IES Abroad Nantes

IES Abroad in Nantes was literally everything I was looking for in a study abroad program: a homestay with a host family, all my classes (which were all super interesting) in french, a perfectly sized program (my semester was 40 students), a super fun city to make myself at home in, and opportunities to hang out with local french students at the university and at conversation club every week. The IES team in Nantes was really good at organizing events, from ice skating to karaoke nights, for all the students in the program to take part in. There were also several included field trips like to les Chateaux de la Loire and Tours, which all students could go on as part of their program tuition. I was also really excited about traveling - while I was in Europe, I wanted to see everything I could. Nantes was relatively easy to travel from, as it has its own airport and is a quick 3 hour train ride from Paris. I was able to do all the traveling I wanted on the weekends and took full advantage of our week long fall break by traveling to 5 countries in 9 days. When I was back in Nantes, I loved living in my homestay with my host mom. She was there for me when I needed advice or someone to talk to (in French, bien sur!), but also let me be totally independent and go out when I wanted to. I met so many people on my program who came from all over the US, most of which I am still in contact with today. The IES Center in Nantes was definitely good at encouraging us to speak french as much as possible, especially when we were in school, and I found my level of french increase exponentially during my time in Nantes. Overall, if you're looking for an opportunity to study abroad in France, live in a homestay, take your classes in french, and live in a clean, safe, and interesting city, go with IES Nantes! I would recommend this program to anyone and everyone I could, and would do it all over again myself in a heartbeat.

I could talk endlessly about this program. I had a fantastic time, and could not have been happier with my choice to study abroad in Nantes, France. Nantes is a beautiful city that is the perfect size for a semester. It is large enough to have everything you could need - shopping, movies, nightlife, and spectacular restaurants and boulangeries - while still feeling manageable. I was able to easily navigate the city within a couple of weeks, and it truly felt like home by the time I left. People speak very little English in Nantes, which forces you to grow quickly with French language skills. Also, everyone in the program lived in a homestay, which is definitely a highlight of the program. I got to improve my French while learning about French culture from French people. Some programs have an optional homestay option, but I'm glad everyone participated so none of us had FOMO about living in an apartment or missing out on the homestay.

The IES Abroad Center is terrific. The entire staff is French, and courses are small and adaptable to the students. They were always helpful and understanding of everyone's needs. We also got to go on 4 weekend trips which were all magnificent. France is a great country to stay in because each region is very unique and has something different to offer. All of the classes were taught in French with French professors, and you could also choose to take classes at the local French university. The classes were interesting and focused on a lot on learning about French culture.

I love Nantes and still am raving about my time abroad to friends and family. If you want a real, cultural experience of a European city, and want to improve your French, you won't regret choosing this program!

I absolutely fell in love with Nantes during my four months there, and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. The city itself is beautiful and has such great energy, and with a big university, there are lots of young people around. There's also a really small anglophone presence so it's the perfect place for French immersion. If you want to improve your French, this is the program for you! All the classes are in French and my French improved so much, especially through speaking with my host family, which was one of the biggest highlights for me: they were so sweet to me, made me feel welcome right away, and my host mom made such amazing food!

The courses at IES were fun and engaging--I especially loved the art history course I took--and the professors were overall tuned into the level of French students had. The staff at the IES are so sweet, and the center provides a kind of home base for its students.

I also got to take classes at the university, which was challenging but really fun especially because it led to me making French friends. I met so many great people and some of my favorite memories are just exploring and hanging out in centre ville with other IES students. Studying in Nantes was an amazing experience for me and I definitely found a second home there. IES and often the host families provide you with guidance, but at the same time you are independent and free to explore as you wish. I definitely recommend this program to anyone looking to improve their French, meet really nice people and explore a beautiful city.

My semester abroad in Nantes was incredible and I can't wait for the day I can go back and visit again. The IES program described itself as a full French immersion program, and that is definitely the kind of experience I received. All of my classes were in French, which forced me to become more and more familiar with the French language, culture, and history. The "French only" rule at the center helped push us out of our comfort zone and forced us to express ourselves in French, even if it meant using simplified terms or looking up words in an English-French dictionary from time to time. This program highly recommends staying with a home stay, which I also recommend. My home stay family was just a grandmother, but the time spent with her was incredibly valuable to me. We would chat about politics or cultural differences after dinner, and she would often ask me questions about English translations since she taught English lessons. My conversations with her improved my French comprehension and vocabulary immensely. The staff at the IES center were amazing. They were clearly passionate about the subjects they taught, and it was obvious that they were patient enough to try and understand our not-so-perfect French, which gave us much needed confidence. IES offers a wide range of classes, but if you're looking for something they don't offer, it is still easy to take classes at the university instead of at the center. The curriculum offered was very thorough and was probably the source of most of my improvements in the French language, in terms of increasing my vocabulary and understanding of grammatical rules. The amount of students at IRS during my semester was fairly smaller than usual, but the social life did not make it seem that way. During orientation, the staff gave us more than enough opportunities to make friends that will last beyond our stay in France. The field trips included with the program also helped create these friendships and by the end of the semester, it saddened me to see all of my classmates leave.
During the last two months, huge protests would break out across France, many occurring in Nantes. Even though many of these protests- usually peaceful, but sometimes violent- would occur not even a block from my home or and IES center, the staff made sure we knew what to do in case anything happened. Anytime we travelled outside the city, we had to follow a strict protocol so they knew exactly where we were just in case something happened. No matter the circumstances, the staff made sure we always were safe and knew what do to and who to go to in case of emergency, which I greatly appreciated. In fact, one of my biggest worries about going abroad were my many dietary restrictions (vegetarian and severe food allergies). However, IES made sure that they were not a problem. For example, if we were all at a restaurant, the staff made sure I was able to eat a meal there or asked the chef to make a special plate just for me, and I was very thankful they took the time to do those things for me.

