I'm thinking of studying abroad in France?

Question

I'm an intermediate french speaker and I'm thinking about living in Paris for about six months. Do you think that that is a long enough time for an intermediate/becoming more advanced speaker to become pretty fluent? Long enough to make french friends?

Answer 1

I am not sure of that, Paris is maybe not the best city to go if you want to meet french friends...just like any big cities around the world.

Answer 2

Definitely yes on all the questions. But remember, the more French you speak the faster you'll get fluent. If you make the mistake to seek English spoken people when you arrive there, it will slow you down considerably.

French people are a little shy, and this shyness is often interpreted as rudeness, especially in Paris, where they can actually be rude ;-) This is a big city, with its pro and cons. But it is a very cultural city, you'll have a great time.

Bon voyage

Answer 3

God, no! Go somewhere (anywhere) else. Go to Belgium if you really want to go to a Francophone country, they're so much more laid back than in France! The French higher education system SUCKS, unless you can get into their equivalent of Harvard/Oxbridge...also, forget doing anything in France that involves bureaucracy unless your French is perfect...and signing up for uni takes almost as long as getting a residence permit. As to improving your French, obviously you will get better, but you will never reach a standard where the French cannot pretend they don't understand what you're saying when it suits them.  There's also a good chance that all the friends you make will be other foreign students, but that's a problem worldwide, not just in France.

Answer 4

Sounds like an excellant plan to me.

I'd give one small caveat tho. Paris is such a cosmopolitain city that its very easy to wind up speaking English even if you can speak French.

I speak pretty fair French (albeit with a Quebeçois accent) but almost everyone I know in Paris speaks at least some English and I find myself speaking "franglais" most of the time.

So I hope you plan on enrolling in some actual course work in French.

Answer 5

YES!!!!!!

Definitely go for it!  It will be the experience of a lifetime!

Answer 6

Yes, any period of time spent immersed in the foreign culture and language will be beneficial; just DO remember to AVOID all other English speakers when you are there.  The tendency is to regroup on foreign land, speak your own language and basically, make a complete waste of time of the experience...  Bonne chance!

Answer 7

wow nice plan... i love french words myself, ill be so proud for sure if i can talk straight even one single pragraph