Aliore: Live with and teach English to a family in France!

I saw the way one French family worked, juggling everyones wants and needs, and making room in their lives for me, taking me on outings to spots I could not reach by public transport.
I met their friends and neighbours, listened a lot and gradually gathered the courage to chat a little...even got an earful from the lady over the road who disapproves of their dogs! Maybe its best to nod and smile!
How else could I have seen an English class in a French school, helped with the primary student's swim class and gone to the rentree parents meeting!

I lived with a French family in Villeneuve Les Maguelone, close to Montpellier. It was the most amazing month of my life. The family I stayed with was extremely cooperative and kind. I ended up calling my mother and telling her that I feel I have a real family in France, people who took care of me just like my parents. They used to cook separate meals for me because I'm a vegetarian, took me to the neighbouring cities over the weekends. I cooked them an Indian meal, showed them a bollywood movie and did a little bit of yoga with them. It was a language and cultural exchange program for me!

Wonderful program. I was fully immersed in the French way of life. The family were welcoming and showed me many places off the tourist list. I could have stayed longer if my visa allowed me. It is the best way to experience France and the people of France. I emailed the organisaton a few times regarding information and they were prompt to reply. Just a great experience.

The owner of this company Soizick offers a very poor and inflexbile service. She charges high fees for which you get very little in return. I would recommend that you look elsewhere. A very poor experience and zero customer service.

I had the time of my life while in Paris, thanks to Aliore and its director Soizick who gave me the best customer experience I have ever had. If I had any questions or needed support she was always there to assist me; first she carefully selected a host family for me and made sure I was OK all along, a big THANK YOU to her!

Since everything was well taken care of by Aliore, I didnt have to worry about anything else and just concentrate in learning French, which happened to be the main purpose of my trip. I was able to go from 30% to 70%.

I would definitely recommend this program over any similar program! Traveling, learning a new language and living abroad is such a great experience, I would recommend everyone to do this at least once in their life time.

I stayed with a very welcoming family on the immediate outskirts of old Montpellier. I was invited to participate in all the family social activities and outings and as a result met a wide variety of interesting locals and managed to gain some insight into everyday French life. In my free time I could walk into town and took the opportunity to visit museums, attend concerts etc. My family had a very relaxed approach to the actual lessons, I had sessions with both a teenager and with an adult at very varied levels of English ability. The most challenging part of the stay is probably living in someone else's space. Establishing a good rapport with the family before arrival, we did so with via Skype, can help you to see if you will feel comfortable with them and to ascertain the nature and level of English sessions.

I spent an unforgettable month in the Loire Valley with a wonderful host family. They were so welcoming from the start and I was included in daily life as well as the events and parties that were happening while I was there. They introduced me to French culture as well as helping me to organise some tourist visits in my spare time. I even had the opportunity to travel to the coast with them for July 14 celebrations.

I was teaching English to a mid teen - there were ups and downs, and obviously it was difficult to motivate a teenager to study English during school holidays, but I was able to discover ways to keep it interesting by using games and popular music in English. Conversing in 'franglais' was also a great way to improve both of our respective vocabularies.

Aside from helping the family with English, I drastically improved my French comprehension and speaking (the first week is the toughest). It's incredible how much you absorb after a month of being immersed in the country. I would definitely recommend having basic French language skills before you sign up as a placement outside of a major city will mean (at least in my case) limited to no English outside of tourist sites.

The team at Aliore are professional and helpful. They did an excellent job at matching my interests and expectations to a family and were easily contactable by phone or email throughout my stay. If you're on the fence about doing this program, just go for it!

I had a wonderful experience staying with a family in Paris. I was made to feel very welcome and to feel at home and part of the family. I was only there for a week which made this relaxed openness even more amazing. I wish I had been there longer and would love to go back.
I am not a teacher and the two young girls were a bit reluctant to speak English one to one with me which was quite understandable given that they didn't know me. I worked around this by speaking with their mother in English so they heard a lot of English. Had I been there longer I think this would have helped them. Dinner around the table was a really good time for this. I also did some reading with them and some naming games.
I was able to practise my French which pleased me. It would have been more difficult for me if I had not been able to speak at least some French.
During the week days when the girls were at school and their mother at work, I had time to visit many places in Paris and get to know the local area better than if I was there as a tourist staying in a hotel.
Everything went smoothly with the arrangements made for me by Aliore which was great.