Summer Language Courses: How to Choose, What to Expect, and Why They Work
Last summer, a 42-year-old accountant named David from Manchester decided to do something he had been putting off for twenty years. He booked a four-week intensive French course in Lyon. His wife thought he was having a midlife crisis. His colleagues assumed he was going on a beach holiday and just saying "language course" to sound more impressive. David himself was not entirely sure what he was doing. He had studied French in secondary school, remembered almost nothing beyond "je m'appelle David," and felt a knot in his stomach the entire flight over.
Four weeks later, David sat in a boulangerie near the Rhone, chatting with the owner about the difference between pain de campagne and pain complet. He stumbled over words. He conjugated things incorrectly. But the baker understood him, corrected him gently, and threw in an extra croissant because, as she put it, "your accent is terrible but your effort is beautiful." David still talks about that croissant. He says it was the best thing he ever ate, not because of the pastry, but because of what it meant.
That is what a summer language course can do. Not instant fluency. Not some magical transformation where you wake up dreaming in another language. But a shift, a real and measurable shift, in your ability to connect with people in their own words. And that shift, once it happens, changes the way you see travel, work, and even yourself.
This guide walks through everything you need to know about summer language courses: why summer works so well for language learning, what types of programs exist, how to pick the right one, what they cost, and how to squeeze every last drop of value out of your time. Whether you are a parent researching camps for your kids, a professional eyeing a career boost, or a retiree finally chasing a dream, the information here will help you make a smart decision.
Why Summer Is the Best Time to Learn a Language
There is a reason language schools around the world see their enrollment spike between June and September. It is not just because people have time off. It is because summer creates the perfect conditions for the kind of focused, intensive learning that actually produces results.
Most language learners follow a pattern during the rest of the year. They sign up for a class that meets once or twice a week. They study for an hour, go home, get absorbed back into their normal routines, and by the time the next class rolls around, they have forgotten half of what they covered. Researchers call this the "spacing problem." While spaced repetition has its benefits for long-term memory, the gaps between sessions in a typical weekly course are too wide for the brain to build momentum.
Summer changes that equation. When you study a language four or five hours a day for several weeks straight, something different happens in your brain. The patterns start to click. Vocabulary stops feeling like a list of disconnected words and starts feeling like a toolkit. Listening comprehension improves because your ears never get a chance to "reset" to your native language between sessions.
A 2019 study from the University of Maryland tracked two groups of Spanish learners. One group took a traditional semester-long course meeting three times per week. The other took an intensive summer course with the same total number of instructional hours compressed into five weeks. Six months after both courses ended, the intensive group retained 80 percent of new vocabulary compared to 35 percent for the traditional group. The grammar retention gap was similar. Same material, same total hours, radically different results.
Beyond the cognitive science, summer offers practical advantages that the rest of the year simply does not. The weather is warm, which means more time outdoors, more social interaction, more spontaneous conversations in cafes and parks and markets. If you are studying abroad, summer is when cities come alive with festivals, outdoor dining, concerts, and street life. Language is a living thing, and it thrives in living environments. A July evening strolling through a Spanish plaza, overhearing conversations, reading menus posted outside restaurants, and chatting with other people enjoying the warm air teaches you things that a December evening at a desk with a textbook never will.
There is also the psychological factor. Summer feels different. It feels like a break from normal life, a window of possibility. People are more open to new experiences, more willing to look foolish, more relaxed about making mistakes. That mental state is incredibly valuable for language learning, because the biggest barrier for most adults is not a lack of talent or time. It is fear. Fear of sounding stupid, fear of being corrected, fear of not understanding. When you are on a summer adventure, that fear loosens its grip.
Finally, for students and families, summer aligns with school schedules in a way that no other season does. Children are out of school. University students are between terms. Even working professionals tend to have more flexibility with vacation days. The window is there, waiting to be used, and using it for language learning is one of the most productive things you can do with a few weeks of free time.
Types of Summer Language Courses Available
The world of summer language courses is much broader than most people realize. It is not just "fly to Spain and study Spanish in a classroom." There are programs designed for every age group, every budget, every learning style, and every level of adventure tolerance. Understanding the landscape helps you find the right fit.
