What would you do in this kind of a situation..?

Question

me and my family moved to france. i am completley american, i was born in the US and speak only english. i know a little bit of french but not enough to understand full sentences.

im currently attending a french public school but it's been very hard for me to get used to everything. there is a private american school but it costs 22,000$ to learn there. how would you convince your parents to pay that money so that you can go to that school? i'm trying to convince them but they think that i need to learn in the french school since we live in france now. (by the way, some of my family lives in france, which is the reason why we moved there). advice anyone?

Answer 1

Why do you want to got here? Because they speak English?

That's a large sum of money... You could do online courses much more cheaply and still get a diploma. Try Keystone.com as a place to look. But, you are passing up a wonderful lifetime opportunity to learn French and interact with the people and culture.

Answer 2

Make the effort learn french, by the way you'll have to get used to metric

Answer 3

I had an English teacher in High school that went through the same thing her father made her go and made her learn the language and when they came back to America, she was fluent in both French and English and taught both look at it as a growing opportunity and have fun with it. You will appreciate it later  :) :)

Answer 4

There are several choices; you can get a quick course in French (Rosetta Stone), find someone who is willing to walk you through it, go shopping, and have them point everything out, you repeat it, and after a while it will click.

If you have family nearby ask them to help you with this.

Ask the school if they have a class for foreigners; I am from Europe, and in my country those who do not speak the language, but want to attend school, live, and work are required to attend such a class for a year just to learn the language; maybe they have the same in France.

If all else fails, see if your parents are open to doing your schooling on-line; you can still enroll in an American Academy on-line.

I agree with another poster, I would never pay such an amount of money for private schooling unless we are talking about an exceptional college, or boarding school.

If you plan on staying in France to live, and work in the future though this may not be your best option, since sooner or later you will have to read, write, and speak the language to function in their society.

Good Luck.

Answer 5

Apprenez le français! Maintenant vous habitez là, pas aux Etats-Unis!

You don't say how long you have been in France but you sound like you're still suffering from "culture shock" at going from the US to France...two completely different cultures!

Most people in France will speak pretty good English anyway so I just wonder if you want to go to the American School because you want to hang onto that little bit of America.



The best way to learn french is just to immerse yourself in the language so going to a french school *WILL* help. Surround yourself with native french speakers and just force yourself to have a go at trying out some french. Don't worry about not getting the words right or not knowing the grammar;and don't let yourself worry about looking a dill...the most important thing is just that you try and join in with them. The thing is you'll be cutting yourself off from so much if you can't speak (and understand) the language!

Don't know how long your family plans to stay in France but, throw yourself into the language totally now, and 6 months down the track, you'll be surprised at how easy it is and how fluent you are.

And when you do return to the US, you'll have a ready made skill to take back with you!

Answer 6

Find a cute french boy and learn the language. There's no way I'd spend that much money to send my child to any school. Maybe you could get a scholarship.

Of course, this *is* the homeschool section, and that IS an option in France....so why would you ask how to convince your parents to spend a small fortune on the school when the posters here do homeschooling?

Answer 7

I would think going to a French public school would be a wonderful opportunity.  I would never ever pay $22,000 for an education unless it was for university/college.

We are a homeschooling family so I'm sure, if we moved to France, we would continue to homeschool while learning the culture and language as part of our studies.

Answer 8

First i would find an a French family to stay with . so you could learn french . second french rules are different from the American way. if the insist of something i would do it . if you don't you could run into problems. and not reach your goal.

check out this website and see if it will help you get a little info on France. scroll down the website reading everything. then when your finished maybe you will have a better idea about France. Advice: always do a background check and info a country before going. Like a Soldier before he goes into battle. if you have any further questions feel free to email me nighthawk_323 at yahoo.com

Answer 9

Why not ask them to hire a tutor to help you become fluent in French so that you can be successful in the French school?

This is a wonderful opportunity for you---embrace it!

Answer 10

Go for it, grit your teeth and you will understand more as time goes on. Having a second language is a really useful life skill, and immersion is the best way to learn one, even though it is very hard at the beginning. I'm afraid I agree with your parents.

Can the members of your family who already live in France help you to get started with French? Have you managed to make any friends? (Helping them with their English homework will probably get you lots and lots, very quickly :) )