Course content and objectives
Composition of a course day
* The outings are organized some afternoons spread over the 4 weeks.
**Depending on the number of registrations and language level, timetable B may be allocated.
Practical course
If you register for the semi-intensive or intensive course :
You will spend your mornings in a class of up to 18 people, for a total of 72 periods, including 27 workshop periods from level A2 upwards.
If you are new to French, you will discover French through a variety of exercises and practical activities based on an action-based teaching approach, enabling you to quickly feel at ease in a French-speaking environment. You build a solid foundation in French for future learning. Our teaching method integrates a variety of didactic approaches and tools, enabling you to develop your French skills quickly and effectively.
If you'd like to improve your French, this course will enables you to improve your skills through practice, using didactic sequences specially developed for the FIL de l’EFLE audience, focusing on written and oral language activities. The FIL sequences always begin with an initial production to assess students' skills and needs. A series of specific exercises are then proposed to meet the identified needs. Each sequence concludes with a final production mobilizing the skills worked on.
From level A2 (class level), the second part of your morning is devoted to a workshop. This is a practical course with a specific objective, given by a specially trained teacher.
In general, le FIL de l’EFLE offers 3 different workshops, designed from an action-oriented perspective. They offer you the chance to improve your grammar, pronunciation and writing skills through practice, based on your own difficulties and using a wide range of specific exercises.
Once you've started the series, you will be introduced to each workshop and asked to indicate your preferences. You will then be allocated a workshop based on your preferences, your language level and the number of places available.
This course aims to achieve CEFR levels A1, A2, B1, B2 or C1. The target level, and the level of your class, depend on the level you have reached in the FIL de l'EFLE language skills assessment.
For the complete beginner classes, this course aims to achieve CEFR A1 level. By the end of the course, you will be able to read and pronounce French according to the rules of grapho-phonological correspondence, interact in simple everyday situations, read and write basic texts.
For A1-A2 classes, by the end of this course, you will have mastered a wider range of written and spoken French language activities. You will be at ease with simple language activities (introducing yourself, ordering, asking for information, expressing impressions, describing, narrating, etc.) and you will have increased the contexts in which you can act in French.
For A2-B1 classes, by the end of this course, you will have begun to use the written word to structure and consolidate the language activities practiced at previous levels. You will learn to draw effectively on a language other than French to expand your French vocabulary and syntax.
For B1-B2 classes, by the end of this course you will have learned to reduce the number of occasions when you rely on a language other than French to express yourself. You will begin to carry out most of your language activities directly in French.
For B2-C1 level classes, by the end of this course, you will have developed a greater demand for accuracy and correctness in French. You'll learn to correct and perfect the details of your French expression to develop your francophone voice.
Option "Introduction to academic texts" (not available in winter 2025)
If you register for the semi-intensive or intensive course with the Introduction to academic texts option :
You will spend your mornings in a small class (14 people maximum), for a total of 72 periods.
In this Academic French course, you will explore different facets of reading and writing academic texts. You will develop your skills in reading and writing academic articles by moving back and forth between reflection and practice. Based on a field experience supervised by your teacher, you and your group will function as an editorial board and prepare your own issue of the Revue des IEU, bringing together the articles of the students in the class after proofreading and editing.
Offered from level B1, the course with the IEU option aims to improve your ability to read and write academic texts in preparation for your current and future studies in French.
By the end of this course, you will have deepened your understanding of how academic texts are produced. You will have improved your own academic reading and writing skills through practical exercises: ethnographic micro-fieldwork; literature research; reading techniques; oral presentation of a scientific text; summarizing and note-taking; reasoning and plan structuring; academic texts writing; citations, references, footnotes, bibliography; revision procedures.
"Mutual Teaching in Context" (EMC)
Based on an anthropo-linguistic approach, the EMC course aims to make the most of the experience of cultural and linguistic strangeness that every language learner undergoes in an immersion situation.
If you sign up for the intensive course :
After your morning classes (practical classes, workshops, IEU option), you will spend some of your afternoons in your EMC class, with your teacher and a small group (maximum 8 people), for a total of 27 periods.
During the afternoons when you don't have an EMC class, you will work independently on activity sheets, following the instructions given by your teacher. Your work is individually corrected by your teacher and discussed in class.