The most traditional option is a full immersion program abroad. You travel to a country where your target language is spoken, enroll at a language school, and spend two to eight weeks surrounded by the language. Classes in the morning, cultural activities in the afternoon, and conversations with locals in the evening. The schools are often located in cities with long traditions of hosting international students: Salamanca and Barcelona for Spanish, Montpellier and Nice for French, Berlin and Munich for German, Florence and Siena for Italian. The accommodation might be a host family, a student residence, or a rented apartment, each with its own advantages.
Then there are language camps, which are designed specifically for children and teenagers. These programs take the immersion concept and wrap it in age-appropriate activities like sports, arts, theater, and outdoor adventures. The language is the medium rather than the subject. Kids learn by doing things they enjoy, with counselors and instructors who speak only the target language. Camps can be residential (the child stays overnight) or day camps (the child comes home each evening). Some are located abroad, while others operate domestically with imported native-speaking staff.
Intensive adult courses represent a middle ground between full immersion abroad and casual weekly classes at home. These programs run 15 to 25 hours per week at a local language school or cultural institute. You get the serious, focused instruction of a summer program without the expense and logistics of international travel. They work especially well for people who need to reach a specific level for professional or academic reasons.
Online summer intensives are the newest category, and they have matured considerably since their pandemic-era origins. These programs use live video classes with qualified teachers, interactive platforms, virtual conversation groups, and structured homework to deliver intensive instruction from wherever you happen to be. The best online programs pair synchronous classes (live sessions with real-time interaction) with asynchronous work (exercises, recordings, and reading you do at your own pace).
Finally, there are hybrid programs that combine elements of multiple formats. You might start with two weeks of online preparation, then travel abroad for two weeks of immersion, then continue with online follow-up sessions after you return home. These blended approaches are growing in popularity because they address the biggest weakness of short summer programs: the lack of continuity before and after the intensive period.
Intensive Summer Programs vs Regular Courses
The difference between an intensive summer program and a regular language course is not just speed. It is a fundamentally different learning experience, and understanding that difference helps you decide which one suits your situation.
A regular course, the kind offered by most language schools and community colleges, typically meets once or twice a week for 60 to 90 minutes per session. Progress is steady but slow. You might spend an entire academic year covering material that an intensive course covers in a month. The advantage is sustainability: it fits around a busy schedule, the financial commitment is modest, and you have plenty of time to digest each lesson before moving on. The disadvantage is that your brain keeps resetting. By the time your next class arrives, the neural pathways you started building last week have already begun to fade.
An intensive summer course flips that dynamic. Instead of two hours a week, you are doing 15 to 25 hours a week. Instead of processing new material over days, you are processing it within hours and then reinforcing it the same afternoon. The pace is faster, the expectations are higher, and the cognitive load is real. You will feel tired. Your brain will sometimes feel like it is full. That discomfort is the point. It means you are building new neural connections faster than you would in a standard course.
The research supports this. A comprehensive review published in the Modern Language Journal compared outcomes across 45 language programs of varying intensity. The conclusion was clear: students in intensive programs not only learned faster in terms of clock time but also retained more of what they learned. The researchers attributed this to "contextual reinforcement," the way intensive exposure helps the brain connect new words and structures to meaningful experiences rather than treating them as abstract information.
There is a practical dimension too. In an intensive course, you get to know your classmates and teacher much better. You are spending hours together every day, struggling with the same material, celebrating the same breakthroughs. That social bond creates accountability and motivation that a weekly class rarely achieves. When you know you will see the same people tomorrow, and they will notice if your preparation slips, you study harder.
The honest downside of intensive courses is exhaustion. Not everyone thrives under that kind of pressure. Some learners need time to process information slowly, to let it marinate, to review at their own pace. If you know from experience that you learn best with generous spacing between sessions, an intensive course might frustrate rather than energize you. The good news is that many programs offer different intensity levels: "semi-intensive" courses at 10 to 15 hours per week provide a middle path that gives you concentration without burnout.
Summer Language Camps for Kids and Teenagers
For parents, summer language camps offer something that regular tutoring or school classes rarely achieve: genuine enthusiasm. A child who groans through Friday afternoon French at school might light up at a language camp where learning happens through soccer, swimming, art projects, and campfire songs.
The difference is context. In a classroom, language is the subject. At a camp, language is the tool. A child playing capture the flag with a team of kids from six countries, with a counselor who only speaks Spanish, is not "studying Spanish." They are using Spanish to win the game, negotiate strategy, celebrate victory, and complain about the rules. The language becomes functional and emotional, tied to experiences that matter to the child. That is how languages are actually acquired in the real world.
