The school takes about 20 people, and classes are small - no more than six people in the ordirary language courses, no more than two for business French, in order to maximise speaking time for each student. The emphasis is on conversational skills, but reading and writing are not forgotten. Ordinary students take morming classes and have afternoons free for sightseing or sporting activities and, an important part of the leaming process, talking with local French people in shops, cafes and so on. Business-French students take five hours' lessons a day and, in addition to language, learn about French business practice, commercial documents, etc, pay visits to factories, banks or other businesses related to their field and meet French professionals in the same line of business. Local families invite intermediate and advanced students to come to aftemoon tea and dinner - an excellent way to polish ones conversation.
Weekends are free for sport, sightseeing and excursions farther afield.
Courses of one, two or four weeks, or of three months, are offered at the Ecole. It takes three months for an absolute beginner to become a fluent French speaker, but shorter courses are an excellent way to start holidays off.- the school aims to help guests get their French to a level that will allow them to go off and travel around France on their own. Margaret O'Loan and Ren Dorel are seasoned professional language teachers, and the business-French course is taught by Gabriel Coquard, who has taught business practice in France and French at US universities and business schools. In addition to the language classes, L'Ecole des Trois Ponts organises participation, for interested students, in evening cooking classes at a prestigious professional school in the neighbourhood, or in evening interior d coration classes, also nearby. Most students are aged between 20 and 50, although the school has also had teenagers and retirement-age people studying there.