French Immersion Homestay At Teacher’s In La Livinière, Occitanie

It was such a treat to study French at Pierre’s. I felt like a teenager again, without a care in the world, away on a language adventure. I was able to disconnect fully from my daily responsibilities to focus entirely on learning. Pierre’s explanations and deep dives into the French language are methodical, patient, clear and complete. His attention is always focused on his students’ learning, as evidenced by his corrections and artful ways of threading the morning’s lessons into the afternoon’s conversations. The best bonus is that Pierre is a great cook and you will sleep deeply under the peaceful silence of La Livinière’s small-town nights.

My decision to study in France was a last minute one, and I was very grateful that Pierre
was able to fit me into his busy schedule. I had read the many positive reviews and was
intrigued by the descriptions of medieval villages, hikes to castles and through
vineyards and lavender fields. As a retired teacher of ESOL (English for speakers of
other languages), I was also impressed by comments about his teaching style and
knowledge of history.
The experience totally lived up to my high expectations. We fit so much into a week,
both in instruction and in immersion to this amazing place. We went to the Cathar
village Minerve, and to the fishing village Bages. We hiked trails to a millstone quarry,
to a marble quarry, and to Les Châteaux de Lastours.
Tuning in to my interest in birds, Pierre previewed names of birds with me enroute to our
destination to salt marshes. I filled pages of notes on history and language and took
countless pictures of historic sites and wildflowers.
Pierre is a gifted teacher and helped me to have a much more comprehensive
understanding of the language. After a detailed explanation, he’d often say “c’est
logique.”
Ah, this makes sense! I had many aha moments.
Grammar comes more easily to me than everyday language does, so I’m very happy to
have come across the French Today website. Pierre gave me a great start on improving
my oral language, with challenges to use newly learned filler words in daily experiences.
En fin, there’s still much left to see and do. I highly recommend the experience to
others, and hope to return someday myself.

Pierre is a kind, calm, gentle, attentive teacher. I like the way he explains things, better than any book or the other teachers I’ve had over many decades. He speaks English fluently and so is able to make clear why things are different (or the same) in French vs English. He meets you at your French level though he is happy to have people at 2 different levels, which he says can work very successfully. His ever-present sense of humor was the icing on the cake.

Here’s more info about his program: You choose your timeframe, generally one or two weeks. You (and anyone you bring) will be the only student/s. Pierre provides breakfast and a cooked lunch every weekday. You have an informal lesson in his house each morning for 3 hours followed by an afternoon outing.

Pierre is a superb tour guide, eager to share his passion for the French culture, history, geology, and nature that surrounded us. We saw pink flamingos, hilltop Cathar castle ruins, a magnificent 12th century Cistercian abbey at the base of the Pyrenees, a charming coastal village that we would never have found in the guidebooks. He took us on hikes past organic vineyards striped with white or yellow swaths of wildflowers and surrounded by ancient stone walls.

I loved the feeling of being taken care of by Pierre – no worries or planning required by us. We knew that, each day, he would mix language learning with exploring a beautiful region as our very capable teacher, chef, chauffeur, and tour guide. A truly exceptional experience. 

La Livinière is a wine lover’s paradise! That was an unexpected but very pleasant bonus to the main reason I ended up there—learning French.

I chose Pierre for my French immersion course because he dedicates a lot of time to his students, and I was not disappointed. Exploring the region with Pierre turned every day into a continuous lesson—starting with grammar in the morning and then putting it into practice while hiking or visiting local sites.

Here, you won’t just find typical lessons. You’ll have a companion and guide who takes you to charming little villages—all while speaking French. This means you’ll be fully immersed in the language, hearing and speaking it constantly, with someone who gently corrects you along the way. That’s an invaluable opportunity!

La Livinière itself quickly became one of my favorite places. I love these old villages, untouched by time. Another reason I chose Pierre and La Livinière was my desire to experience authentic French country life without the distractions of a big city.

What I didn’t expect was just how much wine and how many vineyards I would find! You could knock on every second or third door and likely meet a winemaker—many from all over the world. One of my favorites, for example, is from Norway!

In this small village, you’ll find the whole world—along with an amazing teacher who tailors the course to you personally.

