Some of you, like me, may want to take the opportunity of being in Brussels to improve your French. However, as it is stated in the documentation provided to trainees, "Commission courses are only available to its permanent staff", so this means there is no chance of having language classes in some way linked to the EC.
Nevertheless, it is mentioned that "trainees usually organise language courses amongst themselves with the help of the Liaison/Stage Committee". Additionaly, "most Communes (town districts) and the ULB (Brussels Free University) also organise language courses which are either free or offered at very cheap prices".
Giving these available options, I thought none suited my purpose, which was to give a significant improvement to my French level on the short period of time I'm going to be in Brussels, having the obligation of attending classes on a regular basis and obtaining an internationally recognized certificate in the end.
Therefore, I have decided to go for one of the Alliance Française courses. They have all types of courses available: intensive or extensive, during the day or in the evening, for all kinds of levels. Each session lasts for one month and the next will start on the 4th of March (so you can still sign up!). You have a discount if you book 4 consecutive sessions, which will allow you to take a level test in the end and pass on to the next level. You can easily register from abroad, by making the payment by means of an international bank transfer and filling in the registration form, which can be sent by e-mail. Beforehand, you have to take an assessment test online and the results informing you on your level are sent by e-mail.
