Deep French
Next French immersion experiences
Most Deep French immersion experiences for 2027 have been scheduled, but not many have been posted on the website yet. Here are the dates, so that you can project yourself in the one that suits you the most:
- January 18-22, 2027: a "cozy trip" with more indoor time spent on games, creative activities, show and tell, and cooking, while still visiting beautiful Ariège daily.
- March 8-12, 2027: the typical intensive French immersion experience while discovering gorgeous Ariège in the French Pyrenees, but for 5 days instead of 10.
- April 19-28, 2027: a lighter immersion than usual (2 to 4 Francophone hours a day), with the option to bring your non-French-learning partner or friend for the rest of the day, which will be mostly in English.
- May 19-28, 2027: my typical intensive immersion experience to go deep in the French language and to discover this amazing part of France (Ariège), specifically for beginners and lower-intermediate levels (about A1 to B1).
- June 7-16, 2027: my typical intensive immersion experience to go deep in the French language and to discover this amazing part of France (Ariège), specifically for upper-intermediate and advanced levels (about B1 to C2)
- September 13-19, 2027, a cultural immersion in Ariège, France, in English, for all those who would love to discover the place I consider to be my heaven on earth, without the need to work on your French.
- September 30-October 9, 2027: my typical intensive immersion experience to go deep in the French language and to discover this amazing part of France (Ariège), for mixed levels (from beginners to advanced).
- Anytime: an immersion experience tailored to your group and your needs and wants.
If you want to join one and you already know which one, contact me to register interest to make sure to secure a spot!
Dates are always first announced on the newsletter. So sign up (bottom of the page) to be sure to be in the know before spots fill up (max 7 participants per immersion experience).
How it works
I skip all the grammar blah-blah, spelling lessons, and tedious monologues about the French language. Not only because it can be very boring and discouraging, but because that is neither the most natural way of learning a language, nor a very effective method for it to seep deeply into your brain. Instead, I plunge you in a natural bath of French so that it infuses you profoundly until you wake up one day, thinking and dreaming in French!
To learn French, you need to play being a French-speaker already. I help you do so through exciting immersive experiences in France that will get you to relax about the language and thrive like a baby.
Like a baby? YES!
Think about how you learned your first language. Here is how it happened: you were a silent observer for a very long time, then you tried (and failed!) to imitate what the grown-ups were saying, and found ways of getting your points across anyway (you really wanted that toy right now!), and eventually succeeded with saying recognizable words, and you even progressively pronounced them correctly! After all that work of imitation, you complexified your language by forming sentences and you became a master at that skill by the time you were 3 or 4 years old: your observation, imitation and complexification period was long. It’s only in kindergarten or first grade that adults started to teach you reading and writing, and after they let you experiment with all that, they even told you about grammar and spelling so that you wouldn’t continue writing "I goed” even though that’s much more logical than “I went”.
So why should we learn a foreign language by starting at the end? Most language teaching methods are flawed: they start with the grammar and spelling, and they start with reading and writing. Yet, your brain is naturally wired to do it the other way around: by starting with oral input (listening) and output (speaking). Languages are a survival tool, so they need to be learned in a way that makes them useful for survival.
That’s why I teach you French as though you were a baby: I immerse you in life in French, so that you have plenty of opportunities to observe, to repeat and imitate, to attempt producing language, and when you’re ready, to complexify it and get to more scholar language skills. And just like with a baby, I help you do that in a comforting, reassuring and safe environment –my first mission is to help you feel confident and courageous, so that you take off in French!
What’s it like in practice?
No classroom, no textbook, this is what you get instead: an experience living in a gorgeous and authentic region of France, touring local sites of interest and tasting delicious French food, but also learning how to cook some of it, playing board games, learning how to make soap, art or baskets, shopping at the farmers market and attending a guided tour of a monument in French. And all that with my pedagogical expertise to help you feel good and have a good time while doing all this (even when you did not understand anything), and to help you acquire French in the process.
I offer this in multiple ways:
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one-time French immersion stays in Ariège or elsewhere. These experiences are usually 10 days long. Check out the next one coming up!
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one-time “camps”, all in French immersion, in the US. That’s like the language trip for the ones who prefer not to travel far yet. I mostly announce those in my newsletter, often without ever posting them on this website, so make sure to sign up.
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shorter French immersion workshops that allow you to launch or supplement your French acquisition journey. For example a 2-hour French-immersion cooking activity in Portland, Oregon.
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online, live immersion workshops and built-to-acquire-French conversations
Still wondering how it works? Check out my FAQ
What participants say about this
Amber (october 2026 experience in Ariège)
"My experience with Deep French was nothing short of life-altering. The combination of language skills, immersion in culture, exploration of landscape, and exposure to day-to-day rhythms left me feeling intentionally connected to the land, the people, and French ways of life. Baptiste led with masterful facilitation, and care, and truly created a space for each of us to learn at our own level. I am grateful for my experience, grateful for new friends, and cannot wait to return for another Deep French experience in the future."
Lori (october 2026 experience in Ariège)
"October 2026 was my third trip with Baptiste for French language acquisition. I plan to come back in March 2027 for my fourth trip. I can’t say more to recommend Baptiste’s program than to be a repeat customer. In addition, I’ve grown very fond of the region of Ariège whose beauty is beyond my powers of description."
Kevin (october 2026 experience in Ariège)
"I can't say enough great things about my 10-day Deep French immersion experience with Baptiste. The entire itinerary was perfect, full of interesting excursions, fun activities, and delicious meals – all while practicing and improving my French skills!
