French courses organised by associations are given by professionals and are accessible and can be free for those on a small budget. Sometimes childcare is available in parallel with the classes.
For more information, see below for a list of these activities available in each region.
Private schools offer French courses. These courses have flexible schedules and variable admission requirements, at a higher cost.
You can find an offer by visiting the local.ch website and entering “Language school” in the search engine.
The website of the l’Association vaudoise des écoles privées (AVDEP) contains a directory of all these private schools.
For certain procedures (for example for an application for a B permit, a renewal, an anticipated C permit or a naturalisation procedure), the administration will ask you for a certificate of your level of French.
More information
As part of a medical, social or school interview, the professionals who receive you can call on trained interpreters.There are several interpreting and translation services in the canton of Vaud
The Fraternity of the Centre Social Protestant (CSP) and the Habitants Registration office of your municipality are at your disposal to help you with administrative procedures.
To facilitate the settling of the newcomers in the canton, the brochure “Welcome to the canton of Vaud” (available in 13 languages) contains the practical information you need.
Listed on one page, you can access the most frequently asked questions on various topics.
It contains the useful information on integration and prevention of racism matters in the canton of Vaud. The site is dedicated to migrants, Swiss citizens as well as to professionals in these fields.
Published four times a year, the BCI's newsletter presents various news of the BCI and its regional offices (projects, activities, publications, etc.).