Overall, the IES Nantes program was fantastic and I could not think of one thing that could be improved. If you're looking for a true French immersion program, this is the only one you will need.

This program was overall great. I loved Nantes as a city, not too big and not too small, with plenty of students around due to the large University of Nantes. The IES program was great at welcoming us and helping us understand Nantes, and although the classes were not very vigorous and I had very little homework, my french improved a great deal. I loved my host family and my host mom's delicious, traditional french meals. I made some great American friends and a few French friends, however it was difficult to meet French people my age. I loved my time in Nantes and would recommend this program to anyone who loves France and the French language.

Nantes was truly an ideal place to study abroad, especially when it comes to what I was looking for, which was a moderate sized city that would allow me to use my French as much as possible. It was big enough that there was always something to do, but not so big that a lot of people spoke English which was great when it came to having to use French and practicing my skills. I also knew that IES Nantes offered a home stay option which turned out to be the absolute best part of my trip. Living with a family gave me the opportunity to really understand what life in France means, but also gave me a chance to form connections that will last for the rest of my life. The IES Nantes center does an incredible job at matching students with families, and is so helpful if problems do come up. The center staff was also helpful with other issues as well, anything from locating important places like the post office or the doctor, to having a band-aid if you needed one on the spot. The classes offered were very interesting and taught at a reasonable pace, and the instructors were very adaptive to student's needs and issues. IES Nantes also offers an option to take classes at the local university which is a great opportunity to experience class with French students and take a class that is taught at a standard pace that is not adapted to American students. All classes in France are focused around large tests and papers rather than smaller assignments, which is important to keep in mind. There is less work to do on a daily basis, but you are expected to keep up with you classes and do work individually. Overall the program was amazing and I had a great semester!

Nantes was the perfect place for my study abroad experience. Going into studying abroad, I was looking to be fully immersed in French Language & Culture, and that is exactly what this program did for me.

When I was trying to choose a program, what stood out to me about IES is how they genuinely wanted to ensure that you had a good experience. They didn't just want you to sign up for their program and then completely disregard you once you got there. Their staff was involved from beginning to end making sure that every student had a good experience.

Another one of my favorite parts of the program was the home-stay experience. Everyone is required to live with a host family, which really helped everyone's french improved and allowed us to really get to know french culture. Almost all of my friends loved their host families, which is not something I have necessarily heard voiced from other people who have studied abroad. The host families in Nantes have been doing the program for years, so they are familiar with the student's experience. For me, having a host family was a great thing because it meant not being alone. I still had that home base to go back to every night where I was able to continue to learn about french culture and also build connections with a "second" family.

Academically, the program was great. Taking all of my classes in French definitely helped improve my french. The work load was a good amount. It wasn't so much that you had no time for anything else, but it wasn't too little to the point where it felt like you weren't even in school.

The IES staff and local french university teaching students also made this program stick out. The staff were always readily available to help you with any problem you had. There were also local french university teaching students who were there to help you with anything from academic problems to how to use the public transportation. Having other french students in the center were great because they helped hold us accountable to speak in french and they gave us an insight into the life of a french student. Not to mention by the end of the program we were all close friends!

The Nantes program was exactly what I was looking for in study abroad! They gave us enough guidance to feel comfortable living in a new country and city, but enough freedom to grow and explore on our own.

Living and studying in Nantes was one of the best semesters of my life. The center staff was always helpful, my host mother was just so nice and helpful, and the teachers gave interesting lessons over a variety of French subjects. Basically, IES provided a fantastic program that not only developed my French, but helped me understand the nuances of French culture which only strengthened my love for France.
Living in the city of Nantes likely made this process easier too. Nantes is just a fantastic city to live in, with so many things to do it can be a bit overwhelming at times. However, my favorite thing to do in Nantes was just go walk along the river. Every Sunday I would just spend the afternoon walking up and around the river Erdre, which was relatively close to where I lived. It was calming just walking along the nature trails and boardwalks built alongside this majestic ancient river, watching (and maybe listening to) all the people walking by on their afternoon strolls. It was also really fun to take the boat to the other side of the river, just because I could, and continue observing French life, and wildlife. It really was a nice way to take a break from whatever piece of homework I had to work on, while still being a part of French society.