Postcards from Montpellier 4: Inside Institut Linguistique Adenet: An Intern’s Perspective

Hi all and welcome back to Postcards from Montpellier! My name’s Tallie and I’m currently at interning at Institut Linguistique Adenet, one of Wiseward’s partner schools in Montpellier in the south of France. I promised to keep you updated on all this year abroad, so this week I thought I would give you more of an insight into my internship to give you a better picture of the school I work at. 

I have been working as a receptionist and carrying out admin tasks to help the school to run smoothly and I feel well and truly part of the team now. Whether you are looking for internship options for your year abroad, or you’re interested in signing up to one of ILA’s immersive French courses, hopefully this blog will answer some of your questions.

Learning French at ILA:

My internship here is actually flying by- I can’t quite believe I’ve been working at ILA for 3 months now, it feels more like 3 weeks! I find that once you get into a routine, the days pass quickly, and suddenly it’s the weekend again and you’re onto the next week. As they say, “time flies…”

It is hard to describe the atmosphere at ILA in just one sentence, but you can tell that all of the students are just so happy to be here! As a receptionist at this international language school, I often feel like a fly on the wall- overhearing start of new friendships between the students in the corridors and catching snippets of conversations with a mix of different accents and languages. I love watching students connect through shared experiences- whether they’re swapping stories about life with their host families or chatting about their latest favourite finds around the city.

Even beginners make an effort to speak French when they come to reception, which really shows how motivating a full French immersion program can be. Working in a French language school has taught me that building confidence is key to learning a new language. Just speaking, even if it’s not perfect, is what helps you grow. ILA’s French-only policy is one of the most effective tools we have to help students fully immerse themselves and make real progress in their French language course.

Even at A1 (beginner level), all of the lessons are taught entirely in French – I observed an A1 Standard class in my second week, and I was genuinely surprised at how quickly the students advance here. Learning French through immersion, using only French in the classroom, is proven to be one of the most efficient ways to learn a new language. When you're constantly hearing and using French, your brain naturally adapts to the sentence structure, rhythm, and vocabulary. This means you stop translating from your mother tongue and start thinking directly in French

The different courses on offer:

Here at ILA, we offer a wide range of courses to suit different interests and needs: from our French course for Seniors and Teacher Training (for French Teachers) to our French and Cooking course, for those who have a passion for French cuisine! Our 2 most popular programmes are the Standard course and the Intensive course which are group classes with an average of 8 students per class, ranging in age from 16 to 77! There is also an option for private lessons for those who prefer the one-to-one teaching style. The Standard French course equates to 15 hours (20 lessons) of French lessons per week from Monday to Friday – 9:15 AM until 12:15 PM. These morning lessons place a focus on grammar, and the students are given additional exercises to practice at home in their own time.

On the other hand, the Intensive course, which can be added to the Standard course, takes place in the afternoons (Tuesday-Thursday) from 13:15 PM until 16:00 PM. These afternoon classes give our students the opportunity to put their new grammar skills into practice by participating in discussions, games, and even trips into the city to talk to locals or visit museums. This week, I took part in one of the intensive lessons, so I thought I’d tell you a bit about it…

A sneak peek at the Intensive class:

We started off with a ‘brise-glace’ (ice breaker) where we introduced ourselves and shared where we were from. Since it was the first intensive class of the week, naturally there were new students in the group! It was interesting to see the range of nationalities and ages represented in the classroom!

The aim of the lesson was to practice the Pronominal Verbs. For non-French speakers, this can be a bit tricky, instead of saying ‘I take a shower’ the French say, ‘I shower myself’. This can take a bit of getting used to!

We played an interactive activity where we went around the classroom asking each other questions using the grammatical structure. The questions focused on phrases used in everyday life, which I found especially interesting, as often when learning a language, I have found the focus can be more on history and politics rather than on phrases we actually need! (I still couldn’t name every kitchen appliance in French if you asked me!)

In the second half of the French class, we worked on how to describe ourselves and others in French. I even noticed that the teacher incorporated artificial intelligence into the lesson- we used an AI-powered website to generate a face and then had to describe it to each other using French vocabulary. It’s impressive to see that while ILA’s lessons take place in historic buildings, the teaching methods and language learning syllabus remain modern and innovative.

We ended the lesson off by each writing down 4 new words we had learned. These words were placed in a pile, and one by one, we either acted them out or drew pictures while our classmates guessed the words. I really admired how the teacher turned vocabulary practice into a fun and interactive language learning activity. After all, vocabulary memorisation can sometimes be repetitive or boring. This activity works well for all levels of French learners, and it was great to see everyone getting involved and taking turns.

Overall, I had a really positive experience attending the intensive class. My favourite aspect was that there were only six students in the class, which made it easy to have engaging discussions and ensured everyone had a chance to speak and practice their French.

Extra-curricular activities:

Here at ILA it is not just about learning French in the classroom… We also offer a wide range of extracurricular activities at the school which are very popular. All of our activities are led in French and they provide a great opportunity to practice French outside of the classroom whilst immersing yourself in the culture!

ILA works closely with a tour company called Oculture and once a week, we offer a couple trips to local towns and must-see spots around the region. We also offer wine, cheese and patisserie tastings which are all led in French by our excellent ILA teachers. Whilst these activities are paid, we offer at least 3 free activities per week as well. These range from pronunciation workshops to Picnic quizzes and Pétanque (a Southern French game, similar to Bowls) on a Friday at the Parc de Peyrou. We also offer free city tours every Monday so that the new students can get to know Montpellier a little better. Our tour guides are none other than our friendly teachers at ILA, who lead these tours entirely in French.

ILA’s weekly (free) City Tour:

This week, I joined the students on the city tour- here’s how it went…

On Monday afternoon, I joined a group of ILA students of all ages in front of the school’s Jean Moulin school building for the city tour. I was relieved to see that the weather was perfect, blue skies but not too hot!

Shortly after we gathered, our teacher arrived and gave a brief overview of the route, along with a bit of historical background about the old town, known as l’Écusson. Fun fact: it’s called that because, from an aerial view, the old town is shaped like a badge-écusson in French.

The walking tour lasted about an hour and a half, during which, we explored the entire old town as our ILA teacher explained everything in French. I think this is a brilliant way to test your French outside of the classroom whilst being active at the same time! Most of the students on the tour had just arrived in Montpellier so it was a great way for them to get their bearings and get some inside tips from a native speaker.

Even though I've been living and working in Montpellier for 3 months now, I still learned so much! My favourite fact? Place de la Comédie used to be called Place de l’Oeuf, because of the egg-shaped ring which boarders the square!

The city tour is also a fantastic opportunity for students to meet and connect outside the classroom. Everyone on the tour was really open and friendly- it made for a great experience all around!

I hope you have enjoyed reading about the ins and outs of Institut Linguistique Adenet and my personal experiences at the school. If you’re looking to improve your French, experience local culture, and meet great people; then look no further than ILA in Montpellier.

There is an excellent choice of French courses to choose from, suitable for all levels. Whether you’re a complete beginner or looking to fine-tune your fluency, there’s something for everyone- from interactive group classes to immersive cultural activities that bring the language to life. You will find everything you need to know, including course dates and a booking form on our Wiseward website. Your Montpellier adventure awaits!

À tout!

Tallie 💌