Although the Alliance Française diplôme de langue (DL) and the Alliance français diplôme supérieur d'etudes français modernes (DSLCF) are highly recognized French language diplomas, they are only offered by a few language schools in France. In most cases, you will find exam preparation courses for the Diplôme d'Etudes en Langue Française (DELF) and Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française (DALF) diplomas, which can be booked for as little as two weeks or four weeks respectively. An additional week is usually allowed for the exam, which takes place on fixed examination dates. At a language school in France, you can either attend a preparation course for a DELF exam that covers a single level, i.e. either A1, A2, B1 or B2, or opt for a combination of A1/A2 or B1/BB2. The latter courses obviously last longer and allow you to rapidly improve your French language skills. Nevertheless, the DELF exams are independent of each other, but can be taken together if they take place on the same date. For the DALF exams, language courses are usually offered exclusively for each language level, DALF C1 and DALF C2, which require very intensive preparation. Those who have DALF C1 or C2 have the opportunity to be admitted directly to universities in France without having to take another language exam.

If you would like to attend a language school in France to improve your language skills or learn new ones, most language schools offer a choice of different types of accommodation. These are

• Host family with breakfast in a single or double room
• Host family with half board in a single or double room
• Room on the school campus with private bathroom or shared bathroom
• Student dormitory or student residence with shared bathroom and kitchen
• Exclusive student residence with private bathroom and cooking facilities
• Studio or apartment with bathroom and kitchen
• Room in a shared apartment with shared bathroom and kitchen
• Hotel

It should be noted that not every school offers all types of accommodation, so you should also select the right school based on this. In addition, the host family and student residence options are usually offered exclusively for youth language trips, as this is the best way to ensure that the students are well looked after.

The offers for family language trips to France are limited and mainly take place in the vacation regions of the country. It should be noted that the language courses on offer usually require a minimum age of 8 years, with some language schools even 12 years. You therefore need to look very carefully to find a language school in France that offers language course programs for the whole family. It is therefore helpful to contact some language tour operators directly, who will provide you with specific course offers and take the hard work out of your search. You can simply write to these providers free of charge and without obligation using our contact form.

Family language trips usually take place in the summer months and offer language courses for each individual family member according to their age and level of French. While the parents attend a French course, the children spend the morning in a youth language course and then, after lunch, take part in various organized and supervised leisure activities. In this way, the parents can either take further French lessons or devote themselves to their free time alone or as a couple. Leisure activities for adults are also usually available. The weekend is course-free and can be spent as the whole family wishes. Families can often stay in studios, which are similar to a vacation apartment and not far from the school. Such an "educational vacation" in a language school in France offers both a family vacation and time as a couple and is perfectly rounded off with a French course of varying length.

In principle, it makes sense to take out effective insurance cover even for a short stay abroad at a language school in France. This should always include international health insurance and can also be taken out for a limited period only. For people who do not regularly travel abroad, this is a cheaper alternative compared to annual contracts. You can take out such international health insurance either with the health insurance company with which you are already insured or with any other company. Language travel agencies also often offer insurance packages that include different benefits and are often even cheaper than buying directly from the relevant health insurance companies. There you will often find insurance cover for cancellation costs, personal assistance, car assistance, luggage, accident and illness. Please note, however, that not all benefits are really necessary and equally useful for all participants in a language trip, so this should always correspond to your personal needs. Excessive insurance cover is not necessary in most cases. These all-inclusive packages usually include travel cancellation insurance, which will reimburse your travel and course costs minus a certain percentage deductible if you are unable to take part in the language study trip and attend your course at a language school in France. This is certainly a sensible investment, especially for longer language stays, but you should always pay attention to the conditions attached to the reimbursement of costs. Is it enough that you are unable to take part in the language course due to a broken leg or do you have to be in hospital due to a serious gall operation? Always read the conditions in detail.

A language study trip is the ideal way to learn a language quickly and effectively and improve your language skills. However, it goes without saying that this is not free and should be carefully calculated before you register. In addition to the cost of the language course that you can attend at a language school in France, there are other items to consider when planning your costs. Many language schools offer complete packages that include insurance, French courses, accommodation and course materials. At other schools, only the course costs are included in the price, all other items must be paid for separately, either in advance or on site. Always clarify this early on to get an overview of the services offered by the individual schools and to avoid overstretching your budget. Please note the following points:

• Arrival, departure, transfer
• French courses
• Course materials
• Examination fees
• Accommodation
• Catering
• Bus tickets
• Organized leisure program of the French school
• Independently organized leisure activities
• Weekend excursions
• Pocket money
• International health insurance
• Travel cancellation insurance
• Registration fees, agency fees, accommodation reservation fees, etc.
• Possible surcharges during the main and vacation season