Mini Classes: May 11 -June 6, 2026


Mini classes are a perfect opportunity to keep studying French without a long commitment. Each class targets a specific area or theme. Mini classes are offered in a 4-week series, with 1.5-hour sessions each week. PLEASE NOTE: French Made is Easy is offered for 3 weeks, with a two-hour session each week.


Registration closes 24 hours before the class begins. While last-minute registrations may be possible, we strongly encourage students to enroll early, as classes that do not meet minimum enrollment requirements may be canceled in advance. For last-minute registration requests, please contact the office at info@afportland.org

Registration opens March 19! Registration opens March 19!

Raffle

Alliance Française students who register for a mini-class between Tuesday, March 19 and Monday, March 23 will automatically be entered into a raffle to win a pair of tickets to French Night with the Trail Blazers.  One lucky winner will be announced next week!


Classes For Beginning Levels

Beginning classes are designed for A1-level students and correspond to the 100 series. Find prerequisites, read full class description, and register by clicking "Read More" in the class descriptions.

A1

French for travelers

Planning a trip to a French-speaking country? Master essential travel skills in four mini-lessons! Learn hotel check-ins, metro navigation, ticket purchases, food ordering, and more. Taught predominantly in French with English support as needed. Perfect for beginners with basic French knowledge.

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A1

French Made Easy: Listen and Speak Naturally

This lively, immersion-style French class helps beginners build confidence and comprehension through listening, stories, and guided interaction. With a focus on high-frequency vocabulary and lots of visual support, students learn naturally—no textbooks, no homework, just engaging, research-based activities. Open to true beginners and A1 learners seeking extra comprehension support.

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A1

Intro to French communication 

Get ready to speak! Start with a quick grammar and vocabulary refresh, then dive into dynamic conversation practice. With personalized support in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation, you'll build confidence whether preparing for a presentation, a trip, or just improving your conversation skills.

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A1

Grammar workshop

This workshop offers a focused review of essential French verbs and tenses through structured drills and guided conversation, using A1-level vocabulary. Emphasis is placed on mastering present-tense conjugation of regular and common irregular verbs.

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Classes For low Intermediate Levels

Low intermediate classes are designed for A2-level students and correspond to the 200 series. Find prerequisites, read full class description, and register by clicking "Read More" in the class descriptions.







A2

The essentials of A2 grammar 

Take your A2 French to the next level by strengthening essential verb forms and structures used in real conversations. Through engaging activities and interactive practice, you'll gain confidence expressing ideas, making comparisons, and talking about possibilities while communicating more naturally in everyday French.

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A2

Conversation starters 

Build confidence and fluency in everyday French through interactive A2-level conversation practice. In a small-group setting, you'll practice real-life situations such as introductions, daily routines, shopping, making plans and expressing opinions. Come ready to speak, have fun, and enjoy communicating in French in a supportive environment.

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Classes For Intermediate  Levels

Find prerequisites, read full class description, and register by clicking "Read More" in the class description.


B1


Sounding french

Improve your French pronunciation and listening skills in this interactive phonetics course. Through guided practice  you'll explore key sound patterns, liaisons, the French "h," and how sounds change in natural speech. Build confidence by training your ear and refining your pronunciation in a supportive, hands-on environment.

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B1


French  Gastronomy: A Journey Through Escoffier's Legacy and Regional Delights

Discover the art of French cuisine in this special class celebrating France’s rich gastronomic heritage. Explore the foundations of modern French cooking through the legacy of Auguste Escoffier, then journey through France’s main culinary regions to uncover their distinctive flavors, traditions, and worldwide influence.

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Classes For Intermediate  and Upper Intermediate Levels

Find prerequisites, read full class description, and register by clicking "Read More" in the class descriptions

B1/B2

The 8 Essential Grammar Points in French

This B1/B2 grammar course reviews key French structures used in everyday and formal communication, including major tenses, the conditional and subjunctive, object pronouns, hypotheses, indirect speech, and the passive voice, helping learners build accuracy and confidence through clear explanations and guided practice.

