Let’s start with improving your French
Even if you’ve visited Morzine before, you may not have noticed the busy little Alpine French School tucked just off the main road not far from the tourist office. It comes equipped with a super friendly team of teachers and staff who can and do speak English if you need them to and the atmosphere when you enter is instantly relaxed and welcoming. There’s a handful of well-equipped classrooms, a multimedia room and common room for you to take advantage of and a whole smorgasbord of classes and courses to choose from. I opted for an intensive week of 3 ½ hour classes at beginner’s level each afternoon. You’re allocated a class according to your ability before you arrive and there is nothing more reassuring as you sit down for your first lesson than realising that you are learning with people at roughly the same level as you.
Our teacher Lucille spoke almost entirely in French throughout but it was clear and easy to understand and the format of the lessons had you talking in French straightaway. The lessons are a combination of theory and practical learning, with games, written French and lots of conversation.
It’s a long time since I’ve been in a classroom, and my fellow pupils came from all walks of life. There was a young Swiss soldier and a Russian girl who’s been living in Australia. And then there was Anthony from the UK whose determination to get to grips with this language was nothing short of inspirational.
I’m ever so slightly addicted to learning and it was great to be in a room full of fellow addicts all enthusiastically lapping up our “pronoms”, “passé composé” and “structure infinitives”. Long since forgotten French which we’d all learnt way back when came rushing back and our afternoon classes flew by. We were all speaking French with each other even after the class by the end of day one, not least as it was our only common language, and my confidence, which has taken more than a few knocks over the last two decades, came gradually flowing back.
left: in the classroom; above Lucy enjoying afterschool skiing; right: gourmet fun in the alps
Photo: Morzine Tourist Office/Jarry Tripelon