All-Day Programs
“I’m a big fan of immersion days, because the instructors have a special knack for putting together delightful company, delicious food, engaging and often hilarious activities for improving our knowledge of the French language and culture. I always come away from an immersion day happily exhausted, with the renewed belief that yes, someday I WILL be fluent in French. And… did I mention the food?”
— Monica Wood – Writer
“What we do is simple: for a day we work with each other as though we were in a French speaking country. We speak in French as much as possible, going out on a limb when necessary. The tasks we take on in our workshops, the interactions we have with each other are all in French. Of course our meals are a language experience as well — preparing, enjoying, and savoring every morsel, as we ask for the bread, the wine, the side dishes, someone misplaces a fork or a knife, it’s all part of the language experience… not to mention desert!!! We learn as much about what we don’t know as what we do know. It’s a great way to exercise your ability in French. So, we strain to understand the videos that are part of the workshops and make attempts at translating, at reading, at using. We come away with more than we expected; enthusiasm and a desire to learn even more — frustrated perhaps by the other commitments in our life, but we know where to go when we can squeeze in a few hours at least.”
— Bob Miller – Peace Corps Volunteer, Programmer
“I have been involved in your immersion programs for some years now and find them very helpful. They are a chance to improve and maintain my language skills. The interchange with other students at various levels has helped me maintain my skills and added to my vocabulary through the use of games, films, video, and news articles. I look forward to news of the spring trip to Provence.”
— George Butler – Entrepreneur
“I enjoyed the day completely beginning with the lovely ferry ride in the morning. I want to thank you for doing such a superb job: the amount of organization and planning you put into this day was really impressive! I enjoyed the networking exercises that were interesting and fun and a perfect opener for such an intense day. I also enjoyed the break out groups when we worked on comprehension, vocabulary, and also verbs! Lunch was superb! It really fit in with the French immersion on a beautiful island on a lovely day! The afternoon at the beach was also perfect: out exercises, the stories, the drawing, everything was fun. Can you tell I just loved everything? The people I met were wonderful too. What a great idea to have all these French people participate! It added much value to the whole French experience. Anyway, I am impressed and very grateful that you chose to share your little island get-away with all of us on Bastille Day! Many thanks!”
— Mary Roy
“This Spanish all-day program was even better than I expected! The instructor was organized, enthusiastic, comfortable, intelligent, perfect in every way! Everything about the day was great! I would go every weekend if I could!”
— Carmen
Week-long Immersion Programs
“Going to Provence for a week with The Language Exchange was the turning point in my learning French as an adult. It helped make clear why I wanted to learn the language and, more importantly, that I could learn it! The trip was organized like a dream with visits to places I would not have found on my own. Valérie had arranged for personal interaction at each stop. I have traveled in France by myself since then and now realize what a difference that makes. Putting a real conversation between bonjour and au revoir is a thrilling experience for a barely intermediate student. Since our trip I have gone on to become an advanced student and I credit the Language Exchange for what has become a lifelong love of learning French.”
— Lissa Hunter – Studio artist
Le Voyage au coeur de la Dordogne was for me the trip of a lifetime. The amount of time and effort that was put into every aspect of every day was unbelievable. I had never been on any type of “group” travel before, and the prospect of doing so was a bit intimidating for me. However, in the end, the group aspect of the travel was the most enjoyable and rewarding portion of the experience. Although immersion into the French language was indeed the goal of the trip, and it did not disappoint, the unexpected pleasure derived from the experience was the lasting friendships created by a common event. I would highly recommend an immersion experience to anyone considering it. It will, indeed, change your life for the better!
— Bert Beaulieu — VP Compliance, Down East Credit Union
“Valerie, I wish I could put into words how much I enjoyed and learned from this trip. For someone who has struggled to learn the language of my heritage this was a trip of a lifetime. I want to do it again! Please give my best to your parents who made the trip a delight and many, many thanks to you and Joel for your hard work”
— Joyce Poirier — Midwife
“Thank you so much for the wonderful experience and especially for the incredible time and effort you put into creating this memorable experience. I hope there will be future opportunities like this!”
— Richard Lemieux — Oral Surgeon
“Imagine being among rows and rows of lavender, rosemary, oregano and sage under a brilliant blue Provençal sky all the while listening to the herbal farmer describing the benefits of each herb and its growing habits…..all in French. And now imagine that you could actually understand a good deal of what she was saying! If gaining on your French language skills is a goal, there could not possibly be a more pleasant and informative way to do so than joining Valerie Guillet and the Language Exchange on one of her immersion weeks in France. Every detail was meticulously arranged and executed to the ultimate benefit of the participants. Not only does one gain significantly in one’s use and understanding of the language (regardless of level of knowledge), but to do so in one of the loveliest places on earth is an experience forever cherished. I couldn’t more highly recommend it!
Lori Garon – Real Estate Agent
Weekly Group Classes
“Many thanks for offering our German class via Zoom!. You both navigated the technology liked veterans, resulting in a spring-to-summer filled with continued fun and interesting linguistic challenges! Your hard work and offerings are a highlight for many of us at this unique time of isolation and uncertainty.”
— Pam Rhodes
“I have been extremely pleased with my Spanish class. The focus of what we are learning, the informal, conversational tone of the class and, of course, Angela. I have recently retired from a career of being a teacher, half in elementary the other half working with adults in the Portland Schools. At this point in my life, I have no patience for poor teachers, I’ve sat through enough horrible meetings and workshops to last a lifetime. I find Angela to be one of the best teachers I’ve ever had, regardless of subject. She is remarkably clear, I can sit in class and really understand everything she says without feeling like she is speaking slower or talking differently because we are a class of students. She is incredibly organized and well planned and is very responsive to the needs and wishes of the class. She draws on a wide variety of materials to back up her teaching. She has a great sense of humor and it is amazing how much as a class we just laughed. I thought Angela did a remarkable job making the transition to the Zoom format. I appreciate just how difficult that process is. You are very fortunate to have Angela on your staff!”
— David Sherman – Retired teacher
“I am linguistically disadvantaged, having only studied Latin for one year in junior high school. This class helped me get over a hung in approaching a second language. I hope to continue to learn more now that I know it is possible!”
— Bill Skoolicas
“I wanted to express a deep “merci beaucoup” to you. I struggled with French — having no prior exposure before your class — but feel in my own mind I made significant progress — even if it didn’t sound that way in class! I would like to continue in your class. Thanks again for an often painful, yet oddly pleasurable experience! For your class, je vous suis reconnaissant….. Merci !”
— Jason Wolfe
We are back from two and a half weeks in Tuscany, and I wanted to thank you for the great class and the great advice you gave us. I was amazed at how much “mileage” I got out of such a short period of study! It really made the trip much more fun for my whole family to have the modest speaking ability I was able to gain, and the tools you gave us to puzzle out even more than we covered in class. You are a great teacher, and I am so glad I was able to take the class.
— Cherie Wendelken – Architect, Art Historian
“Small class size, great students, and lots of speaking is a great way to learn!”
— Anonymous
“I am surprised at how much one can learn in 10 sessions. It is very gratifying!”
— Anonymous
“I was impressed with Katarina’s teaching techniques, which put everyone at ease. We could learn in an uncritical environment.”
— Anonymous