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B1/B2

understanding modern france: Key moments of the 20th century

This course explores the major periods of 20th-century French history, examining the key political, social, and historical events that shaped modern France, from the Belle Époque and the World Wars to decolonization, the Fifth Republic, and France’s role in a changing Europe.


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Classes for
Upper Intermediate and Advanced Levels

Upper Intermediate Classes are designed for B2-level students and correspond to the 400 series. Advanced classes are designed for C1-level students adn correspond to the 500 series. These classes are for B2/C1 -level students, B1 graduates, or current 400-level learners. Find prerequisites, read full class description, and register by clicking "Read More" in the class descriptions.

B2/C1

Hidden treasures of france

Discover France's best-kept secrets! Explore charming villages, forgotten castles, and local traditions through engaging stories and stunning visuals. Perfect for upper-intermediate and advanced learners who want to uncover  the authentic France that locals call home. 

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Registration

Adult
Children and Youth
Level
Location
Pace

Unsure of your level?  Click here to take a free placement test.

A1 - Beginner

French for Travelers

Minis
Planning a trip to a French-speaking country but concerned about navigating the language barrier? Join our four "French for Travelers" mini lessons and master essential skills like hotel check-ins, using the metro, purchasing tickets, reserving tours, ordering food, and taking the train. This course is designed for beginners with basic French knowledge and will be predominantly taught in French, with English as needed. Prerequisite is having completed level 101 or possessing an equivalent level online.
Pace: Regular

French Made Easy: Listen and Speak Naturally

Minis
This lively and engaging French class uses the Comprehensible Input approach to language acquisition to help beginning French students soak up the language like a sponge, as they become more comfortable understanding commonly used French vocabulary in the context of daily conversations and stories. Perfect for students who would like to jumpstart their immersion learning before beginning their first class, as well as those already studying at the A1 level who would like extra support with their comprehension skills alongside their core courses, this class will use strategies derived from second language acquisition research to make French accessible to all learners. The focus will be first and foremost on picking up essential vocabulary through oral comprehension activities with lots of visual aids, and then putting the learning into practice through guided interaction involving writing, reading, and speaking. Be prepared to put away the textbooks and grammar worksheets for this course, and come ready to move, laugh, use your imagination, and build your confidence in a supportive community of learners. (This class will not require any homework, but ample resources will be provided for those who wish to continue the learning at home.) No prerequisites: Great for pure beginners.
Pace: Regular

Grammar Workshop A1

Minis
This four-week workshop offers a dynamic review of essential French verbs and tenses through a combination of structured drills and guided conversation. Each week, students will reinforce and recycle key vocabulary commonly introduced in the A1 level, helping build both accuracy and confidence in real-life communication. The focus of this session is the present tense, beginning with regular verbs and progressing to commonly used irregular verbs, allowing learners to deepen their understanding while actively using the language in context. No prerequisites.
Pace: Regular

Intro to French Communication

Minis
Join us for a Beginning French Conversation class designed for learners eager to develop their speaking skills in a supportive environment. In this course, students will explore a selection of everyday themes tailored to the group's level. Topics may include introductions, family discussions, sports, leisure activities, daily routines, grocery shopping, weather preferences, seasonal clothing, and pets. Participants will engage in interactive activities, group discussions, and role-playing, allowing them to build confidence and fluency in everyday French conversation. Prerequisites: basic French, 102 level or equivalent
Pace: Regular
A1/A2

The Essentials of A2 Grammar

Minis

Strengthen your French by focusing on essential verb forms and structures used in everyday communication. 
Through interactive activities and practical exercises, you’ll build confidence expressing ideas, making comparisons, and talking about possibilities in real-life situations. 
Prerequisite: 106 or equivalent.


