Some advertise regularly, others are more hidden or based in non-profit organizations. Each offers something unique. After spending hours memorizing grammar rules, here’s a chance to finally let your tongue do the talking. There’s simply no better way to learn languages than by using them.
Amongst those groups you can find in Paris, some may be more social than serious about language, but all bill themselves as a place to exchange conversation.
These conversation groups in Paris are thriving on the thirst for language learning, cultural understanding and making new friends…particularly getting to know French, which is a never-ending challenge for most anglophones !
Conversation “groupies” say it’s easy to become addicted, especially since this is one time when everyone is glad that talk is cheap.
Konversando - serious language practice
For example, ten-year-old Konversando, run by Riccardo Fadanelli, is for serious language practice. Francophone participants are tested and required to have a good level of English or other foreign languages. Sessions are two hours long, several times per week, Monday through Saturday.
French is spoken one hour, English the other, in small groups of two or three people. Some members also come to practice Italian, German and Spanish. Promoted as “neither a language school nor a social club”, language practice is the primary goal.
So, what are people saying about Konversando?
"...As an Anglophone with middling French, I was looking for ways to improve my French, but also to enhance my cultural experience during the year that I spent in Paris. I found it all, and then some, at Konversando. The "exchange" format was perfect, and I soon lost count of the stimulating people I met and fascinating conversations I had. Konversando was a weekly treat that I always looked forward to, and I cannot recommend it too highly for anyone else who wants to improve his French in a thoroughly professional and enjoyable setting."
(E.R., Editeur américain)
"When I come to Paris, I always drop by Konversanso to jump-start my French, which becomes rusty between visits. Konversando's ambience and unique one-on-one approach to conversation is far superior to the other available formats I have tried, i.e., noisy cocktail parties and groups with only one native speaker."
(B.G., International Banker)
"Konversando is the most enjoyable way I've found to improve my French. It is located an a classic Parisian square and is more like a cafe than like a school. I met a number of wonderful people there, and have stayed in touch with some of them. Rather than interrupting my time in Paris, as a regular course might have, Konversando intensified and completed it."
(C.N., Professor of American Culture)
"The club has improved not so much my mastery of French, but more the belief that one can speak in french"
(A.B., English Teacher)
"At last I think that I may have found what I'm looking for - a chance to practise French & meeting people, without having to force natives or feel uncomfortable."
(K.W. Professeur d'anglais américain)
FRANCOPHONES
"...c'est un moyen simple, pratique, abordable et très sympathique de pratiquer l'anglais dans des bonnes conditions et régulièrement, sans se forcer..."
(N. R., acheteur international français)
"...Le fonctionnement souple, l'absence de contraintes formelles inhérentes à l'enseignement traditionnel, en respectant le rythme de chacun, font de Konversando un lieu accessible, convivial, véritablement ouvert sur les langues étrangères et leurs cultures..."
(V. S., attachée de presse française)
"... Pendant 2 ans, j'ai participé aux séances de conversation ce qui m'a permis de progresser énormément en compréhension et surtout de casser mon appréhension de prononcer les premiers mots en anglais (avantage de la formule one-to-one). J'ai aussi rencontré des gens intéressants et sympathiques, français et anglophones d'origines diverses."
(A.V., Cadre dirigeant français)
KONVERSANDO - www.konversando.fr
8bis, cité de Trévise
75009 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 47 70 21 64
Clubs de conversation à Paris
Liberez les langues qui sont en vous!