Learning French in Mauritius

Hi Natalya, I have also been trying to find a teacher, private or in a class, but have not had much luck. I tried the website "language school teachers" which shows two teachers in Mauritius but none ever replied to my request. So if you find someone, please let me know, I need french conversation classes.
My french is improving but I still make a lot of mistakes so I need someone to correct me.
I will also keep you posted, should I find a teacher. and since I live in Tamarin we're not too far away and that should be convenient.
Rudy

Hi,

maybe you should post in the classifieds > language courses?

Hi Rudy,

Thank you for your kind response,

I actually found one advertisement lately and called the tutor for more information but I guess the price he told me is too high and besides he is teaching once a week wich I guess is not a right way - it should be at least 3 times a week. Anyway I can tell you his price so in case you are interested I can give you his phone number. He told me to pay 4000 rupees for books and then 1000 rupee for each lesson. I don`t know in my country with this amount tutor will guarantee me speaking french in 3 months this tutor didn`t give me any guarantees though I told him that I just want to know spoken french and nothing more ...

I don`t know I feel here that I am cheated all the time if someone tell me that it is a normal price I will take that but at the same time it is so difficult to find out anything here ... Nevertheless if I find something else I will let you know.

Regards,
Natalya

Julien wrote:

Hi,

maybe you should post in the classifieds > language courses?

Thank you Julien,

I found 3 advertisements there so I will check what they say.

Hi Natalya and Rudy,

Maybe the best way to learn french would be to interact with french speaking people in your region? Participate in our meet ups, etc...

Cheers
Arlette

Hi

The best place to use is alliance francaise maurice. Think they have 2 or 3 intakes per year

Bell Village

Tel. : (230) 212.29.49

Fax : (230) 212.28.12


Louis

Sounds strange but while in Oman I learnt to talk , read and write Arabic on my own within 3 months. I speak the Filipino language as good as English. I am still struggling with French the last six months.I bought a book and read the book twice, still did not go further than Bonjour and Merci in French. More than the language ,the pronunciation is difficult. Having said that I feel that knowing French is very important even though you can manage without it and all non speaking expats should atleast make an effort to learn this language.The only problem is finding the easiest way.

Thanks a lot,

I will call them today.

louisj wrote:

Hi

The best place to use is alliance francaise maurice. Think they have 2 or 3 intakes per year

Bell Village

Tel. : (230) 212.29.49

Fax : (230) 212.28.12


Louis

It is strange as arabic is really difficult. I learnt Farcy in Univercity and it was a nightmare of my life though the language itself is very beautiful like a song...) I also feel that I will have difficulties in lerning french but the process will be easier as you have opportunity here to learn and practice meanwhile. I always wanted to lern Italian it is one of the most beautiful languages on my opinion and I think it will be easy to lern Italian by books but french is really difficult that is why I think I will need a help of proffessional otherwise I will never make it

terence wrote:

Sounds strange but while in Oman I learnt to talk , read and write Arabic on my own within 3 months. I speak the Filipino language as good as English. I am still struggling with French the last six months.I bought a book and read the book twice, still did not go further than Bonjour and Merci in French. More than the language ,the pronunciation is difficult. Having said that I feel that knowing French is very important even though you can manage without it and all non speaking expats should atleast make an effort to learn this language.The only problem is finding the easiest way.

Hi,
Natalya.. i am also in the process of trying to find french teaching institutes!! I was going to visit Allaince Francais this weekend, but now, i guess my work is made lesser if you can tell what their response was to teaching people french from Basics.

Well, I called them and they said that they have start teaching program in September so you should rejister beforehand in October. The price is 4000 rupees for 36 hours and lessons aretwice a week. They also said that teaching is in french which sound weird to me but they said it is OK and if you don`t understand anything they will speak in English for you (I don`t know can`t imagine that but anyway ...). They also told me that if I want to start before September I can take private classes but the price in that case will be 30,000 rupees of course I can share it but I don`t know if we can find 7-8 people (because only in that case price will be reasonable).

In addition I also found a good tutor who teaches both private and group but it is too far from me in Grand Bay. I just liked her a lot - everything is so far from Flic en Flac it is sad ... Do you think it is possible to go to Port Louis by bus and then take another bus to Grand Bay?

musheer wrote:

Hi,
Natalya.. i am also in the process of trying to find french teaching institutes!! I was going to visit Allaince Francais this weekend, but now, i guess my work is made lesser if you can tell what their response was to teaching people french from Basics.

Hi,

We are also looking for a French tutor and can't wait until September.  We may be interested in the private lessons however the cost might be an issue.  Was the cost of the private lessons also for a total of 36 hours, twice a week or something different?  There are 4 of us btw and we are based in Quatre Bornes.

In answer to your question, I have no doubt you can get a bus to Port Louis and then to Grand Bay, it will probably take quite a while though!  Out of interest, how much was this tutor as we do have a car that would potentially take 5 people, although Grand Bay is still a fair journey even in a car...

J.

