I started with Dialogue with realistic expectations, to be able to communicate without needing pen and paper every time I wanted to ask directions or order dinner in Paris. I can now more than hold my own. The French pronunciation is a challenge for most Americans. The sounds are not within our repertoire of sound. I may never make it to Parisian French, but now my efforts in French are met with the question, "Swiss or Canadian?" and no one responds to me in English! With this last trip I can now understand with complete ease radio and news broadcasts in French. With earlier lessons I had increased my ability to understand about 80%, 20 % was still a lot missing. The Godard's rapidly identified what I still needed to learn in order to understand the remaining 20% and within two weeks, give me the news en français! I did try other programs and I have an awesome vocabulary to prove it. I just couldn't speak or understand the language. I am certain that I still would not without Dialogue. Jean Luc and Claudine Godard are geniuses in teaching language at all levels.

In addition to developing a capacity to communicate in French, I find Dialogue an ideal place for learning and enjoying life at the same time. Mealtimes at Dialogue are a continuation of everyone's French lessons - always in a manner that is supportive and fun. Claudine Godard is a formidable hostess. She manages to surround each student in a relaxed elegance assuring that each individual has as much privacy or interaction as each desires. During my visits she has succeeded in helping even the most timid individuals feel at-home. At the same time she directs Dialogue with an attention to detail and an expertise in administration that senior executives routinely note with admiration.

For those with any interest in learning or improving their French, in my experience, Dialogue is THE place to go. It is an ideal setting whether one starts as I did, serious disaster case, or one is a professor of French seeking only to perfect an accent. The greatest risk for any student is that Dialogue can be rather addictive. I've been lucky enough to be there three times and I'm looking forward to the fourth.

Ann Bensinger
Ombudsman