French Conversation

There are at present two French Conversation groups meeting on a Tuesday afternoon from 2 pm to 3.30 pm and from 3.30 pm to 5 pm. Each group is made up of 10 members. We find that this size of group gives everybody a chance to participate equally, but our main limitation is the capacity of the room where we meet.

In the spirit of U3A this is a self-help activity. We do not have a professional French teacher but each group has a leader who co-ordinates the programme for each session. We listen to language tapes, we have discussions on a chosen topic, we read articles from French magazines and we play a variety of games designed to improve vocabulary.

There is a wide range of ability within the groups but no sense of competition. We are there to try to improve our French but also to enjoy ourselves. Members have different reasons for joining the groups. Some have family in France, others have property there but most are there to improve their language skills.

The timing of the two classes allows participants to either finish or start with tea/coffee and biscuits along with the whist players.