--Summer Vacation Ideas--
Could there be a better way to learn a language: immersed in the culture-- not to mention the food and wine-- of France, enjoying personal attention in a class for your whole family?
Coeur de France ("heart of France") is a family business run by a husband-and-wife team: she's French, he's American. Coeur de France is located in the town of Sancerre, perched on a hill amid vineyards by the lovely Loire River, day-trip distance from Paris, and complete with centuries of history. The company also offers cultural excursions, language lessons on a luxury barge cruise, and more.
The "Families" courses are tailor-made to your family's needs: "our teachers know how to accommodate every member of the family" regardless of skill level (or lack thereof). Families with kids 10 years or older get 25 lessons of 45 minutes, i.e. 20 hours per week. See the Coeur de France web site for more info; minimum child's age is three. Coeur de France also offers private tutorials for children only, ages 6 to 15.
All-inclusive packages for classes and lodging are available. Accommodation is in family apartments: self-catering, so you can practice your French at the local shops.
Visit the Coeur de France site and read an account by a journalist who visited with his family with kids eight and nine: "That doesn't sound like much of a holiday for us," they said at first, but guess what? A good time was had by all, and his daughter even said the magic words: "I want to go back next year."
- back to A to Z Summer Vacations
