Institut de Français

What Institut de Français offers English speakers in Villefranche-sur-Mer

The Institut de Français has worked from a building on avenue Général-Leclerc in Villefranche-sur-Mer for over fifty-five years, and it does one thing: total immersion for adults, eight hours a day, five days a week, in fixed blocks of two, three or four weeks. Groups are capped at ten and usually run six to ten. Breakfast and lunch are included on teaching days, and lunch is spent in discussion with the teachers, which is the method rather than a perk. Everything happens in French from the first morning and the minimum age is eighteen. A second site in Nice is due during 2026.

Before committing to that intensity, work out what level you are actually at. French schools, exams and administrative requirements all use the same European scale of six levels, A1 to C2. A1 and A2 cover the basics, B1 and B2 mean you can handle yourself independently, C1 and C2 are near-native. It is the vocabulary every school here uses in its brochures and every official form uses in its conditions, and knowing your own level is what tells you whether four weeks will get you where you need to be.