French as a Foreign Language (FLÉ) at Université Laval   (0 Comments)

In 2007, a British student wanting to take the 15-week language course in French as a Foreign Language at Université Laval, Québec, had to pay the equivalent of roughly £1200. In 2008, due to a cutback in provincial government subsidies, this figure rose to approximately £4500! As a private student with no grants or help from your home university, you have to be sure that you want to take this course.

I didn’t take a gap year before starting at Durham because I knew that I wanted to make the most of my Year Abroad. Also, I knew that I wanted to do something a bit “out of the ordinary” with my Year Abroad; for me this meant a destination, rather than a specific activity, that few of my contemporaries had considered. My final priority was improving my grammar, and the course promised to do just that.

Now if that sounds like your aims for part of your Year Abroad, and you’ve got the cash to play with, I’d recommend the course. I met great people, went exciting places, and did something that I genuinely feel I wouldn’t have got from somewhere else. Honestly, I feel proud of myself for having chosen Québec.

But… and this is a big ‘but’… the price hike has left a bitter taste in my mouth. The tuition – I was in the highest ability class – just wasn’t worth that exorbitant price. My grammar has definitely improved. It’s at the level that I’d hoped it would be after my time there and I’ve benefitted from the intensity of the regime, but unless you’re serious about wanting to be in Canada, the higher price just isn’t justified in my mind.

Laval is one of the best universities in North America, the fourth oldest on the continent, but I believe you can find equal, if not better, tuition for a much more cost-effective price elsewhere, probably in Europe.

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