Learn French in France
Living here is one thing. Feeling at home is another.
Opening a bank account, following a meeting, talking to your child's teacher, catching what is said over lunch. The French you need is not the French of textbooks, it is the French of your week.
- 4.9on Google, from 582 reviews
- 11centres across France
- 1878the method, unchanged
- A1 – C2levels, from beginner up
Where you are starting from
Three ways people come to us.
What they have in common is not their level. It is a real deadline: a job that has already started, a move already booked, a stay with dates on it.
You already live in France
You work here, often in English, and you can feel that the important part happens in the conversations you are not yet part of. Lessons start from your job and your meetings, in the evening or during the day, at one of our centres or online.
You are coming for a few weeks
A stay with dates on it, and the intention to come back speaking. Intensive courses concentrate in days what evening classes spread over months, and you spend the rest of the time in the country that goes with the language. On request, lessons can be by the half day or the full day, with outings in French if you would like them.
You are moving here soon
The best moment to start is before you arrive. Online lessons let you begin from where you are now and carry on in a centre once you land, with the same method and the same level record.
Formats
Four ways to learn, one method.
The format changes the rhythm and the price, never the way the lesson is taught. You can move from one to another as your situation changes.
Private French lessons
A programme that follows your week rather than a syllabus. This is the format for people whose French has to work in a specific place: a job, a set of neighbours, an administration.
Intensive French courses
This is the format for people who come to France with dates on the calendar and the intention of leaving able to hold a conversation.
Online French classes
Live lessons with a trainer, not a course to work through alone. This is the format for people who are not in France yet, and for people whose week does not hold still.
French group classes
A small group at your level, and the one thing a private lesson cannot manufacture: other people, with their own mistakes, their own accents and their own reasons for being there.
The method
Nobody will translate for you.
It sounds harsh and it is the opposite. From the first lesson the whole class happens in French, and your trainer rephrases rather than translates.
The method dates from 1878 and began as an accident. Maximilian Berlitz, overwhelmed in Providence, hired a French assistant who spoke no English. Berlitz then fell ill and had to hand over his classes to a man who could not communicate with anyone. Six weeks later his students were holding conversations in French with an ease they had never had.
One rule is measured rather than promised: at least half of the lesson time is yours to speak. A lesson in which the trainer talks more than you do is not a Berlitz lesson. The same five principles apply in the 550 centres of the worldwide network, where every trainer is trained the same way.
Where
Eleven centres, and your living room.
Paris and its region, Lyon, Lille, Bordeaux, Marseille, Nantes, Rouen, Strasbourg, Grenoble. Online lessons follow the same method, with the same trainers.
- French courses in Bordeaux4,9 ★
- French courses in Grenoble
- French courses in Lille4,6 ★
- French courses in Lyon4,3 ★
- French courses in Marseille5 ★
- French courses in Nantes4,8 ★
- French courses in Paris La Défense
- French courses in Paris Opéra4,7 ★
- French courses in Rouen5 ★
- French courses in Strasbourg5 ★
- French courses in Versailles4,4 ★
What learners say
Reviews left on Google.
Written by learners at our centres and translated from French for you. None was commissioned; each links to the original.
I really enjoyed my English lessons with Berlitz, the method suited me perfectly! Special mention to Camille and Sonia, whom I met several times and who are excellent teachers, pleasant and encouraging.
I am on my seventh remote English course and I am still just as satisfied. The atmosphere is pleasant and motivating, which makes learning even more effective. Thank you to the whole team for your good humour and your commitment. I recommend this course to anyone wanting to improve their English in a serious and dynamic setting.
A complete course with effective tools and committed, engaging trainers. If you take it seriously and follow their advice, you see the progress straight away. Very good training!
I am happy with these one-to-one Spanish lessons. The whole team listens and the teachers are skilled. I recommend Berlitz without hesitation and I will be back.
A quality course, followed over several months, with trainers who listen and are always available. The instructors, of different nationalities, bring real added value by letting you get used to different ways of speaking English. This course helped me progress and I recommend this centre without hesitation!
I recommend 100%! From the first contact to enrolment, through the welcome, the follow-up and of course the lessons, everything was perfect! Smooth, simple, pleasant, friendly, warm and enriching are the words that best describe my course with Berlitz! Special thanks to Isabelle, William, Erica and Tom for their patience and professionalism! Thank you so much to all four of you. I wish you all the best for the future. Take good care of yourselves.
Great team, very friendly teachers who always listen and are patient. It was a real pleasure to come every Tuesday and I am delighted with the result. A big THANK YOU again. All the best to you all.
Hello everybody… (for me it was English lessons, so!!). From the welcome to the teachers from various countries and backgrounds, it was a real pleasure doing this course of more than 30 hours in Marseille (or remotely by video). Lots of understanding, flexibility and patience to help you progress effectively in a warm and caring atmosphere. Thanks a lot, you did a good job.
I was lucky enough to improve my English during my six-month course with Berlitz Artigues. The team's responsiveness and professionalism, the variety of teachers and their kindness are really appreciated. If you are unsure which training provider to choose, go for it!
The best way to learn a language is total immersion. With Berlitz, you are one-to-one with a native-speaking teacher you have chosen. The school is welcoming, the staff and teachers attentive, and they come down to your level to support you. It's perfect for making progress.
I took an English course remotely. The teachers were all friendly and skilled, and the learning materials were very good. Thanks to them.
A great team of teachers, a truly motivating teaching method, very responsive when it comes to changing the schedule. I highly recommend it.
Questions people ask before they start
- Do I need to speak some French already?
- No. Complete beginners start at A1 and the first lesson is already held in French. That is the part which surprises people, and it is the part which works: you are never given the English word, so you learn to reach for the French one, which is exactly the skill a real conversation demands.
- Can I start before I move to France?
- Yes. Online lessons follow the same method and the same trainers as in a centre, so you can begin from where you live now and continue face to face once you arrive. Your level record moves with you.
- How long will it take me to hold a conversation?
- That depends on the level you start from, the hours you can give it each week, and how much French you hear outside the lesson. We assess your level before proposing anything rather than quote a number that would not mean much. The CEFR scale, from A1 to C2, gives the frame we work in.
- Are lessons one to one or in a group?
- Both. Private lessons follow your pace and your vocabulary, group classes bring the exchanges that come from other learners, and intensive courses concentrate either format into full days. Many people combine them.
- In which language is the lesson taught?
- In French, from the first minute, including for beginners. Your trainer rephrases, points, draws and acts out rather than translating. It is uncomfortable for about twenty minutes, and then it stops being uncomfortable.
- Which centres teach French to foreigners?
- All 11 centres in the French network do, in Paris and its region, Lyon, Lille, Bordeaux, Marseille, Nantes, Rouen, Strasbourg and Grenoble. Each centre page lists its address and how to reach it.
Start with a conversation.
Tell us where you live or where you are moving to, when you would like to start and what you need French for. We will come back with the centre nearest to you and the formats that fit.