Baptiste was a fantastic guide and instructor. He is so friendly and good-natured, and a great teacher. Baptiste easily adapted his speech and language guidance for each member of our group, so that we were all learning and improving the entire time without anyone feeling left out – regardless of our different levels of French.
And the members of our group were wonderful: friendly, supportive, and all excited to be part of the experience. I made some great friends!
By the end of the experience, something had "clicked" and I was actually thinking in French as I went about my daily activities in Ariège. It even felt strange when I left France and wasn't initiating conversations in French anymore!"
Carole (April 2026 experience in Ariège)
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The Deep French immersion tour hosted by Baptiste was exceptional in all ways. His top
priority, aside from ensuring each participant progresses in their French language skills, is to provide a comfortable, fun, and engaging tour while immersing you in the French culture and beauty of the landscape.
He provides for a variety of experiences, from dining in fine restaurants to inviting local community members to cook and share a meal with the group, engaging with vendors at the French markets, touring ancient sites of historical significance,
exploring natural areas of stunning beauty, and more.
I looked forward to each day being a new experience and a new opportunity to push my language skills. I was pleased to recognize that my confidence in engaging in French conversations improved greatly over the course of the tour."
Jim (october 2025 experience in Ariège)
"What a fantastic experience! Not only did it take place in a beautiful location with lots of culture and lots of history, Baptiste proved to be an excellent tour guide, food guide and teacher. As we were ruining the French language, he provided gentle correction without being interruptive, and allowed us to progress on our own to more natural speech through the immersion experience. I made great strides towards fluency in a short time. I was also thankful that the locals were tolerant of foreigners speaking bad French."
Robert (october 2025 experience in Ariège)
"This experience was unique for me because we were able to discover French culture directly, without the crowds of tourists that you often find in Paris. I love Paris, but in Paris, everyone speaks English and there aren't as many opportunities to speak French. Baptiste had a good idea of our level of French, and he knew how to speak so that we could understand. We lived almost like French people for 10 days, and it was an exceptional experience.
We were a group of people who already knew each other. That made it easier for us to communicate and share our experiences. Baptiste handled all the details very well. We were also able to explore Foix on our own. Ariège is a very beautiful region of France. I saw a side of French life that I wouldn't have seen otherwise."
Lisa (october 2025 experience in Ariège)
"Touring with Baptiste was an experience of a lifetime. I have studied French for years but still struggle trusting myself to speak the language. On this trip there was no where to hide but Baptiste was there for support. He is a gentle and persuasive teacher who encouraged me to express myself to the best of my ability. I could feel my confidence grow every day. I also enjoyed exploring a part of France I’d never heard of. The Ariège region is lovely and Foix was the perfect base to come back to after our excursions. I loved being able to practice my new language skills while shopping in the market or ordering at a restaurant. I can’t wait to return for another Deep French adventure!"
Lori (october 2025 experience in Ariège)
First, the organization of the trip was well done. We had fabulous accommodations in the very lovely town of Foix. Baptiste planned many interesting outings while at the same time built in choices for us as well. That kept the experience relaxed and fun. He took care of the little things too. When I told him that good coffee every morning was crucial to my language acquisition, he made sure I was taken care of.
Most importantly, our access to language study was embedded in every activity we did. Meals and plans were discussed in French, as was shopping at the market and pharmacy. My ability to speak and understand French snuck up on me. When a group of us were sitting around discussing the issues of the day - in French - I was so pleased and proud. The trip was so good, picking one highlight is just impossible. All I can say is I’m returning this spring.
Who am I?
Je m'appelle Baptiste
By now, you might be really wondering who’s behind this way of learning French: is he French, does he know what he’s doing, has he done this before? Here is my story.
My name is Baptiste (pronounced bah-teest) and I grew up in a French family in the southwest of France. After years of learning English the wrong way at school, with boring lists of irregular verbs and grammar drills, I decided to take matters into my own hands and to learn the way that felt the most natural: I went to the US for a year. At 17 years old, there I was living with an American host family and going to a regular American high school. I can tell you that not only did my whole life change that year, my English proficiency also skyrocketed. I was finally living life in English, so I was no longer learning English, I was acquiring it. As a result, English became just as natural for me as French, and to this day, I think in both languages and I feel they are both my first languages.
I specialized in language teaching by working in some truly amazing immersion schools and by studying pedagogy in renowned American universities. After meeting my wife in Eugene, Oregon, I traveled around the world for a year with her, and went on to teach at international schools in Asia and Europe. I also founded two language schools (in Vermont and in Ariège, France), a professional development series of conferences for educators, and wrote multiple books and articles.I have now lived in Ariège, in the French Pyrenees, since 2019. I am blessed with a fabulous family, including two bright and cheerful bilingual boys, and views from my house that remind me everyday how amazing the planet really is. I live in a part of heaven!
In the fall of 2025, after years of using my language teaching method successfully in classrooms and language centers, I offered my first full immersion 10-day experience in France to a group of 5 American retirees. I had a blast and I know they did too. The real reward for me was to see how much they improved in French! So in the winter of 2026, I decided to dedicate all my professional energy to growing my offers to help you and many others acquire French in small-group, fun full immersion experiences. Do you want to join the happy team of French acquirers?
Ready to join?
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Live the experience, have fun, and acquire French in the process
You’re ready to embark on a thrilling adventure. At this point, you can simply enjoy all there is to enjoy, play the game of full immersion, and let French seep in.