learn French because if I hadn’t taken the online courses, I would be completely lost with the language level I had before coming. That was what I liked about this offer, the possibility of arriving in France with a good base in the French language.
