My name is Greta and I am Swedish. I had always wanted to improve my French and study in Paris, as I had visited the city several times and absolutely loved it.
As I was nearing my 22nd birthday and getting to the end of my business studies at university, I felt it was time to take the plunge and look into studying and living in Paris. Besides, once I had graduated from university, I wanted to be able to work in an international environment and being able to have a good level of French would enable me to get my perfect job.
I checked various options and decided to apply for a loan with CSN, the Swedish Board of Student Finance, a government agency that manages Swedish student finance, as this would help me budgeting my studies and stay in Paris, and realise my dream.
I also checked out several French language schools in Paris where I could study. I contacted a few schools, and ACCORD School was the first to respond to my enquiry.
Studying French in Paris with a CSN grant
ACCORD could offer the French course I needed to apply for the CSN loan scheme, they also were used to welcome Swedish students who had applied to study with them using the CSN grant, so they knew the procedures, etc. They were also very reactive and always extremely friendly which I appreciated.
ACCORD French Language School is also a Qualité FLE accredited school member of Campus France and located close to the Eiffel Tower, the perfect location for any foreign student. I also really liked the fact that the students come from all over the world. With over 35 years’ experience teaching French as a foreign language, they also offer many different types of courses from General French to Exam Preparation courses as well as French courses for professionals.
I looked through the very precise information they sent me about the courses available. I was level B1 so I could start any Monday I liked, I wanted to study French for 12 weeks, and this was of course possible and I could even extend if I wanted to.
My French language course at ACCORD
As I had a CSN grant, I chose a French course in Paris of 20 hours per week so I could improve quickly but also had time to explore Paris and self-study. ACCORD offers two options, the morning Course ‘A’, 20 hours per week, Monday to Friday from 9h00 to 13h00, and the afternoon Course ‘PM2’, 20 hours per week also, Monday to Friday from 14h00 to 18h15 with the last hour of the lessons being a coaching tutorial which helps students with the support of the teacher to revise some of the items covered in the afternoon lesson, do specific homework, etc.
As I am not an early riser and because the afternoon course was attractively priced for a 12-week course, I chose to book the afternoon French course PM2 which I really enjoyed as each afternoon is dedicated to specific topics (French Oral Communication on Mondays and Fridays, and French Writing & Grammar on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays). Having said that, some of the students I made friends with had booked the morning course (or a more intensive course with morning and afternoon lessons) and thoroughly enjoyed it.
For the accommodation, I opted for a flat-share option near the school which was great. I was lucky enough to live with 3 other students, a French student who was at a Business School, an Italian student who was doing an internship in a French company and a Korean student who was attending a cookery school.
Studying French in France at ACCORD Paris with a CSN grant
The whole process with ACCORD from the first enquiry to booking and finalising everything with CSN was easy and studying at ACCORD was perfect for me. I loved the lessons, the teachers, the way they encourage you to communicate and become more confident. I also met some wonderful people who were studying with me and made friends for life… At the end of the course, I had really progressed well in French so I felt I could apply for a job where French was required.
The team at the ACCORD French Language School was really lovely and approachable. I also got all the documents I needed for CSN and when the 12 weeks were up, I just didn’t want to leave Paris…
I am now back in Stockholm, and after graduating, I got a job as a marketing executive for a great company which means I often travel to Europe and France in particular. I am planning my next visit to ACCORD School, this time I will take a French for Business course for a couple of weeks and hopefully this time my company will pay for it.
If you are planning to study in Paris and going through the CSN grant scheme, don’t hesitate, choose ACCORD School every time.
Contact ACCORD if you want to study French in France with a CSN grant.
