French
10-week Course

Course Description

• 20-hour course over 10 weeks, one 2-hour class per week
• Fits easily into your life
• Ideal for long-term learning, busy people or those studying for fun
• Focuses on practical language for use outside the classroom
• Sociable, relaxed atmosphere

Class Times: 6:30-8:30pm

Start Dates Available: Oct 2010 , Jan 2011 , Apr 2011

Average Class Size: 8

Minimum Age: 18

Course Materials: Included in the course fees

School: Cactus London Notting Hill / Map

Location: London - Notting Hill

Language: French

Course Type: 10-week Course

Cactus Curriculum

Cactus part-time language courses are typically offered at seven levels, from Cactus Level 1 to Cactus Level 7, suitable for students with and without prior knowledge of the language. Studied in sequence, the seven levels are designed to progress students from beginner level through to advanced. The programme can be picked up at any level, according to existing language skills. Each level can also be studied as a one-off course in its own right to build or refresh language skills at the chosen level.

Courses run consecutively throughout the year with breaks for the Easter and Christmas periods. This provides the opportunity for continuous training, allowing students to progress and move up to higher levels as their skills develop.

What level am I?

To help you decide which level is right for you, please look at the course level descriptions and take our online language level test.

Course level descriptions

Cactus Level 1 Cactus Level 2 Cactus Level 3 Cactus Level 4

What will I learn?

The course outlines give an overview of the content and learning framework of Cactus part-time group courses and include themes, grammar and vocabulary you can typically expect to cover. These are intended as a guide only and our teachers may at times adapt the course content to suit the specific level, aims and interests of the class.

Read the French course outlines for all levels

All of our courses are carefully structured and designed to cover a wide range of topic areas, grammatical structures and skills. Cactus Foreign Language Courses include the following elements:

• Spoken communication to build confidence in interacting with native speakers
• Listening and comprehension skills to improve understanding
• Grammar and sentence structure
• Everyday language for use in real-life situations, both spoken and written
• Core vocabulary
• Pronunciation
• Reading practice and written communication

All of our teachers are fully qualified and experienced foreign language teachers with a specialised background in adult education.

What progress will I have made by the end of the level?

The Learning Pathway provides a guide to what you can expect to achieve by the end of your course at any given level and also shows what progress you can expect to make if you stick with it and carry on studying subsequent levels

Cactus Level 1 pathway Cactus Level 2 pathway Cactus Level 3 pathway Cactus Level 4 pathway

The School - London Notting Hill

Our school provides an excellent environment for studying. The classrooms are bright and airy with plenty of space.

There are also areas to study outside the classroom. The library provides internet access and space for silent study. The friendly librarian is on hand to help students with all their resource inquiries. There is also a study center with self-access computer programs. The student canteen serves light snacks and hot and cold drinks throughout the day and has digital television.

All students have free internet access.

Nearest Tube: Notting Hill Gate

More on Cactus London Notting Hill School

The Teachers

Our teachers are qualified and experienced language trainers, and are all native or bilingual speakers. They have been interviewed by our full time Academic Team, and have had their references followed up. We assign classes according to the strengths of our teachers and work with them to ensure the quality of course delivery is excellent at all times. We have also introduced a comprehensive Teacher Development Programme at Cactus, which incorporates a range of seminars, classroom observations, same-language teacher forums, regular newsletters, and information on methodology and hands-on teaching techniques. Our teaching philosophy is based on looking at ideas, asking questions, and meeting challenge.

Course Materials

For all Cactus Foreign Language Courses you will be supplied with course materials, which form the basis of your study.

• 1.2 miles / London Shepherds Bush
• 1.2 miles / London Gloucester Road
• 1.3 miles / London Paddington
• 2.0 miles / London Baker Street
• 2.1 miles / London Bond Street

Student Feedback - See what students have said

At the end of your course you will receive a questionnaire. Your feedback enables us to maintain the quality of our language courses and ensure you're getting the maximum out of your chosen course.

Read the feedback here

Course Feedback

• Masha has been a fabulous teacher! I am thoroughly enjoying my classes. Course content is good for beginners, and gives a great introduction to the language. Masha encourages group work, paired work and individual work. She uses games and visuals as well as standard learning methods, so it is a nice combination.

  (Kyly, Jan 2007)

• My teacher Gaelle is fantastic, we have fun and she has an engaging and relaxed teaching style.

  (Katrina, Jan 2007)

School Feedback

• Ottavia is an excellent teacher who delivers the lessons in a very structured, interactional way.

  (Anne, Apr 2007 )

• Masha has been a fabulous teacher! I am thoroughly enjoying my classes. Course content is good for beginners, and gives a great introduction to the language. Masha encourages group work, paired work and individual work. She uses games and visuals as well as standard learning methods, so it is a nice combination.

  (Kyly, Jan 2007 )

• My teacher Gaelle is fantastic, we have fun and she has an engaging and relaxed teaching style.

  (Katrina, Jan 2007 )

• I am very happy with the course. The classroom environment is very nice and classes are very interesting.

  (FATOU GARCIA, Jan 2007 )

• I really appreciate that Vincenzo is so encouraging and supportive. I have missed a couple of classes and he is willing to put in the time to get students up to speed and makes sure that everyone is included in the class.

  (Amanda, Jan 2007 )

Images of the School