At the end of the Ancien Regime a non-free, multidimensional modern language teaching offer developed in Paris. Newspaper advertisements especially provide a rich tapestry of the different pedagogical modalities including private and public urban sociabilities and trading ideas and goods. Although modern languages were rarely taught in schools during the Ancien Regime, they were part of pedagogical practices and arrangements within the household which comprised domestic service as well as boarding and the exchange of talents. Furthermore the interest for learning languages helped boost urban educational business (public classes, language schools) which was, initially, intended for men but became increasingly appealing for women too. This pedagogical offer created real schooling outside school where more than two thirds of languages concerned were Italian, German and, then English, which would rank top. The specific case of language teaching helps shed new light on the dynamics of the field of education as a whole at the end of the Ancien Regime.