| Do they need special material for sports, adventure-programmes ?(canyoning? or ?rivière? )? One month before the start of the course, you will receive a detailed list of what they need to bring (luggage-list). Special gear for climbing, wet suits etc...is always provided by us.
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| Does everyone in the group bring a friend ? Or, are some of the students alone ? some of the students know someone else in the group : a friend, a brother/sister, someone they met the previous year ... It is sometimes a comforting tought to have a familiar person around, especially when they are away from home for the first time.
However, in each group there are many students who are alone. Our experience is that they get acquainted with other participants very quickly and easily. Many times, upon arrival in Marseille, they have found (a) friend(s). Students who come alone often find that they make friends more easily, because they are open to EVERYBODY in the group, rather than concentrating on that one person they knew in advance.
Of course, our teachers follow each individual very closely and they make sure that everyone feels happy in the group.
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| My son/daughter has a good theoretical knowledge of French, very good grades at school but is afraid to speak One of the great advantages of taking a language course in France is that the students are continuously in a French environment. They hear French all the time and they are motivated to speak French as well. During classes, we mainly focus on conversation. We work with small groups, formed after a test and based on their knowledge of French. The excersises we give are adapted to their level. We do a lot of games, we work around subjects that interest them and let them speak a lot.
Students who are afraid to speak French will soon find out that everyone makes mistakes and that learning French can be fun.
The activities we organize in the afternoon are very exciting so that students forget their fear of speaking and stop worrying about making mistakes all the time ...
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| my son/daughter needs a lot of sleep. Can you make sure she can go to bed at a decent hour ? Juniors (12 to 14 years) have to go to bed at 10h30 / 11 h
Youngsters (15 to 18 years) are not forced to go to sleep at that time.
However, if we feel that a group (or some individuals) need more sleep, we will force them to go to bed earlier during a certain day (or days)
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| we have planned a holiday in Provence and would like to bring our child to your course centre and pick him/her up at the end. When does he/she have to arrive and leave ? The course will begin at 10 h the first morning, so please try to be there between 9h and 9h30. At the end of the course, you can pick up your child after 14 h.
It is difficult to determine an exact hour to pick him/her up, because it sometimes depends on the programme they do on their last afternoon. To be sure, you can contact our course centrre by phone a few days before the end of the course and determine a more exact hour for pick-up.
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| In the ?Provence-Junior? (12-14 yrs) or the ?Provence à la carte? programme : is it possible to choose between the different activities ??Or is the programme determined in advance ? Both these programmes offer a very varied mixture of all kinds of activities : sports, excursions, creative activities... In the beginning of the course, we sit together with the group and we inform them of the possibilities. Then, together we determine a detailed programme per day. Some things however are determined in advance, such as the two day-excursions, the bivouac, ...
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| How can I be sure that my son/daughter will always speak French during her stay ? We offer a very intensive guidance : 4 to 5 teachers for a group of 20 students.
Moreover, there are 4 French youngsters of the same age in each group. We spread them over the various rooms, so that they mix with the students.This gives a ratio of 1 native speaker for 2 students.
Our strategy is to motivate our participants to speak French at all times. We have learnt that creating a nice ?ATMOSPHERE? and ?REWARDING? them for speaking French works better than ?PUNISHING? and AUTHORIARIAN style.
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| Are your teachers native speakers ? Our teachers are young, dynamic people who are qualified to teach French to foreigners . We prefer to recruit our teachers in France. Occasionaly, we work with Belgian teachers coming from the French-speaking part of the country.
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| Are the youngsters left alone on some occasions ? No, all activities and excursions are done as a group. The students are always accompanied by members of our team.
Teenagers from 15 years on are allowed, during certain daytimevisits, to pass a little moment in a small group without staff. But never alone. Juniors 12-14, are never alone.
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| Can my son/daughter stay in the same room as his/her friend ? by all means. Please mention this on your registration form, so that we can arrange it.
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| My son/daughter would like to come together with a friend, but I?m afraid that the two of them will continuously speak their own language rather than French. Of course, it will be ackward for both of them to have to speak French with each other, especially in the beginning. We will however ask them to do as all the others and to speak French. Our teachers will react each time they don?t speak French and motivate them to do so. Of course, this also depends on the individual motivation of each student.
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| My son/daughter travels alone by plane. How can we be sure he/she will easily find CREA-LANGUES upon arrival at the airport ? Also, will you accompany and assist him/her with the departure ? Upon arrival at the airport of Marseille or Nice, we shall
await your son/daughter the moment he/she leaves the
« passengers-only »-area.
We’ll carry a sign with CREA-LANGUES on it + the name of your
son/daughter. Upon departure, we shall accompany your child to the
« check-in » and further till he/she goes through
« security » and enters the « passengers-only »-area again.
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| Is there a safe/secure place at the camp for children to leave their money and passports? I am just a bit concerned about her having to carry her passport with her all the time when they go on trips etc. It is possible to deposit valuable things such as passports or money with us upon your arrival. We'll keep them safe for you, so that you won't have to carry them around with you during your stay.
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