For younger children, typically ages 6 to 12, the best camps are heavily activity-based. The day might include morning language workshops that feel more like games than lessons, followed by swimming, nature hikes, cooking, arts and crafts, and drama. The target language is used throughout, not as formal instruction but as the natural medium of communication. Children at this age absorb pronunciation and intonation remarkably well, often picking up accents that adult learners can never quite match.
For teenagers, camps tend to be more structured. There may be formal language classes in the morning, often organized by level, combined with afternoon activities and excursions. Many teen programs include project-based learning: creating a short film, organizing a talent show, writing and performing a play, or running a mock business. These projects require collaboration, negotiation, and presentation, all in the target language, and they produce a sense of accomplishment that builds confidence.
When evaluating camps for your child, pay attention to several factors beyond the glossy brochure. Staff-to-student ratios matter enormously. A ratio of one counselor to eight campers is good. One to twelve is acceptable. Anything higher than that raises questions about supervision quality and individual attention. Ask about the staff's qualifications: are they just native speakers, or do they have training in working with children and in language pedagogy? There is a significant difference.
Safety protocols deserve scrutiny, especially for residential camps or programs abroad. What is the camp's policy on medical emergencies? How do they handle homesickness? What are the rules around unsupervised time, phone use, and contact with parents? A reputable camp will have clear, detailed answers to all of these questions and will welcome your asking.
The results from well-run language camps can be striking. Children who attend a two-week Spanish camp, for example, often return home with a noticeably improved accent, a vocabulary that extends well beyond the classroom basics, and, most importantly, a positive association with the language that makes them more willing to continue learning. That last point might be the most valuable outcome of all. A child who thinks of Spanish as "the language I used at that amazing camp where I learned to kayak" is far more likely to keep studying than a child who thinks of it as "the subject I get tested on every Thursday."
How to Choose the Right Summer Language Course
Choosing the right course is where many people go wrong, not because the options are bad but because the options are overwhelming. Hundreds of schools in dozens of countries offer summer programs, and they all claim to be the best. Here is how to cut through the noise.
Start with your goals. This sounds obvious, but most people skip it. "I want to learn French" is not a goal. "I want to reach B1 in French so I can handle basic conversations during my transfer to our Paris office in October" is a goal. "I want my 14-year-old daughter to have a positive experience with Spanish that motivates her to keep studying" is a goal. The clearer your goal, the easier it becomes to evaluate whether a particular program can deliver.
Next, consider accreditation. Reputable language schools are accredited by recognized bodies: the Instituto Cervantes for Spanish, Qualite FLE for French, the Goethe-Institut for German, the British Council or EAQUALS for English, and ASILS for Italian. Accreditation means the school has been independently evaluated on teacher qualifications, class sizes, facilities, and curriculum quality. It does not guarantee a perfect experience, but it sets a floor. Unaccredited schools might be wonderful, or they might be someone who rented a classroom and put up a website. The risk is yours.
Class size is one of the strongest predictors of satisfaction and outcomes. In a class of four students, you speak for roughly 15 minutes out of every hour. In a class of twelve, that drops to about five minutes. For a communicative skill like language, speaking time is everything. Look for programs that cap classes at six to eight students. If the school lists a maximum of 15 and an "average" of 8, be aware that you might end up in that class of 15, especially during peak summer months.
Teacher quality matters more than any other single factor, and it is also the hardest to evaluate in advance. A native speaker is not automatically a good teacher. Look for schools that require formal teaching qualifications (CELTA, DELTA, or university degrees in language pedagogy), that invest in ongoing professional development, and that have low teacher turnover. High turnover is a red flag suggesting poor working conditions, which directly affects the quality of your instruction.
Read reviews, but read them critically. A single glowing review might be written by the school's marketing department. A single scathing review might come from someone who was unhappy for reasons unrelated to the school's quality. Look for patterns across many reviews. If fifteen different people mention that the grammar instruction was excellent but the afternoon activities were disorganized, that is useful information. Pay particular attention to reviews from people who match your profile in age, level, and goals.
