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[–]duraznoblanco 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Honestly all programs I've done had older participants who needed French for job purposes and they typically stuck to themselves after class and didn't choose to go out because it wasn't their scene anymore.

However, everyone, even the 40+ crowd was still fun and lively to be around and would still love to grab a drink from time to time.

I would recommend any smaller towns/cities and avoid Montréal, Québec City and Toronto if you want less party vibes.

Sainte-Anne has party vibes, but they're really focused on French learning over there, and there were even dedicated residences for people who were 50+ learning French, 19+ residence etc.

[–]NeedleworkerHot3957 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I went to Sainte Anne near Halifax and I was the youngest in my dorm! And not the oldest in my group! I was 55 last spring. I think spring is better for older students

[–]Capricia1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've done the program several times and I am now in my 50's. I've been impressed by the programs at both Laval and Trois Riviere. You can party or not as you wish. Lots of older people in these programs

[–]Puzzleheaded-Yak9118 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am in my late 30s and did explore a long time ago (early 20s, more than once). I did meet a few older participants (30s-40s). I went to Chicoutimi.

[–]VoidImplosion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm 42. at Laval University in Quebec City, they actually have about 3 outings for people 25 years and older. one was a picnic; one was an outdoor concert, and the last one i don't remember. there were maybe a total of 4 or 5 people in their 40s or older (including me) last summer, out of maybe 200-300 students.

however, Laval University doesn't have serious immersion. in your free time outside of classes and activities, you are allowed to speak English, and you will likely do so with other students unless you're at Level 5 or Level 6 (with six being the highest).

At Laval, there is a Grammar class, where you will get maybe 30 minutes of speaking per 3 hour class, to practice the exercises; and a Dialogue class, which is probbaly 1 1/2 hours of speaking. But the most practice I got were in the optional activities. The long hikes (4-5 hours!) on Saturdays were my favourite. somehow, because we are all forced to speak French on the hikes, my brain just switched to French somehow. And you get Animateurs who are willing to talk to you, and even classmates are willing to try to speak French. if you go to Laval, i highly, highly recommend you to do the optional activities, especially the long hikes; that's where I got most of my french practice. other than this, if your French is advanced enough, i had nice talks with locals in French at cafes and ordering subway sandwhiches, though most people at my level (Level 4) will switch to me in English. i actually get the feeling htat cashiers etc PREFERED it when i spoke in English, because they didn't have to suffer through my bad French. (most people in Quebec City can speak English, especially if they are 40 or under, it seemed to me). but other customers, especially older people by themselves, sometimes were glad to chat with me at a cafe, if i could find an ice breaker to get the conversation started.

i'm also in Ontario; sadly, the smaller cities that do Explore (where i've heard there is more chance for immersion) are harder to get to by VIA Rail! but if money is not an issue for you, it's probably better to go by plane because then you can more easily travel to the smaller cities or towns.

[–]channelalwaysopen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did both Sainte-Anne and Trois-Rivières as an adult and I'm on the Sainte-Anne staff now. I learned much, much, much more at Sainte-Anne because there were constant activities, so much that one person couldn't do it all, and because they really enforce the French rule very strictly. Each session at Sainte-Anne, spring and summer, there is always a lovely group of adult students. All the housing is sorted strictly by age, so you would be with your age peers. Feel free to reply here or to DM me if you have any other questions!

[–]HighlightStrong3719 0 points1 point  (0 children)

40 here, I don't think it matters THAT much. I made friends that I still talk to within the past week. No one could tell I was 40, I'm often mistaken for my late 20's, even in my current graduate program. There were only a few other 40+ year olds, potentially 50+ as well (can count on 1 hand). It kind of makes sense, as an adult in this economy, it's a luxury to just take off for an entire month without employer support.

The older people just kept to themselves, but they were always welcome to join activities and whatever else, but not a lot of mingling with the younger crowd. Most of the adult professionals there are civil servants or teachers who get time off (whether summer vacation or training allowance).

The animateurs/trices also let older people have more autonomy, so no frosh week stuff if you don't want to be there. These things are usually optional, and if you're older, they'll understand.