Alliance Francaise De Berkeley

Sixteen years ago, I decided to revive my high school and college French. I had made several attempts to do so over the years, none of them consistent. I began at the Albany Adult School, but a year or so later, when I felt I wasn’t being pushed enough, I switched to the Alliance Française de Berkeley. I regard this as one of the best decisions of my life. I love going to the little yellow house; I love how warmly I’m greeted; I love walking into the foyer and hearing French spoken; I love seeing students of all ages. My own experience suggests that you need more than one lesson a week to become fluent, no matter how good the lessons are – and the lessons are more than good. I’ve studied with several of the teachers, all of whom are excellent and engaging in different ways, all of whom help you make significant progress towards fluency. Being a student has other perks: you get to meet new friends and interesting people, participate in stimulating events, and deepen your understanding of the world and others. I may have spent a bundle on lessons over the years, but I’m all the richer for it.

This place has a warm and welcoming atmosphere and is great for people at all levels of French. Events are either free or really cheap and there are lots of opportunities to find speakers at your level and meet some pretty interesting people. There are «regulars» so you can connect with people over time but always some new faces too. It’s in an old kind of funky very Berkeley house. Don’t come expecting sleek and modern… might not seem super professional at first, but the staff are really friendly and also know what they’re doing.

I love the Alliance Francaise. I took classes for about 7 months, and went from knowing about 10 words of French to being able read, write and speak French. By no means am I fluent, but that comes with time.
I love the smaller classes (or individual lessons) and excellent teachers. My classmates were of all ages and backgrounds. People learning for a job or move, or just because they appreciate the French language. It is an beautiful Victorian style house, with 3 classrooms 1 ½ blocks from Ashby BART and several bus lines.
They often have conversation potlucks, seminars, movie screenings, even a gardening club! They have a 2,000 book library that students can use — as well as CD’s, movies, newspapers and travel guides.

I took two courses at the Alliance Berkeley: Beginner Level 2 with Nicole, and Beginner Level 4 with Olivier. Nicole was a grammar tyrant, always stopping us to correct pronunciation — a good thing, in hindsight — while Olivier let us butcher pronunciation, but allowed much more practice in conversation. Both useful, but I wish that all the professors focused on both the technical and the conversational elements of French.
It certainly didn’t hurt my French to take classes here; it was a good way to stay polished. But, after taking an intensive course in Paris — which was both excruciating mental torture, and invaluable immersion — I realized that once a week courses are simply not enough to become strong in French (unless you have someone to practice with all week, which most aren’t lucky enough to have). If they offer intensive programs here, that would be the way to go.
The likeability of each course also depends on how serious the other students are. If you get a class with a lot of goofballs who don’t practice or study during the week, it holds everyone back. On the other hand, when you’re in a class where you can see the improvement of your classmates week by week, it’s encouraging and keeps you on your game. I experienced a little of both here.
I do love the environment — the AF Berkeley is essentially an old Victorian house just behind Ashby BART. Parking is easy and the atmosphere is nice and homey. But, for the price (nearly $ 300 for an 8-​week course) I didn’t feel challenged enough to continue.

This is a wonderful place to learn and/​or practice and improve your skills in conversational French. The classes are small and the instruction is excellent. Students are all ages and come from a variety of backgrounds. Conversation is interesting, real and always IN FRENCH! Instructor Ingrid Rombaut is warm, welcoming and helps each student stretch in the acquisition of French language skills. I highly recommend this school if you are serious about learning the language.

Learned how to say great french phrases like…
” Voulez-​vous coucher avec moi ce soir” and «J’ai chaud» with a perfect french accent. Zee Americains will zink you are ah tres sexy if you speakah zee French!

Alliance Francaise is a non profit organization that promotes french culture by providing french classes and events to promote french culture. I took classes at the Alliance Francaise in Paris for a year and took three months at the Alliance Francaise in Berkeley. This is a great place to brush up on your French. Classes are generally five to ten people and teachers are native French speakers.