Pierre was a wonderful host and his village is charming, in the heart of Minervois wine country. It was a pleasure to go on excursions to some extraordinary places – not least as I find the Cathar history fascinating, and some of the castles nearby are truly unique. We played tennis and I was able to go on very pleasant jogs in the countryside. The village benefits from an excellent, and inexpensive restaurant as well as a grocery store if you want to cook at home in the evening. Pierre’s own cooking was delicious – simple, healthy and excellent. Pierre was very responsive to my needs: I had passed a C1 exam several years ago but have some engrained errors. It was incredibly helpful to identify them with Pierre who helped me knock them out. He was also very helpful in giving me some ways of speaking more naturally. It was priceless (so it’s helpful his prices seem to be among the best value you can get!) to be able to sit down for a few hours every morning and tackle elements of grammar and colloquial usage that I’d never got my head around and then practice while walking in the afternoon. The sleeping quarters are spacious but very simple. The WiFi allowed me to work easily. Thanks Pierre!

My partner and I met up with Pierre and his daughter at the
gare de Carcassonne for a fortnight of immersion. Pierre and
I last met in October of 2019, so we were renewing our
contact.  My goal was to enjoy a full immersion, to discover
more about the Languedoc region and the village of La
Livinière, to improve my conversational skills and confidence,
and to develop my knowledge and use of correct French
grammar. Pretty big goals!
Pierre is a very experienced language teacher with a
background in etymology of languages and history. Each
morning, we met upstairs for French lessons where Pierre
made written notes, gave me extended examples, some
French everyday expressions, and explained more complex
points of grammar. I had access to some excellent textbooks
on Pierre’s bookshelf, in case I wanted extra practice.
The fortnight was a complete immersion in Pierre’s day-to-
day life. We shared breakfasts, lunches and some evening
meals (complete with apéros) with Pierre and family, where
we three chatted in both English and French about word
origins, European history, as well as daily life and habits of
the southern French people. We had two guided tours with
Chris, a local naturalist who farms lavender and olives, and
has worked with le maire to created signposted trails around
La Livinière. We interacted with Pierre’s petite fille, who is
très mignon – this enabled us to have an insight into true
family life!

During our free afternoons, we shopped at the village
épicerie, chatted with a few locals, visited the next-door
village of Siran and followed marked trails through the olive
groves and vineyards. On our excursions with Pierre, we
uncovered just some of the natural and historical riches of
Languedoc. We explored the hilltop medieval town of
Minerve, hiked between the Cathar châteaux de Lastours,
descended into the amazing natural gouffre géant de
Cabrespine, and experienced an olive oil dégustation with
Naz at the local co-operative. Before an exploration of the
amazing salt marshes around Peyriac-de-Mer, we had lunch
in the eel-fishing village of Bages. We watched the sun
setting from the hilltop quarry at Saint-Julien-des-Meulières
which was once the source of all the meulières for southern
France. A visit to beautiful Narbonne was a great way to end
a full-on fortnight.
We loved the region of Languedoc, enjoyed the little village
of La Livinière and can recommend the wine of Minervois.
Our thanks to you, Pierre, for a fortnight of complete
immersion in all aspects of southern French life !

I very much enjoyed my few days with Pierre staying in Livinière. The village and surrounding environs are simply stunning and I loved all of our excursions.

As for my attempts at speaking French….Pierre is a gentle and oh so patient teacher. Not once did he roll his eyes in despair at my brain turning to porridge but not once did he fall into letting English take over in lesson time. I think this really works and on my last morning I had a couple of hours alone in Carcassone and went off chatting in shops and even explained to some French people where the tourist office was and how to open a problematic door! On returning home my brain seemed to be trying to stay in French and that’s where the eye rolling came… from my own family saying “enough of the French! Speak English!!”.

Also….the trip is worth it simply for Pierre’s galettes. He is a very good cook.

