After a month of silence, I'm back — and I have a very good reason for disappearing.

Instead of my usual self-study routine, I did something completely different: I enrolled in the Saturday Express course at Institut Français in South Kensington, London. Five full Saturdays. A real classroom. Real classmates. And a very honest wake-up call about where my French actually stands.

In this episode, I share:
✅ How I learned French from A1 to A2 as a busy adult with zero immersive environment
✅ How a random conversation with my French tutor led me to Institut Français
✅ What my first day of French school actually felt like (spoiler: very nervous)
✅ The real pros AND cons of group language learning vs. self-study
✅ What I discovered about my speaking and listening skills
✅ Whether I'd do it again — and the smarter way to approach it

🎁 FREE French Vision Board (desktop + mobile wallpaper):
Get my French Fluency Vision Board
→ https://rachelwmak.com/newsletter/

📺 Watch the full video on YouTube (includes the assessment, classroom footage & my French journal entry — can you understand it without subtitles?) https://youtu.be/BkBF5bLYBpA

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🔗 LINKS MENTIONED
- Institut Français London: https://www.institut-francais.org.uk
- Saturday Express course: https://www.institut-francais.org.uk/french-courses/saturday-express/#/
- My 30-Day French Speaking Challenge (YouTube): https://youtu.be/WjGJU9LD6mQ
- How I Learn French Without Living in France (YouTube): https://youtu.be/iROGBIXhlZc
- Free French Vision Board download: https://rachelwmak.com/newsletter/

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💬 LET'S CONNECT
I'd love to know — what's YOUR biggest challenge as a French learner right now? 
Speaking? Listening? Finding the time?

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review — it genuinely helps other 
French learners and francophiles find this podcast. Merci beaucoup! 🇫🇷

#LearnFrench #FrenchLearning #AdultLanguageLearner #InstitutFrançais 
#FrenchInLondon #Francophile #LanguageLearningJourney

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Hosted by Rachel W. Mak — creator of Rachel mais Rachelle en français

🎬 Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/@rachel_mais_rachelle
🌍 More reflections & updates: rachelwmak.com/podcast
💌 Say bonjour: hello@rachelwmak.com