| Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 | ![]() |
Good places to learn FrenchCountry forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea | ||
Hello, I am looking at stopping somewhere on my way to Canada next year to learn French, probably somewhere in the Pacific but open to other suggestions. I am hoping to find somewhere relatively cheap but with beautiful surrounds or a vibrant culture that I could spend 2-4 weeks studying. Dates aren't set yet but it will probably be between March and May so weather will be a factor. Any recommendations? Thanks. | ||
None of the three French territories in the South Pacific are really cheap, but New Caledonia is the cheapest of the three, and its capital Noumea is probably your best bet for an immersion in French language and culture in this region. Read the NC link in my signo line for more. | 1 | |
Vanuatu still has a significant connection to France, and children in school learn French as well as English. In the colonial past, it was a condominium (sometimes better described as "pandemonium") between France and England. It is also cheaper than either French Polynesia or New Caledonia. | 2 | |
OG, children in Vanuatu learn either French or English, not both - and the majority learn and speak English. The "Francophone" population is decreasing (from a starting percentage of 40%, I think), and even among them, French is usually only their 3rd language (after their native tongue and Bislama). | 3 | |
Laszlo, I taught ni-Vanuatu students with 4 languages, their home language, Bislama, English and French, and chatted to them in French when their Solomon Islands classmates were talking in their home language. | 4 | |
There are some who speak both English and French, but not many. | 5 | |
Thank you all for the advice. It sounds like New Caledonia will be my best bet then. | 6 | |