Welcome Pack – French Immersion at Varambon

GREAT NEWS!

You are coming to Châteaux des Langues for an immersion.

We are thrilled and delighted to welcome

you to Château de la Mazure

This is your chance to fully immerse yourself in the French culture, or l’art de vivre français,

and improve your language skills too!

The atmosphere here is one of calm and comfort; you will immediately feel welcome and at ease.

The course is intense, professional and structured but the atmosphere is pleasant and relaxed.

Our motivated and energetic team are here to inform, guide and encourage you to make sure that you get the maximum benefit from your week with us. The diversity of our teaching team means that we can cater to any linguistic need you may have.

To maintain your concentration during these intense days, there are different teachers, activities and rooms every hour. On Wednesday, for something a little different, we have a cooking session where you can prepare dinner all together!

You will be staying in the château with all meals provided. We aim to cater to your every need in order to create the ideal learning environment to concentrate on the language.

A bientôt!

THE PROGRAMME

• Various language activities at the château

 

COMPLAINTS

To file a complaint before, during or after your training please contact our programme manager, Isabelle GODEFROY, at +33 2 43 53 55 63 or isabelle@chateauxdeslangues.com

Morning Schedule

We begin at 10am on Monday

08h30 – 09h00 : Structured exercices

09h00 – 09h30 : Breakfast – Comments & discussion about the news

09h30 – 10h00 : “Small talk” during a walk in the countryside

10h00 – 11h15 : The tool “Le kit des bases grammaticales”

11h15- 11h30 : Coffee break

11h30 – 12h20: Audio exercise – the “copycat” training

12h20 – 12h30 : Preparation of discussion & activities for lunch

12h30 – 13h30 : Lunch – professional meeting role-play

13h30 – 14h00 : Coffee and time for external contact with mobiles and laptops

Afternoon schedule

We finish at 5pm on Friday

14h00 – 15h15 : The Tool “Le kit des bases grammaticales”

15h15 – 15h45 : Structured exercises on the “kit”

15h45 – 16h00 : Coffee break

16h00 – 17h00 : Bright test practice

17h00 – 18h00 : Operational Activities + “One-to-One” in parallel

18h00 – 18h15 : Coffee break

18h15 – 19h00 : Role plays + “one to one” in parallel

19h00 – 19h30 : Free time for external contact with mobiles and laptops

                             & possibility to consult a teacher

19h30 – 20h00 : Pre-dinner aperitif 

20h00 – 21 h00 : Dinner

21h00 – 21h30 : Pronunciation

21h30 – 22h30 : Structured television exercise

LISTENING SKILLS

During the immersion we will work on
improving your listening and comprehension
skills.

However, we suggest you listen to as
much French as possible before you arrive.

Start Training Your Ears by Listening to these TED Talks

Comment sauver l’amour

D’une culture à une autre

La séréndipité

USEFUL EXPRESSIONS

Do you want to sound more French?

Do you need key phrases to help you feel more comfortable?

Click below to download a list of essential expressions.

Essential expression

We would like you to use these phrases during the immersion, so please learn some before arriving.

SPECIFIC LANGUAGE NEEDS AND WISHES

Please inform us of your personal requirements with the following form :

Give us your needs & wishes

HOW TO GET HERE

BY CAR

478 Rue du Château

01160 Varambon

France

Please aim to arrive between 9:30 and 10am on Monday morning.

 

BY TRAIN

For Monday please book the train from Paris Gare de Lyon at 06h55 to Ambérieu en Buguey at 09h31.

We will arrange for someone to collect you at the station and bring  you to the château. You will easily recognise the person as they will have a Châteaux des langues sign and be waiting at the taxi line outside the train station.

Please, do NOT take any other train than this one on Monday, otherwise you will arrive to late for the immersion and we will not be able to provide you the free taxi. The only train station where our taxi will come to pick you up is Ambérieu en Buguey.

The departing train is usually at 17h27 from Ambérieu-en-Bugey on Friday. If you are not coming from Paris, or would like to take a different train, please discuss this with us before booking your tickets.

Please inform us of your train times as soon as possible.

For those arriving after the 7th of April 2024 please book the following train :

Paris Gare de Lyon at 06h26 to Ambérieu en Buguey at 09h07

trajet en train jusqu'au châteaux des langues

For those who wish to arrive on Sunday, our Centre will not open. Here is a list of hotels in the area that we recommend:

• Hôtel ibis budget Chateau Gaillard – Lieu Dit “Les, Rue des Millettes, 01500 Château-Gaillard – +33892701273
• Hôtel Première Classe Bourg En Bresse – 105 Impasse des Certines, 01250 Montagnat – +33474237661

 

If you wish to use the taxi service, the meeting point is at 9:30 am at the Gare de Ambérieu en Buguey. Thank you for letting us know beforehand so that we can order the taxi.

Please respond via email.

AND FINALLY…

MEALS

Breakfast (coffee & croissants), lunch and dinner are all provided.

If you have any special dietary requirements (allergies, vegetarian, etc….)

please let us know in advance by email (direction@chateauxdeslangues.com) or by phone (+ 33 2 43 53 55 63).

TO ENJOY YOUR STAY

We have included some outdoor walks in this course, so we will provide boots. We will also provide towels in the bedrooms.

Please also bring some pens and writing paper. All other teaching materials will be provided by us.

Remember that at certain times of the year the weather can get cold, so please bring a nice warm jumper with you.