Consider the location carefully. A school in central Barcelona offers a very different experience from one in a small town in Castilla y Leon. Barcelona gives you nightlife, cultural attractions, and a cosmopolitan atmosphere, but it also gives you hordes of tourists speaking English and higher prices. Salamanca gives you a quieter, more affordable experience with clearer Spanish and fewer temptations to default to English. Neither is objectively better. The right choice depends on what you want from the experience.
Finally, do not underestimate the importance of accommodation. Where you sleep and eat shapes your learning as much as where you study. A host family provides immersion at the dinner table, but it also means house rules, shared bathrooms, and less privacy. A student residence is social and fun, but it can be noisy. An apartment gives you freedom but removes the built-in social interaction that accelerates learning. Think honestly about what environment brings out your best, and choose accordingly.
Study Abroad Summer Programs: What to Know
Studying abroad for a summer is one of the most effective ways to learn a language, but it is also one of the most logistically complex. Getting it right requires planning that goes well beyond choosing a school.
The first consideration is visa requirements. For EU citizens studying within Europe, this is straightforward: no visa needed. For citizens of countries outside the EU, the rules depend on the destination country and the length of your stay. Many European countries allow visa-free stays of up to 90 days for citizens of the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, and several other countries, which covers most summer programs. But if your program runs longer, or if you are from a country that requires a visa for any length of stay, you will need to start the application process months in advance. Check the consulate website of your destination country and do not rely on the language school for visa advice.
Health insurance is another essential. Many countries require proof of health coverage for international students, and your domestic insurance may not cover you abroad. Travel insurance policies that include medical coverage, trip cancellation, and personal liability typically cost 50 to 150 euros for a month-long trip and are well worth the investment.
Flights and transport deserve early attention. Summer is peak travel season, and prices for flights within Europe, and especially from North America or Asia, climb steeply as June approaches. Booking three to four months ahead can save you 30 to 50 percent compared to last-minute prices. Once you arrive, find out about local transport options. Many cities offer monthly transit passes at student rates, and some language schools provide airport transfers.
Cultural adjustment is real, even for short stays. You might assume that spending a month in France or Spain will be easy because you have traveled before. But living somewhere is different from visiting. You will need to navigate grocery stores, laundromats, pharmacies, and public transport, all in a language you are still learning. The first few days can be disorienting. This is normal. Give yourself permission to feel confused and tired. It passes quickly, usually within the first week, and what replaces it is a growing sense of competence that is deeply satisfying.
Money management matters more than most people anticipate. Daily expenses in a foreign country add up fast: meals out, coffee, transport, entrance fees, weekend travel. Set a realistic daily budget before you arrive and track your spending. A month in a moderately priced European city (outside the major capitals) might cost 30 to 50 euros per day for food, transport, and incidentals, on top of your accommodation and tuition. In expensive cities like Paris, Zurich, or London, expect 50 to 80 euros per day.
One factor people often overlook is the social environment. You will be spending weeks in a new place where you know nobody. Some programs do an excellent job of building community through organized activities, welcome dinners, weekend excursions, and student common areas. Others dump you in a classroom and leave the rest to you. If you are someone who struggles to build social connections in unfamiliar environments, look for programs that offer structured social opportunities. Loneliness is a real risk in study-abroad programs, and it can sabotage your motivation and your learning.
Online Summer Language Courses Worth Considering
Not everyone can pack a bag and fly to another country for the summer. Work obligations, family responsibilities, health limitations, and budget constraints are all legitimate barriers. Online summer language courses have matured into a serious alternative that deserves genuine consideration.
The best online programs are not just video calls with a teacher. They are structured, multi-component experiences that combine live classes, interactive exercises, asynchronous content, and conversation practice. A well-designed online intensive might look like this: two hours of live class each morning with a qualified teacher and a small group of students, followed by an hour of independent work (grammar exercises, listening practice, reading assignments), followed by a 30-minute conversation session with a native speaker in the afternoon.
The technology has improved dramatically. Virtual classrooms now support breakout rooms for pair work, shared whiteboards for grammar explanations, real-time polls and quizzes for engagement, and recording features so you can review classes you missed. Some programs use AI-powered pronunciation tools that give you instant feedback on your accent and intonation. Others integrate spaced-repetition flashcard systems that sync with the vocabulary from your course.
