International HouseNice, France

“Organisation could have been better. If you ask students to arrive at 8am then you should have someone behind the reception desk to meet and greet at 8am. I was even shooed me away from the welcome breakfast by an Erasmus class teacher, claiming it wasn't for the students coming to learn French only. Most disappointing though was the trip to Eze on the last day which was unnecessarily stressful. The trip which was supposed to be by bus was in fact around 4 different trams, needless walking between stops in sweltering heat, then 15 minute wait in direct sun at the bus station which had taken ages to reach. Consequently, there was less time in Eze - just enough time to walk round the village and garden once with no time apparently to look at any of the little artisan shops, buy anything or go for a drink on the chateau terrace as some of us would have liked. We had scarcely walked round once without a pause when teacher herded us back to the bus stop as she didn't want to miss the bus. Such a short visit after all the trouble to get there. We were told we could go our separate ways back as we liked, but the idea was to go there as a group and do it together to have the opportunity to practice French etc. Apparently some students must have said something because the next thing I know we had done a right turn at the bus stop and ended up in the perfumery which was ok but I'd already been to the one in Grasse and would rather have spent the extra hour in the village/chateau we had come to see. We then got the bus back and it took us straight back to Vieux Nice! Why didn't we take the bus from there on the outward journey and avoided the endless chain of trams, walks and waits in the scorching sun? The trip was at least another good opportunity to practice language and Eze was lovely. I only wish we had had more leisure time. Why didn't she say, "ok go and have a look around on your own for 30 minutes and we'll all meet back at the chateau for a drink before we get the bus. The bus leaves at XXXX times". I would suggest that in future, an information sheet should be provided itinerary which could be discussed with students in classrooms so that everyone knows what to expect. It should contain bus times, names of stops to get on and off, show where the bus and tram stops are in Eze village and Eze beach. I would certainly like to go again to Eze without the unnecessary stress the next time. ”

“Rooms/ corridors a bit cramped, especially when there are many students”

“The organisation of International House was problematic from the beginning. Students who have extra classes are tried to reduce the classes from 2 days (6 extra hours) to only 1 day (3 extra hours) without reimbursement. This was not only asked of me in the first week by the head of the centre but also in the second week. I did not feel that I received satisfactory answers and appropriate feedback. When I was motivated to do additional homework I felt judged and as if they were not willing to give me activities to do at home if I asked for them. Organised trips were few (2 a week, but 1 was the Nice tour for newcomers). The other trip they offered to Antibes was quite expensive for just the train ticket and was a rushed tour. Additionally the brochure at the reception said that they would give us our individual train ticket so that we could return whenever we wanted. In reality they bought tickets in groups and if you wanted to stay longer you had to buy your own ticket to return.”

“apart from a communication café, we were not informed about joint activities”

“Nothing in particular ”

“As people arrive all the time and I started in the first week of January, they immediately put me in a class that didn't correspond to my level, but after talking to the coordinator, I was placed in another class.”

“Would be nice to know the exact duration of the lessons per day depending on the number of students. Afternoon excursions were not apparent”