Never having had any formal training in French, I decided a number of years ago as I neared retirement that I needed and wanted the challenge of learning a second language.  My learning since then has been pretty random, relying primarily on internet sources, such as intermediate French podcasts, youTube videos, etc.  Since I was going to be in France this fall, cycling in the Pyrenees, I felt compelled to find someone who could help me make sense of what I knew.
What luck to find Pierre!  As other students have mentioned, Pierre and I had lots of opportunities to organically discuss culture, family, politics, the region over Pierre’s excellent breakfasts, lunches, or on our afternoon hikes.  I so enjoyed this, and felt that these interactions and conversations gave me some confidence to speak.  But, back to our sheep:) the three hours daily of grammar and phonetics filled my greatest need and began to give me that foundation in the language that I was lacking.  Pierre is an excellent teacher, patient, and organized.  I keep reviewing my notes not wanting to lose what he shared with me.
Pierre’s accommodations are comfortable and quiet, with just the right amount of privacy while retaining the sense of immersion.  The village is very special, labyrinthine narrow medieval streets, small but so much to discover.
Our outings included a day with Pierre’s fun and energetic young daughter exploring the villages of Bages and Peyriac-de-Mer on the étangs at the edge of the Mediterranean, a long afternoon of vineyards and capitelles around La Livinières, and two days of hikes in canyons and to some of the remarkable châteaux of the Cathares.  These were active and educational outings, perfect for me.  
I learned a lot from Pierre, and felt that I was on a good trajectory to learn more but alas the week ended, and I regretted that I couldn’t stay longer.  I will not hesitate to return if I find the opportunity.

I just returned from an incredible immersive experience with Pierre at French Today, during which I was able to get personalized attention learning the language, exploring local olive groves, hiking among castles ruins, and visiting a charming fishing village. Pierre’s love of the his country and its history was ever present, making my acquisition of the French language truly enjoyable.

I had a fantastic week with Pierre in La Livinière. I can’t imagine a more interesting, stimulating and educational week! Pierre is an extremely gifted teacher who is patient, clear, and knowledgeable. I truly enjoyed every minute of my stay. 

My experience with Pierre was a complete educational vacation in France. I loved the small village of La Liviniére with its narrow alleys, cobblestone streets, and ancient church, located in a lovely valley filled with vineyards and olive groves. His comfortable and historic house is located in the center of the village, and I found myself far away from tourists truly experiencing French life in Occitane/Provence. I can honestly say that I had the best meals of my month-long trip in France at the local restaurant, Les Meulières in La Liviniére. 

The immersion experience was a wonderful combination of classes and leisurely conversation that took place at breakfast, lunches and afternoon walks and excursions. The conversations provided the opportunity to practice the classroom lessons and to practice speaking French that went far beyond simple communication exercises. Somehow, with Pierre’s patient guidance, I was able to talk about all manner of subjects of mutual interest including French history (as motivated by the cultural and geographic features of the region), French cultural practices, life in small French towns, world events, politics, and anything at all that occurred to us. I was continually surprised at how much I could communicate and understand with his help. 

The classes took place between the delicious breakfasts and lunches that Pierre served. The focus was on French conversation as motivated by questions that arose naturally in our conversations. Pierre would take such questions and, with graceful ease, place the questions within a much broader educational context of essential modes of expression and French manners of communication. He explained not just how to communicate but also provided clear explanations of the grammatical basis so that I could adapt these ideas to my daily French. He provided loads of examples to really drive home the ideas. After every lesson, I would hurry back to my room to clarify my hastily written notes and to more fully incorporate his gems of wisdom and helpful techniques for improving my French.

I thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon outings. These were relaxed events that included walks through the rolling countryside enjoying the scenic vistas of Mediterranean France and learning about the unique and incredibly aromatic plant life of the Provence “Garrigue” environment, including sampling wild pomegranates, figs, grapes, rose hips, etc. One another afternoon, I learned all about growing and harvesting olives and olive oil at a community cooperative (and brought home some absolutely wonderful olive oil). And, best of all for me, we visited several incredible 12th century chateau/fortresses perched on dramatic ridges that embodied a rich history of medieval France and its conflicts with the rest of Europe. So much fun! 

About me: I am an older student (66) with a long-ago two years of French in high-school who has tried to make progress using on-line tools mostly on occasions of visits to France. I thought of myself as an advanced beginner with quite marginal communications skills. I certainly felt “I wasn’t good enough yet” to try a week of immersion as a solo student. I couldn’t have been more wrong! It was a super beneficial and useful week that dramatically improved my speaking and understanding of French, all while learning about French culture, geography and history.

I spent two weeks doing a French immersion course with Pierre at his charming little village in La Liviniere. It was thoroughly enjoyable and a real immersion into the French language and the local history. Pierre was very attentive to ensure that every morning that we spent learning French met my needs and always made me feel at ease no matter how many mistakes I made. And he corrected them with so much patience. I really enjoyed interacting with him, learning daily new French expressions used by French in their day-to-day interactions. For me it was a real French immersion experience. We had breakfast and lunch together every day during which we conversed with each other. After lunch Pierre organised an outing with me and that was always special. There were hikes that we did, we visited medieval villages and historic sites with castle ruins dating from ancient times. All the outings were amazing, and the best thing was that Pierre is so knowledgeable in the local region and the local history, it was as if I had a local guide with me. Anyone who is seeking an authentic French immersion experience, I really recommend Pierre to you.

