An interactive method

An Interactive Method

FRENCH FOR YOU offers bespoke and flexible lessons adapted to your learning style. From day 1 it is focused on interaction and spoken French, so that you can develop automatisms and to start thinking in French as early as possible.

After identifying your needs and evaluating your level, we will set up and define the objectives together.

FRENCH FOR YOU helps you to gain confidence in communicating in French, both in speaking and writing:

  • Priority is given to speaking French, even for Beginners.
  • Grammar and vocabulary are taught taking into account your particular situation and is practised using pragmatic exercises.
  • Phonetics is used to develop your oral expression and fluency. Great importance is made of phonetics as it rules the language and sometimes even overrules grammar! Your pronunciation is key to communicating in French. The French language uses articulatory zones and muscles that may be different from your own language.
  • Roleplays are created to apply your newly acquired knowledge and reproduce common situations you may face. Techniques used in theatre are used to help you to relax, pronounce and ultimately speak with confidence.
  • The French culture, along with idiomatic expressions, is explained to you, in order for you to be able to fully understand the French way of life, and allow you to integrate and make you feel like a local!

“I hear and I forget, I listen and I remember, I DO and I understand.” Chinese proverb.

The action oriented approach: to learn in order to act, to act in order to learn

FRENCH FOR YOU uses the action oriented approach (also named the task-based approach). Innovative and pragmatic, the method develops all the necessary skills in order for you to complete tasks in an effective manner.

This communicative approach stimulates the student orally and in writing, putting grammar into context, using roleplays, focusing on the specific needs of the student (verbal, written, phonetics, vocabulary, professional, social, etc.).

Your participation will be greatly encouraged: you can provide documents, articles, emails, videos etc. on any subject of your interest and we will work on them together. As you may know, we learn better when we have an interest on the subject. I will of course have the lesson prepared but will always be willing to adapt to your initiatives, requirements or questions on the day.

There are no silly questions!

Please always feel free to ask any question you may have on language or culture. If something puzzles you or if you find hard to understand, then let me know! It is proven that asking questions helps you to better integrate the language. The lesson is the environment where you can do it! However you can also email me your questions after your lesson.

Active Correction

Active correction is interactive, the student is asked if they can spot the mistake and/or make any suggestions for correcting it. This is always favoured as it allows the learner to be active and think about the mistakes in a constructive way. Of course, it is not always possible to spot mistakes, so I will sometimes show them to you, explain and correct them.

When you write, you remember more. During the lesson, you will be encouraged to take your own notes even if I will always leave you with the notes I take. You might think you will not have time to take notes and you want to practise spoken French as much as possible. Of course, you will be greatly encouraged to speak, however should you feel the need to write something down, I will pause so that you have all the time you need.

Homework (exercises, writing activities, etc.) will be given to consolidate what has been covered during the lesson. However, depending on how busy you may be, I fully understand that sometimes homework may not be completed.