The key advantage of online programs is flexibility. You can join a summer intensive taught by teachers in Madrid while sitting at your kitchen table in Toronto. You can fit classes around a part-time job or childcare responsibilities. You can study at a school that would otherwise be out of reach because of travel costs. And if you have health conditions that make travel difficult, online programs open doors that would otherwise be closed.
The disadvantage is the absence of immersion. No matter how good the online experience is, you still live in your native language environment. When class ends, your family speaks English, your neighborhood speaks English, your TV is in English. That constant pull back to your comfort zone slows progress compared to what you would experience living abroad. Online learners need more self-discipline to create a "mini-immersion" at home: changing phone settings to the target language, watching movies and TV shows without English subtitles, listening to podcasts, and seeking out conversation partners.
When evaluating online programs, look for the same quality markers as in-person schools: qualified teachers with formal training, small class sizes (six to eight students maximum for live sessions), a structured curriculum with clear learning objectives, and reviews from previous students. Be skeptical of programs that rely heavily on pre-recorded content or that use the word "AI-powered" to disguise the absence of real human teachers. Technology is a useful supplement, but at the intermediate levels and above, the nuances of language require a trained human being who can understand context, correct subtle errors, and adapt to your individual needs.
Pricing for online summer intensives is typically 40 to 60 percent lower than equivalent in-person programs. A four-week online intensive with 15 hours per week of live instruction might cost 400 to 800 euros, compared to 1,000 to 2,000 euros for an in-person equivalent (before accommodation and travel). For many learners, that price difference alone makes the decision.
How Much Do Summer Language Courses Cost
Money is usually the first or second question people ask about summer language courses, and the honest answer is that the range is enormous. You can spend under 500 euros or over 10,000 euros depending on the format, location, duration, and level of luxury you choose.
At the budget end, an online summer intensive with a reputable school might cost 100 to 200 euros per week for 10 to 15 hours of live instruction. A four-week program at that rate comes to 400 to 800 euros total. You save on accommodation, flights, and daily expenses because you study from home. For a learner on a tight budget, this is the most cost-effective path to meaningful progress.
A local intensive course at a language school in your own city typically runs 200 to 400 euros per week, depending on the city and the school. A four-week program costs 800 to 1,600 euros. You still save on accommodation and flights, but you pay more for the in-person instruction and the overhead costs of a physical classroom.
An immersion program abroad is where the costs climb. Tuition alone ranges from 200 to 500 euros per week at most schools, with premium programs charging up to 800 euros per week. But tuition is only part of the picture. Accommodation adds 150 to 400 euros per week for a host family or shared apartment, or 300 to 700 euros per week for a private studio or hotel. Flights within Europe might cost 100 to 400 euros round trip, while intercontinental flights can range from 500 to 1,500 euros. Daily expenses (food, transport, entertainment) add another 200 to 400 euros per week in a moderately priced city.
Adding it all up, a three-week immersion program abroad typically costs 2,500 to 5,000 euros all in, with four-week programs running 3,500 to 7,000 euros. An eight-week program can easily exceed 10,000 euros.
Language camps for children cost 500 to 1,500 euros per week for residential programs, including accommodation, meals, activities, and instruction. A two-week camp runs 1,000 to 3,000 euros, plus travel. Day camps are cheaper, typically 200 to 500 euros per week, but they do not provide the immersion effect of a residential program.
A few ways to reduce costs without sacrificing quality. Book early: many schools offer early-bird discounts of 10 to 15 percent for bookings made before March. Look for package deals that bundle tuition and accommodation. Consider less popular destinations: a school in Salamanca or Seville costs significantly less than one in Barcelona or Madrid, and the quality of instruction is often comparable or even better. Ask about scholarships and grants: some schools and cultural institutions (like the DAAD for German, or Alliance Francaise for French) offer financial assistance for summer language study. Check whether your employer offers professional development budgets that could cover part of the cost, especially if the language is relevant to your work.
Making the Most of Your Summer Language Course
Enrolling is the easy part. The hard part is making sure you actually get results that justify the time and money you invest. The difference between students who come home transformed and students who come home saying "it was nice, I guess" usually comes down to a handful of habits and decisions.
Set specific goals before you arrive. Not vague goals like "improve my French," but concrete, measurable ones like "be able to have a 15-minute conversation about my work" or "understand the main points of a news broadcast" or "read a short novel without a dictionary." Write them down. Share them with your teacher on the first day. Revisit them each week and adjust if needed.
