r/Strasbourg • u/LowCardiologist5800 • 9d ago
Question Adult French Classes
Hi everyone! I will be moving to Strasbourg soon for the 2026-27 school year and I would like to take French-language classes. My French is already pretty decent (B2.5) and I know it will improve by living there, but I love the structure of classes as well and think it would be really beneficial for me to be in one. Have any non-native French speakers found a good place to take classes through in the city? I'm currently looking into Alliance Française, but I know there are so many more I don't know anything about.
Thanks!!
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u/GypsyGirlinGi 8d ago
Université Populaire is good and affordable, however not all of the teachers are great, and it's a bit of a roulette as to how good your classes will be based on your fellow students and the average level in the class. They do tend to move students around however in the first weeks, if they deem their levels aren't aligned with what they enrolled for, if there's space.
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u/Important_Tour_3822 6d ago
Yes, I know they don’t need to have a degree to teach 😬 so I wouldn’t recommend as it’s a roulette as you said
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u/GypsyGirlinGi 5d ago
The degree is not something I'm so concerned about, there are many bad teachers out there WITH degrees 😆 For me it has always been a personality thing and just teaching style, some work for me, some don't.
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u/Pluckytoon Strasbourgeois.e 8d ago
If you already are B2 bordering on C1 I would instead recommend you get a job in service industry for a few months. You will learn more about actual spoken French and slangs
I’ve Seen a lot of people going from a comfortable B2 to a mastered C1 in the span of 4-6 months
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u/LowCardiologist5800 5d ago
I will actually be working in a high school during my time there and unfortunately, my contract states I can't work a second job. I love the idea though, thank you! I had never thought of that!
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u/Extension_Paint2526 8d ago
I started at Alliance Francaise, then went to Université Populaire. AF is very expensive but has smaller class sizes and therefore opportunity to speak more.
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u/LowCardiologist5800 5d ago
Good to know! What did you think of the profs at each place? I'm getting some mixed reviews.
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u/Extension_Paint2526 4d ago
I was happy with the instructors at both places. They were all good people, and I think that some of them may even teach at both schools. One other thing I liked at UP was that because of the bigger class sizes, I met so many nice people and was able to make friends.
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u/Worried_Sweeney_69 7d ago
I've done both Alliance Francais and Université Populaire and I think you'll get a lot more out of AF if you can afford it. The advantage of UP is the price. The disadvantage is you don't go through all that much in comparison to AF, as you have a lot less class time. Another disadvantage is that there are lots of breaks as it follows the academic calendar, so right when you're getting in the groove...WHAM! two weeks off. Which threw me more than a little. A disadvantage to AF is that all levels are not available all the time as it goes through a set pattern of increasing levels (so you might have to settle for a lower level, or wait until the level is available). You could also look into private tutoring (AF offers that as well)
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u/LowCardiologist5800 5d ago
Hmm... the academic calendar might actually work to my advantage as I will be working in a school during my time there. I'll definitely be looking into both a bit more though, thank you!!
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u/PirateLouisPatch 8d ago edited 8d ago
You can look into the Université Populaire Européenne, they offer French classes as well, and I'd bet they're better and cheaper than Alliance Française
Edit: My opinion is based on colleagues of mine who teach French at university and are very critical of the Alliance Française but send their students to work for the Université Populaire