Pace: Regular
A2 - Lower Intermediate

Conversation Starters

Minis
Build confidence and fluency in everyday French conversations with this interactive A2-level course. Through small group sessions and engaging activities, you'll practice essential conversation skills for real-life situations including personal introductions, daily routines, shopping, making plans, and expressing opinions. By the end of the course, you'll feel confident initiating and maintaining simple conversations in French while having fun in a supportive, encouraging environment. Come ready to speak, laugh, and discover the joy of communicating in French! Prerequisite 106 or equivalent.
Pace: Regular
B1 - Intermediate

French Gastronomy: A Journey Through Escoffier's Legacy and Regional Delights B1+

Minis
Discover the French culinary art through our special class that highlights France's gastronomic heritage. Immerse yourself in the world of French cuisine by exploring the foundations laid by the famous chef Auguste Escoffier, a true pioneer of modern gastronomy. Delve into the fundamental principles of French cuisine and its influence worldwide. Additionally, we will embark on a journey to explore the main French regions and their distinctive gastronomy. From the Southwest with its delightful terroir delicacies, to the renowned refined cuisine of the Lyon region, and the maritime flavors of Brittany and Normandy, each region offers a unique palette of flavors to explore. Prerequisite: 206 or equivalent.
Pace: Regular
B1/B2

Sounding French

Minis
Welcome to the French Phonetics course!  
This course will be interactive and hands-on, featuring numerous activities and exercises to reinforce your French phonetics skills. You'll be guided by experienced, native, instructor who will help you advance your pronunciation and listening comprehension in French. You'll practice auditory discrimination; you'll explore sound changes based on word position within a sentence and their phonetic environment (transformation); you'll be introduced to accurately identifying French sounds and verifying your pronunciation (identification and verification); you'll develop observation skills by analyzing the phonetic features of native French speakers (observation); you'll dive into the intricacies of the French "H," studying cases where it's silent and aspirated; and you'll explore sound linkages in French and liaisons that occur between words in a sentence. Prerequisite: 206 or equivalent.
Pace: Regular

The 8 Essential Grammar Points in French B1/B2

Minis
This B1/B2 grammar course offers a focused review of eight essential French grammar points that are commonly used in both spoken and written French. Designed for intermediate to upper-intermediate learners, the course helps students strengthen their foundations, improve accuracy, and gain confidence in real-life communication. Throughout the course, students will work on past tenses, the future, the conditional, the present subjunctive, object pronouns, expressing hypotheses, indirect speech, and the passive voice. Each topic is presented in a clear and structured way, with practical explanations, concrete examples, and guided practice. The emphasis is on meaningful use of grammar, allowing learners to better understand, speak, and write French in everyday as well as more formal contexts. Prerequisite 206 or equivalent.
Pace: Regular

Understanding Modern France: Key Moments of the 20th Century

Minis
This course offers an overview of the major periods of French history in the 20th century, from 1900 to 1999. Designed for learners interested in understanding France’s historical, political, and social evolution, the class explores key moments that shaped modern France. Topics include the Belle Époque and the First World War, the interwar years and the Second World War, the Fourth Republic and decolonization, the rise of the Fifth Republic under Charles de Gaulle, the period of modernization and crisis in the 1970s and 1980s, and France at the end of the century within the context of European integration. Prerequisites 301 or equivalent.
Pace: Regular
B2/C1

Hidden Treasures of France

Minis
Discover France beyond the popular destinations! Join us on a virtual journey to explore charming villages, secret gardens, forgotten castles, and local traditions that most visitors never see. From ancient stone bridges to bustling weekly markets, uncover the authentic France through engaging stories, stunning visuals, and cultural insights. Perfect for intermediate learners ready to expand their vocabulary while falling in love with France's best-kept secrets. Come explore the France that locals call home! Prerequisite: 306 or equivalent.
Pace: Regular

Order This Course

$155.00 USD

Code: 26P Mini Grammar B1/B2
Designed for intermediate to upper-intermediate learners, the course helps students strengthen their foundations, improve accuracy, and gain confidence in real-life communication.

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PARKING

Street parking on SW 20th St. facing the Kamm House is limited. Free parking is available in Lot A at SW 18th and SW Columbia. Please obtain a parking pass from the office. After 6 pm weekdays, students may park in the Willamette Dental lot at SW 20th and SW Jefferson as available.

OFFICE HOURS

The Alliance office is open 10am-3pm Monday through Friday.
Call us at 503.223.8388 during business hours or leave a message.
Email us at  info@afportland.org.

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