Talk to your teacher about your weaknesses. Many students are too polite or too embarrassed to say, "I really struggle with listening comprehension" or "my pronunciation is bad and I want help." Teachers cannot read your mind. If you tell them what you need, they can tailor their feedback and assign exercises that target those specific areas.
Speak the target language outside of class, even when it is uncomfortable. Especially when it is uncomfortable. The moments when you fumble for words, when you say something awkward, when you butcher a pronunciation so badly that someone asks you to repeat yourself three times: those moments are where the real learning happens. Every time you push through discomfort instead of switching to your native language, you build a neural pathway that gets stronger with use.
Keep a daily journal in the target language. Even ten minutes each evening, writing about what you did, what you learned, what surprised you. The act of producing language in writing forces you to recall vocabulary and structures actively rather than passively. It also creates a record of your progress that you can look back on with satisfaction.
Use technology as a tool, not a crutch. Change your phone language settings. Follow news accounts and social media in the target language. Use flashcard apps like Anki to review vocabulary. Listen to podcasts during your morning walk. But set boundaries too. Two hours of scrolling social media in English after class can undo half of what you absorbed that morning.
Build genuine relationships. The students who get the most from summer programs are the ones who form real connections: a shopkeeper who chats with them each morning, a classmate who becomes a long-term conversation partner, a host family they stay in touch with for years. These relationships give you a reason to keep improving long after the program ends.
Avoid the common traps. Do not spend all your free time with people who speak your native language. Do not skip homework because you are "on vacation." Do not try to cram too many tourist activities into your schedule at the expense of rest and study. And do not compare your progress to the prodigy in your class who seems to absorb grammar effortlessly. Everyone learns at a different pace, and the only comparison that matters is between who you were on day one and who you are on the last day.
What to Do After Your Summer Course Ends
The weeks after a summer course are where most people lose what they gained. Without continued exposure, a good part of the vocabulary you picked up over the summer starts slipping within weeks, and by the third month much of it is gone. That is a devastating waste of time, money, and effort. But it is preventable.
The single most important thing you can do is establish a daily routine of language exposure before you even leave the program. Not a grueling study schedule. Something small and sustainable: 20 minutes of a podcast during your commute, 15 minutes of reading before bed, a weekly conversation with a language partner. The key word is daily. Small daily doses beat large weekly sessions for retention.
Find a conversation partner or join a language exchange. Apps like Tandem, HelloTalk, and ConversationExchange connect you with native speakers who want to learn your language while helping you practice theirs. A 30-minute weekly video call with a conversation partner keeps your speaking skills active and gives you accountability.
Continue consuming media in the target language. Switch the language on one of your streaming services and watch shows with subtitles in the target language (not in English). Listen to radio stations and podcasts from the country where you studied. Follow journalists, comedians, and cultural figures on social media. The goal is to keep the language present in your daily life even when you are no longer surrounded by it.
Consider enrolling in a regular course at a local school. A weekly class of 90 minutes is not intensive, but it provides structure, a teacher who can answer questions, and a social context for continued learning. Many students find that after an intensive summer experience, regular classes feel easier and more enjoyable because they have a stronger foundation.
Set a concrete next goal. If you reached A2 during your summer course, aim for B1 by December. If you reached B1, target B2 by next spring. Register for a proficiency exam like DELE, DELF, Goethe-Zertifikat, or CILS to give yourself a deadline and a formal assessment. Nothing motivates continued study like a test date on the calendar.
Stay connected with people from your program. The classmates, teachers, and local friends you made during the summer are a living link to the language. Send messages in the target language. Plan a reunion trip. Join the school's alumni network if one exists. These connections transform a one-time experience into an ongoing relationship with the language and the culture.
Finally, start thinking about next summer. One of the best patterns for adult language learners is what some educators call "annual immersion," a short intensive course each summer, combined with regular study throughout the year. Each summer accelerates you forward, and the year of steady study prevents you from sliding back. Over three to four cycles, learners routinely progress from zero to B2 or even C1, a level of genuine fluency that opens doors professionally and personally.
David, the accountant from Manchester, followed exactly this pattern. He went back to Lyon the following summer for another three weeks. His baker remembered him. His pronunciation, she told him, was still terrible. But his grammar had improved. And this time, he did not need the sympathy croissant. He earned it.