If you are looking for a genuinely immersive experience, you will find it at Pierre’s house in the quaint village of La Livinière. You will truly be sharing his home- his delicious garden-fresh lunches, his TV room, his patio, and even the shower room- while still having your own separate space with WC and kitchenette on the ground floor. Pierre warmly welcomed me and my entire family (spouse and children aged 10 & 7) into his home. He was patient and kind with my children, helpful in his French lessons with me, and led the whole family on amazing afternoon excursions that allowed us to explore the beautiful Occitanie region, learn about its history and geography, improve our French, all while having fun. The children especially enjoyed meeting his adorable daughter Anaïs. Thank you Pierre, for nurturing my family’s love of the French language and culture!

My wife and I originally booked an immersion week with Pierre for 2020. However, much to our dispappointment, COVID ended up derailing those plans. As 2024 was approaching, we wanted to make spending a week with Pierre part of our 40 anniversary  in France. It was worth the wait ! My wife is relatively new to French, whereas I am at a more experienced level. Despite the disparity of our levels of French, Pierre was able to make our learning time effective and interesting  for both of us. Pierre’s knowledge of language and his ability to teach spoken French in an immersion style is exceptional. My wife was hoping to learn more of the basics of French and to establish a proper foundation upon which she could build. I was hoping to have the opportunity just to speak a lot of French, with the objective of correcting recurring mistakes of grammar, pronunciation, and accent so that French speakers would stop switching to English whenever I try to speak with them. We both got what we were hoping for ! After our week with Pierre, we spent a second week in France on a self-guided bike tour in the Dordogne/Lot area of Freance, and I can honestly say that among the dozens of interactions and conversations I had with francophones that week, there was only  one person who preferred to speakin English with me (the front desk Clerk at the Mariott in Toulouse).

In addition to the excellent learning experience, staying at Pierre’s place was also just what we were hoping for. We prefer to experience France in  the countryside closer to the people’s lives rather than in big, fancy, touristy cities. La Livinière  was just what the doctor ordered.

Additionally, Pierre’s cooking was excellent. One of my wife’s favorite French dishes savory galettes, and Pierre’s were superb ! He even made sure we had them twice !

Pierre also took us on several excrusions and beautiful hikes. We saw ancient ruins, châteaux, beautiful hamlets and villages, just to name a few. Pierre is very knowledgeable about almost everything-culture, history, plants, birds, geography, you name it ! He is also a good tennis player. Knowing that we were tennis enthusiasts, Pierre  made arrangements for us to play at his club. In addition to some fun tennis, he taught us a lot of tennis vocabulary. It will be a lot more fun the next time I watch the French Open !

Overall, our stay with Pierre was an outstanding experience and we would positively recommend an immersion stay with Pierre !

Pierre is an unusually gifted French teacher. I have taken classes and used tutors multiple times before to learn French and no one has explained things as clearly as Pierre. Not only were his sessions specifically tailored to my needs, but he patiently pushed me to a level I never expected to reach in two weeks. His teaching format is a great combination: morning sessions with more formal content and afternoon outings that provide an opportunity for relaxed and extended conversation while touring or hiking in the beautiful region near his picturesque village. He is also a delightful cook! I strongly recommend him.

Pierre is an excellent teacher and an impressive guide to his very interesting region.  I have pages and pages of notes from his lessons! He was also really fun to hang around with.  I learned so much about the history of this part of France.  We visited historic villages, an olive oil factory and hiked among ancient chateaus. Pierre is serious about his teaching and his guiding.  I found myself working harder than I expected to, but also learning more! The same is true for my understanding of history.  It is a passion of Pierre’s, and he imparts his enthusiasm!  My family and friends would have been shocked to see me climbing to see ancient chateaus, but my 75 year old self did it and was glad I did (even though I flaked out before reaching the last two.)

Pierre’s home is in a small historic village.  My space on the first floor of his home was very comfortable.  Our meals were very good and full of conversation as were our drives through the gorgeous countryside. My week with Pierre pushed me in many ways and I’m so glad it did.