Hi Jaden,

I stay in Quatre bones as well. Maybe we could check out the option of the private classes by The alliance Francais, as you guys are 4, and adding me its 5. if Natalya and maybe a couple more join in, the cost would be reasonable.

Hi there,

Where is Bell Village located?

Thanks

Hi Jaden,

They told me that if I don`t want to wait until September I can take a private cource with the cost of 30,000 and i can share that if I want - so I guess it will be the same twice a week 36 hours. But if we gather 7 people (and I think we can as there is also Rudy interested in it) I guess we can ask them to start lessons earlier and maybe for some discount.

Regarding this tutor I found advertisement on this site and this tutor works for company named Lingvo Consult which is located in Grand Bay as well. She said that she is busy now so she is not working in the institute and gives private lessons only. She is Russian and I asked for lessons in russian (but she also teaches in English) so she told me price of 400 rupees for 1 lesson which will be 1 hour and a little more but she also said that if I take classes in the Institute it will be twice a week with a special program 3 hours long so that was it. They have a web site http://lingvo-consult.mu. Name of the tutor Olga Leshchenko phone number 9104667. You can call her if you want. Her describtion of the program in this Institute seemed more proffesional to me.

Anyway I will call them tomorrow for more information about price if we gather 7 people andlet you know.

Jaden wrote:

Hi,

We are also looking for a French tutor and can't wait until September.  We may be interested in the private lessons however the cost might be an issue.  Was the cost of the private lessons also for a total of 36 hours, twice a week or something different?  There are 4 of us btw and we are based in Quatre Bornes.

In answer to your question, I have no doubt you can get a bus to Port Louis and then to Grand Bay, it will probably take quite a while though!  Out of interest, how much was this tutor as we do have a car that would potentially take 5 people, although Grand Bay is still a fair journey even in a car...

J.

It is before Port Louis,

http://www.maplandia.com/mauritius/maur … l-village/

Biggy wrote:

Hi there,

Where is Bell Village located?

Thanks

Natalya Hovsepyan wrote:

Regarding this tutor I found advertisement on this site and this tutor works for company named Lingvo Consult which is located in Grand Bay as well. She said that she is busy now so she is not working in the institute and gives private lessons only. She is Russian and I asked for lessons in russian (but she also teaches in English) so she told me price of 400 rupees for 1 lesson which will be 1 hour and a little more but she also said that if I take classes in the Institute it will be twice a week with a special program 3 hours long so that was it. They have a web site http://lingvo-consult.mu. Name of the tutor Olga Leshchenko phone number 9104667. You can call her if you want. Her describtion of the program in this Institute seemed more proffesional to me.

And she is a member of expat-blog also:
https://www.expat.com/forum/profile.php?id=65106

Thanks Natalya

Hello to everybody again,

I am still waiting for an answer from Allaince Francais regarding classes before September. They told me they need to check that with their director. Besides they told me that for 7-8 people it will be 8000-9000 rupees for 36 hours but they promised me to find out how many people we need to get the same classes with 4000 rupees. So hopefully tomorrow I will get a reply and we will be able to figure out something.

I thank everybody again for their support and help I do really appreciate that.

Hi guys,

Based on the links, i contacted a lady, who put me through to another lady who works in Allaince Francais. She is stuck in europe and is back at the end of the week.
She said she will charge based on number of people, i.e 600 per hour for 1, 400 per hour for 2 .. so on..
I guess we can meet her once she is back and get a good price

Great,

So sooner or later we will have a reply and it will be just great if we attend the classes all together

musheer wrote:

Hi guys,

Based on the links, i contacted a lady, who put me through to another lady who works in Allaince Francais. She is stuck in europe and is back at the end of the week.
She said she will charge based on number of people, i.e 600 per hour for 1, 400 per hour for 2 .. so on..
I guess we can meet her once she is back and get a good price

Hi everyone, I think I should add, for clarification, that I'd had 9 years of french altogether at school and college, so i presume my french could be considered advanced, though rusty. i can hold any conversation in french but i know i still make mistakes so i need someone to correct me when discussing a topic in french, rather than learning the basics (over time, i would like to progress to créole, perhaps a bit ambitious but...:-)
so if alliance française offers french foundation (basics)courses, i think you should not count on me to join in.
good luck with your search. i'm sure it's going to be fun with this group.

Today I received a phone call form Alliance Francaise and the girl told me that we will need to gather 14 people and in that case they will organize classes for us before September and we have to pay in that case RS 5000 for 36 hours.
Any ideas how can we make it? Maybe open another discussion and offer people to join us if they want?

Thanks for informing Rudy,

But they also have another classes so you can check with them anyway

Aarbee wrote:

Hi everyone, I think I should add, for clarification, that I'd had 9 years of french altogether at school and college, so i presume my french could be considered advanced, though rusty. i can hold any conversation in french but i know i still make mistakes so i need someone to correct me when discussing a topic in french, rather than learning the basics (over time, i would like to progress to créole, perhaps a bit ambitious but...:-)
so if alliance française offers french foundation (basics)courses, i think you should not count on me to join in.
good luck with your search. i'm sure it's going to be fun with this group.

