What’s it like to take a French Intensive Course during the ski season?

If it is the winter (December – April) and you are looking at taking a French Intensive Course, then taking a French Intensive Course in a ski resort is a great idea and one that it growing in popularity! Traditionally, summer was the busiest time for people to come to France to take a French Intensive Course but many people want to study year-round or not only during the summer months and in many towns in France, it is quite quiet in the winter. However the French Alps including Morzine are of course the exception with the ski season bringing many visitors to the area and creating a vibrant atmosphere and a choice of winter sports and activities to enjoy.

A day in the life of a French Intensive Course with Alpine French School

8h00 Breakfast

Get up and have breakfast with other students in your accommodation or grab a coffee and a croissant on the way to the ski lifts. Most of our clients choose to meet other students by staying in our modern shared apartments which are also in a great location not too far from Alpine French School, the town centre and ski lifts.

9h00 Head up onto the slopes!

Students on our French Intensive Course either ski with other students or take ski lessons with a French instructor (which we can help you arrange!). You get almost a full day to enjoy the mountains before starting your lessons so that you can make the most of the huge ski area and everything it has to offer!

14h00 Lunch

Grab a quick lunch either on the piste or in Morzine. There are so many restaurants to choose from: snack bars, traditional boulangeries and sandwich bars, restaurants on the ski slopes and in the town! You can pop back to your accommodation to change, or come with your skis to the school if you are in a hurry!

15h00 French Intensive Course

So now comes the French course part of the day! We changed the course time to the afternoon as we had so many people wanting to ski and snowboard in the mornings as the conditions tend to be better and there is also more choice for ski lessons. The slopes close at 4pm so it is better to make the most of the time they are open and ski in the mornings! We also found that in the mornings, our students would be staring out of the classroom window looking at the snowy pistes and dreaming! This way, everyone has had their ski ‘fix’ for the day and are happy to concentrate on their studies! Our courses are run by dynamic native French teachers who focus on speaking skills and keeping the lessons fun and interesting while you progress. You get a 15-minute coffee break in the middle of the 3-hours to have a little breather and grab a coffee!

18h15 Free-time

Our French Intensive Course finishes at 18h15 and then you have the rest of the evening to have dinner with other students, relax and of course do a bit of homework and revision for the following day! There are often events, concerts, torchlit descents organised in the evening and there is a multitude of après-ski bars, cafés, bars, restaurants and 2 nightclubs if you fancy a night out.

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