SLO French Group welcomes intermediate speakers to join weekly chats

Every week, at a coffee shop somewhere in San Luis Obispo, a group of France-loving locals meet to practice their French and get to know each other. 

This group is called the SLO French Group, which was founded by Caroline Bennet. She started taking French classes in high school and continued throughout college where she studied abroad in France twice. 

After graduating college, Bennet wanted to stay on top of her French while also meeting new people in the areas where she lived. 

Over the last ten years, she has started and led three different French groups, including the one in San Luis Obispo, which has been meeting for the last six months. 

“Before I started going to French groups, my French was kind of just stuck at the same level I was after college,” Bennet said. “And since going every week, I’m really motivated to learn new words when I don’t know a word during the group, and I’ve improved a lot.”

The group meets once a week at different coffee shop locations around San Luis Obispo. As the group’s leader, Bennet chooses where they will meet. 

“I just go exploring and check which coffee shops are cute and hopefully find one that’s quiet so we can hear each other,” Bennet said. 

On Feb 15, the group met at House of Bread in the Farmhouse Corner Market. Currently, the group is made up of four regulars and any new people who decide to join in on the French conversations on any given week. 

“I just love meeting new people that are also interested in France, and I like that we meet once a week so we get to know each other really well and keep up with each other’s lives,” Bennet said. 

The SLO French Group welcomes all intermediate French speakers who are looking to improve their conversational French skills. The group typically meets on Wednesday afternoons. 

To find out where the next meeting will be, visit the SLO French Group on Meetup.