I think another important point will be the place, i.e will it be  t institute in Rosehill or the one in Grand bay.
Secondly, which days of the week do we have t course, as it will b difficult for me on weekdays as i work till 9pm.

Dear Natalya, Arbee, Biggy, Musheer, Jaden and others

For sure, it is not an easy task to find a good teacher charging a reasonable price to teach French to expatriates.

The “wisest” and ... less costly option for you would be to team up, since learning in groups is surely much more interesting and less boring than single-student sessions!

In my capacity as Human Resource Consultant, I recently met quite some experienced and graduate teachers of English and French languages, who could be interested to assist.

Still, the first thing would be to find a place suitable for all of you and the teacher also.

As such, the first step would be to indicate the area of each one or the place where you could meet.

Should things move fast and as programmed, the first session could be held in the first week of next month!

Cheers;)

Vayid

Otherwise, for those who are not beginners, you can read and post on the french forum. You will be welcome and it will be our pleasure to correct you mistakes.

Vayid wrote:

Dear Natalya, Arbee, Biggy, Musheer, Jaden and others

For sure, it is not an easy task to find a good teacher charging a reasonable price to teach French to expatriates.

The “wisest” and ... less costly option for you would be to team up, since learning in groups is surely much more interesting and less boring than single-student sessions!

In my capacity as Human Resource Consultant, I recently met quite some experienced and graduate teachers of English and French languages, who could be interested to assist.

Still, the first thing would be to find a place suitable for all of you and the teacher also.

As such, the first step would be to indicate the area of each one or the place where you could meet.

Should things move fast and as programmed, the first session could be held in the first week of next month!

Cheers;)

Vayid

Dear Vayid,

Thank you for your kind reply,

Gathering a team would be the best solution but I guess we won`t be able to gather that many people. Besides many people including me have transportation problem and difficulty in taking classes weekdays. So I guess I will just go to Aliance Francaise and register for September classes.

Rgds,
Natalya

Dear Natalya

A team would be not necessarily mean more than 3/5 persons.

I do not want to venture to make any comment against the “Alliance Française” though I do not personally think this would be the best for you.

Anyway, it’s up to you to decide whether you would like to get generalised course there or personalised courses with some private tutor.

Wishing you a fruitful programme.

Cheers

Vayid

Hi Vayid,

Firstly, i want to know whether you are offering to teach french or to be a part of the group. If you are a tutor, or working for an institute, As Natalya said, weekdays might be an issue, can you conduct classes on weekends. And what will be your charges based on group numbers!?

Dear Natalya

A team would be not necessarily mean more than 3/5 persons.

I do not want to venture to make any comment against the “Alliance Française” though I do not personally think this would be the best for you.

Anyway, it’s up to you to decide whether you would like to get generalised course there or personalised courses with some private tutor.

Wishing you a fruitful programme.

Cheers

Vayid – vayidm2000@yahoo.com

I would also potentially be interested in some kind of group lesson.  Although, like everyone else, transportation and scheduling will be the determining factor.  I am in Curepipe.  I'll keep an eye on the discussion and see where it goes.

Everyone get into the digital age. The best software to learn French is called Rosetta Stone. Michael Phelps, 8 Gold medals in the last Olympics, used Rosetta Stone to learn Mandarin in just a couple weeks. The software listens to your voice to make sure you are pronouncing it correctly.  It's great program. I can help you get a copy.

Thanks,

Paul

Dear Musheer and others

I wish to inform that I am NEITHER a French Tutor - though being very comfortable in this language – NOR working for any institute.

As I advised, the first step would be to team up (5 persons at most) and find a mutually agreeable schedule and venue.

I’ll then arrange with the French Graduate Tutor, who will then indicate her fees – which I am convinced would be reasonable.

Cheers

Vayid – vayidm2000@yahoo.com

pbrough wrote:

Everyone get into the digital age. The best software to learn French is called Rosetta Stone. Michael Phelps, 8 Gold medals in the last Olympics, used Rosetta Stone to learn Mandarin in just a couple weeks. The software listens to your voice to make sure you are pronouncing it correctly.  It's great program. I can help you get a copy.

Thanks,

Paul

Rosetta Stone is very expensive software and when I looked at it online, it appeared that all of the lessons are things that I already know.  I am not sure that this would be the way to go for everone.

Hi everyone,

i would really like to recommend a French Tutor that I know. She is excellent and many people I know including my two daughters have learnt fom her. She is also the best value around. You can contact her on amashil@yahoo.fr

Her name is Bennedicte and she lives right in the centre of Curepipe.

Hi there my friend count me in. Alta

As indicated above, Benedicte will tutor you at Rs200 per lesson, one on one.  She is a French graduate having studied in Toulouse. I can recommend her. Her home phone number is 675 0204 and the mobile number is 732 5633. I'm sure she'd be open to tutoring a small group as well. She did so well tutoring my daughter that she is now studying advanced French at universtiy. She started as a beginner....

Thanks for the information about Benedicte!