Dear Marz,

I have checked all the info for the Universite populaire and the other one the Universite Ouvriere (they serve the same cause but in different buildings) and the classes are given by Swiss people who are doing "benevoles", they are unemployed (the majority)  and they had some seminars through the univerity so as to teach french to people.There is a qualification test which allows to set people in different levels(beginners,intermediate,advanced). If you re really interested the qualification test is on the 1st of September for Universite Ouvriere (this is opposite the Cornavin station). The fee is 100 CHF only. For more info pls check http://www.uog.ch/ .Btw, the girls at the reception also are very helpful.

If you need anything more just let me know.

Regards
Sevi
Sevigl, Aug 26, 2009 @ 09:47

 Sorry forgot to mention :

*benevoles=volunteering*
Sevi
Sevigl, Aug 26, 2009 @ 09:56

 Thank you very much for the information. 100 CHF is for the test only or the course?

Do you know what time the test is?



Marz, Aug 26, 2009 @ 10:26

 The whole season is only 100 CHF and you pay them by the time you take the qualification test.
You need to go to the secretary-reception office at the entrance and tell them that you re interested in the courses so they will give you a yellow paper mentioning your name and the date of the test,with which paper you will be allowed at the appointed date to take the test. I suggest you pass by or call them so as to know further. I had been appointed for 1st of September at 18.30 to take the test.

The Universite Ouvriere is opposite the cornavin station at Place des Grottes.
Sevigl, Aug 26, 2009 @ 10:42

 Thanks again. I will probably go there today.

Marz, Aug 26, 2009 @ 10:48

 

Hi,

 

It depends if you are lucky with a teacher. If no – it’s just waste of time. Ifage school is good comparing to others (Migros, Supercom, etc) or try courses at Université de Genève which are very good but not sure if there are any during school year. One friend of mine took summer courses and was very happy.

Natusik, Aug 26, 2009 @ 10:48

 I teach for Université Populaire (but English, not French); it is true that we are all volunteering our time and some are teachers by profession, others are not.  The fact that UP is an association, and that only the secretariat is paid, means that the courses are very inexpensive (it is around CHF 100 for an entire year and a portion of that money is to a member of the association, and a portion is for operating costs).   It is not necessarily a given that you will have better teachers if you pay more (IFAGE, MIGROS, etc) or worse teachers if you pay less.  Some of it will also depend on the other students and how well the levels are respected when signing up for classes.  I hope this answer helps you.
harris, Aug 26, 2009 @ 11:02

 Thank you Natusik and Harris. I must say I'm a bit confused now. I went to ifage before the summer and I really liked it there. They are more expensive though. Hmm.. I guess I have to think it over.

Marz, Aug 26, 2009 @ 11:13

My experience with being a language student at IFAGE is overall very good: I have had some great teachers at IFAGE but I also had some "bad" teachers at IFAGE.  But to be perfectly honest, what it boils down to (at least for me) is the style of teaching.  Which means the teacher(s) I found less than good had a style that I didn't learn well from, and not that they weren't a good teacher. 
harris, Aug 26, 2009 @ 11:25

I also teach English at the UP and take exception to the idea that we are mostly unemployed.  As other posts have mentioned, we are volunteers; some of us have paper qualifications and some of us have been teaching there for many years.  The vast majoriy  have other jobs and are happy to give something back to society.  The pleasure we get from seeing our students progress and become more confident is ample reward.



Jili, Aug 31, 2009 @ 17:56