SINICA MIHAIL

My daughter had a very positive experience in the Premium French program. The teaching was serious and supportive, and she made real progress while enjoying the cultural activities. The small groups helped her feel comfortable speaking French. She came back more confident and really happy with her stay. Overall, a great experience.

Was here with my friend last spring, we spent 6 weeks doing Intensive Course, our French improved super fast especially satisfied with the teaching quality. The consultants were super helpful throughout the whole booking process from the very beginning to the very end. 100% recommended !!

(Read next paragraph for negative experience) Firstly, anything positive and pleasant about my experience was only because of my instructors. Josephine, in particular, is an absolutely lovely human being, and is the kindest and most genuine person I met in France. Furthermore, she does an incredible job explaining things and really helped me improve my French. 5 stars for the French education, especially for Josephine! She is such a joy, and so skilled at what she does. Myriam is also very sweet. Eric and Michel are a bit more firm and can tease students sometimes, but I think that's their personality, and they really push students to grow. I am thankful to each of them for how they helped me increase my French ability. Now, the reason for only 2 stars... The apartments provided by the school are insanely expensive, and the school put us in a different apartment than the one listed on the official invoice. I immediately informed them upon arrival that the apartment they directed us to was not the one that we paid for on our invoice, and I asked that they put us in the apartment on the invoice or refund us. They were not willing to do either. The apartment they provided us with was very small with a rough and scratchy rock wall in the bedroom. To walk around the bed to the bathroom, you scrape yourself on the wall every time unless you climb across the bed. There was also a sopping wet mat left hanging on the windowsill. If they cleaned before, it was so rushed they didn't even have time to make sure it was dry and in place. The bathroom was also tiny with a poorly placed toilet paper roll holder that scratched my husband's arm when he went to the bathroom. The bed was also very low quality. The mattress and pillows were thin and unsupportive. My husband and I were exhausted from a day of traveling and we could not even stay there. We spent the night at a nearby hotel because the apartment provided by CIA was so unaccommodating. Do not be fooled, they will tell you

I thought it could be a great experience for my child to learn French in such a beautiful landscape, but it wasn't; it was a nightmare, especially at such a price. It was a program made on purpose for you to buy extras, naively thinking you were doing the best for your children, though the French courses were futile and the extras were terrible too. Breakfast consisted of cheap food from the first convenience store, but at four times its price. But I could understand that's how business goes. However, letting my child be in awful condition, I can't accept that. It's a disgrace.

I went there with a friend for two weeks and it was one of the most horrible experiences in my life, Eventhough i must say the language school itself was quite decent but that’s about it. We were staying with a host family which they said was completely but as we were there they were completely baffled that someone wouldn‘t stay in the residence and they almost didn’t believe us going there but the worst part was still to come. Also like the people watching over us? They didn’t pay attention to us at all they were constantly on their phones and constantly checking if everyone was there but if they noticed someone they just didn’t give a shit and just continued the trip as if nothing happened then we got lost in the city, because there were multiple groups with the same T-Shirts and they took us to another school and we were lost there for 1 hour until one teacher there noticed we had different bands and got us back to our school and the people we were with originally? Didn’t give a shit plus we were never told anything were to go when or whatever. Also we wnt sailing in the afternoon and they let us go from the sailing school home alone eventhough we payed for being brought home, me and my friend got completely lost because neither of us had a internet connection and wandered around in the heat for 2 hours before we tried getting home ourselves we asked one of the animators what to do but they said somethign in thw words of not my problem. Then again AFTER we told them we didn’t have a internet connection they sent us inside the train with them but when we were there they didn’t say anything when they got out of the train and we got stranded in Cannes without tickets and no money with us either we had the numbers from the animators in case something (which they were 24/7 on their phones) we called every singe number we had from them (we asked a stranger for their phone) THEY DIDN‘T ANSWER OUR CALL AND LEFT US ON READ we had to drive back with a unknown train system

I have had a property in Juan-les-Pins for quite some time now, so I know the region pretty well. But I have never before had the time to sit down and actually begin to learn the language. But this autumn I decided that now was the time for just that. So the next question was: where to get proper tuition? On the internet I found several “schools” or “institutes” that offered tuition in French, all situated in the Antibes area, so ideal for me. But as I knew nothing about any of them, except for what they had to say about themselves, I had to rely on the scores and reviews given by former students. I ended up choosing CIA, mainly because of the many positive reviews and the high quality website. It proved, fortunately, a good choice. I must say that the week that I have just spent there was extremely fruitful. Four hours a day we were treated with a vast variety of exercises, orally and in writing, that gave a complete novice like me a great many clues as to how to further approach and investigate this intriguing and beautiful language. Especially, I would like to give a big thanks to Marjorie, our beautiful and most inspiring teacher at the CIA. She didn’t speak English all that well – not that she spoke much English at all, she didn’t; all instructions and explanations were given in French – but who cares when she through her engaging teaching managed to sow the alluring seed of love in her students, that is, love of the French language and culture. Je reviendrai !

I found the Centre International d'Antibes online - with no referrals and only online reviews to support my decision, I signed up for two months of classes and temporarily move my life to France from Canada. It was one of the best decisions I had ever made. Going into this experience alone, I did not think much about the people I would meet. But I can say confidently that CIA attracts the best type of people from around the world - people who are at any stage of their life who are dedicated to learning, while putting themselves out there and leaving their comfort zone. As most people spend between 2-4 weeks at CIA, every week brought together a new group of people who became a tight-knit community by the end, dedicated to improving each other's French knowledge. Both campuses are so beautiful, one located in the heart of Antibes' Vieux-Ville, another in a historic chalet off the beaten path with a gorgeous view of the sea and mountains. Every professor is so supportive, energetic, and invested in your improvement. They easily accommodate to your situation if you need to move things around. The Aragon accommodation is small but comfortable, equipped with everything you need for a few weeks. You will fall in love with Antibes, the beauty of French knowledge and culture, and hopefully discover a lot about yourself. I know I did. Merci beaucoup CIA – vous avez changé ma vie!

My daughter really enjoyed her learning experience in Antibes. She chose 1wk at Easter (no longer available), stayed in the residence and met lots of new friends as well as sharing a room with friends she had gone with. The lessons were clear and the activities well run. Being able to practice French on trips into town really helped and she enjoyed this independence although she was not old enough to go later in the evening. There was always something to do or to talk to at the accommodation. Although the chaperone was good at meeting them at the airport, I felt they could have been a little more helpful when there were questions about her check-in at the departure desk coming home. Otherwise, a great experience and we are booking again this coming summer!