Reviews

My time at Insted in Chamonix was awesome!  Insted gave me a unique opportunity to improve my French as I had never before. I could not have had a better teacher than the one I found here.
In Insted they have many different ways of teaching without making the class a boring environment. Thank you for what you have done for me insted.
Douglas Del Castillo, 32 , Columbia

I'm really enjoying the course; Yannick is an excellent teacher whose methods of teaching are varied and interesting. He really makes learning fun... even the grammar! We have a great mix of people in the group who come from all walks of life. We bonded early on and are socialising after class as well - speaking French, bien sûr.
Chamonix is a fantastic place to be studying not only because it's a beautiful town with lots of things going on, but because people are friendly and really appreciate when you make an effort to speak French and there is plenty of opportunity to practice. I can only think of one drawback: with great weather and so many things to do it could be tempting to 'forget' that you're supposed to be doing your homework. 

Marie Kindberg, 36, Sweden/ Scotland

In 2008 I found myself questioning everyday life as "la crise" caused a near global meltdown. I've always had a desire to learn French in France itself so as to really live the experience. A quick internet search led me to Insted and I immediately signed up for a winter course in Chamonix. What an experience! The professionalism of the staff and the expertise of the lecturers cannot be faulted. The course was well structured and even an absolute beginner like me was able to learn and understand French! Add to this the fact that one is living in Chamonix - the world capital of mountain sport - and you can see why this was indeed a never to forget experience. I cannot recommend Insted and the good work of its staff more highly. Thank you again.
Rual Kemp, 36 Australia

After trying in vain to learn French from books, tapes and most recently online, I finally enrolled in an Insted course. I was amazed. My skill level was assessed and I was placed in a small group of students with similar abilities. I have to give full credit to my teacher, Stephanie, who definitely made the whole thing such a success. She always came to class with a big smile on her face and you could tell she truly got a kick out of being there and teaching. My fellow students were enthusiastic, very interactive and fun and we laughed a lot. The class was demanding - my French skills were somewhere in the middle compared to the others - but the fun nature of the class really motivated me to study and come to class.

I thought I'd just been lucky to score such a cool group until I signed up for another class a year later. My current teacher, Yannick, is once again amazingly motivated, enthusiastic and very dynamic in the classroom. Like Stephanie, he's one of those rare teachers that truly digs what he's doing and it's clear that he's there out of a true love of the French language and teaching. Our class size is small enough that if your mind wanders even for a minute he'll see it and politely reel you back in. At the same time it's large enough to have a really fun dynamic among our small group.

So yeah, by studying at Insted I have exponentially improved my French skills, met some super cool people, and had a whole lot of fun in the process.
Two big thumbs up.
Trey Cook, 47, USA

This is the best place for a person with no French experience to begin learning French because everyone in the town speaks English, which allows you to start slow and build up your confidence to start conversing in French with the French. I knew nothing before I arrived in Chamonix and now I can have basic conversations in French with people. Also, it’s pretty sweet having the mountains at your disposal for climbing, skiing and/or snowboarding when you feel like taking a study break.
Vaughn Pourchot, 24, USA

During the autumn of 2008 I was recovering from a broken ankle and in passing the medical laboratory, found Insted right opposite. I think it was meant to be! With injury I now had some time to improve my somewhat retarded language skills. The staff were extremely helpful and our teacher Yannick was brilliant. As for my newly acquired language skills? Yes, definitely better.
Victor Saunders, UK