► The intensive course
Activity sheets specially created for the FIL de l’EFLE intensive course enable students to work simultaneously on the language and social/cultural dimensions of their learning. EMC activity sheets include field exercises, interviews, descriptions and more. By completing them, you will not only improve your oral and written skills, but also discover new aspects of life and culture in French-speaking Switzerland. You will learn to look back on your own learning experiences and intercultural contacts from a distance.
At the end of the course, the activity sheets you will have completed and corrected will be noted and then completed to form a learning diary called a Portfolio. This portfolio can be used if you register for the Certificate of Qualification in French.
This course combines the objectives of the practical course or the practical course with the IEU option with those of the EMC course.
The EMC course aims to familiarize you not only with the language, but also with the French-speaking way of life in which you find yourself.
By the end of the course, you will have discovered ways of speaking, writing, and arguing in French that you weren't familiar with. You'll have learned to deal with cultural differences in a reflexive and constructive way, making them a lever for your learning.
During the 4-week course, you can take part in optional activities in addition to your class hours. These outings are organized especially for le FIL de l’EFLE students. They enable you to discover certain aspects of life and culture in French-speaking Switzerland.
A minimum of three outings are offered per series, and you can sign up at the time of your course.
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A sports afternoon (free)
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A visit to the Clos des Abbayes winery (free, summer only)
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Two class outings (at participants' own expense) to discover cultural elements.
Free of charge
The sports afternoon is organized in collaboration with the Sport and Health Center of UNIL and EPFL. Depending on the season, the center's instructors offer a variety of sports and activities, including stand up paddle (in summer), volleyball, soccer, basketball and much more.
This afternoon gives you the opportunity to meet other students in a fun and energetic atmosphere. The activity is followed by a snack offered by le FIL de l’EFLE.
Free of charge and in summer only.
The shores of Lake Geneva are overlooked by magnificent vineyards, some of which belong to the City of Lausanne.
On a summer afternoon, take an exclusive tour of one of Lausanne's vineyards. A representative of the Municipality welcomes you and explains the different grape varieties of the region, their particularities, and the wine-making process. The afternoon continues with a wine tasting, generously offered by the City of Lausanne.
Subject to availability and at participants' expense
The Swiss love fondue and raclette! What better accompaniment than a good gherkin, or pickled onions?
Aigle is home to Switzerland's one and only canning factory! Discover the secrets behind the production of gherkins, onions, mustards and other delicious products.
Take a tour of the vinegar factory, the cannery, the sauces workshop and finish off with a product tasting.
Subject to availability and at participants' expense
What is Art?
Art can be understood as a creative process designed to convey a message or emotion. Artists seek recognition and public approval for their work.
The authors of Art Brut have no such considerations. They create objects for their own purposes, seeking neither recognition nor approval.
You are taken into a world where surprising and bewildering works produced by "prison inmates, psychiatric patients, the original, the lonely and the tried and tested" cohabit. It's a journey on a human scale that leaves no one indifferent.
Subject to availability and at participants' expense
The Lausanne region is famous for its lakeside, where the landscape offers a mix of vineyards and mountains. Enjoy a leisurely tour of the region on foot or by boat, followed by a visit to Chillon Castle and its keep.
Photo: Shootcase Chronicles
Subject to availability and at participants' expense
To experience Lausanne and understand its history, there's nothing like a visit to the Musée Historique de Lausanne!
You discover Lausanne's past, its crafts, industry, fine arts, economy, applied arts, social and political history from the late Middle Ages to the present day.
You'll able to take advantage of a tour brochure designed for beginners and learners of French, created by the Musée Historique de Lausanne and the association Français en Jeu.
► Musée historique de Lausanne
Subject to availability and at participants' expense
Switzerland is famous for its exquisite chocolate and its mountains.
You'll travel to Broc, in the Prealps, on your way to the Cailler chocolate factory. Learn about the history of chocolate, visit the factory and end your tour with a tasting of Cailler creations.
► The Cailler chocolate factory
With each new series, our teachers come up with new ideas for fun, cultural and breathtaking outings!
- Bowling Night
- GoldenPass Panoramic Tour
- Olympic Museum
- A visit to Lausanne Cathedral and an encounter with the Belfry lookout
- ...
Designations on this website apply equally to men and women.
