DERRIÈRE FRENCH PURSUIT
Bonjour, je m'appelle Julia
I grew up in Normandy, in northern France, before I left for Paris to study at La Sorbonne French & History. During my Master's, in 2016, I became an academic tutor for groups of forty plus students. It was a great learning experience especially to make Grammar less of a chore!
After my Master's, I wanted to travel and ended up settling in Asia, where I started teaching online. Ten years on, more than three thousand lessons later for students from 15 different countries ; I can say that teaching French was the best decision I could have made.
The first goal of every lesson ? Speaking. Even with absolute beginners, we focus on exchange and communication first, the rest follows. We'll a variety of materials : a video, a podcast, an image, a song... Topics change as well : art, history, sport, food... Because languages and culture are inseparable and the more engaged you are the better you learn.
Grammar joins us progressively : we discover the rule together when it becomes useful, rather than memorising it before we know what it's for.
The ultimate goal ? That you don't need me anymore! That you reach the autonomy or the specific goal we're agreed on together : DELF, citizenship, fluency, conversations with your in-laws...
I've taught beginners and near-natives, curious Francophiles and aspiring citizens from the age of 10 to 85. What I have learned is that anyone can speak French. The ingredients are few : consistency, curiosity and a little patience with yourself.
I'm DAEFLE qualified (Diplôme d'Aptitude à l'Enseignement du Français Langue Étrangère), which means I am trained to teach French as a foreign language. I'm also a language and history nerd ; so if you want to know the origins of an expression, why we kiss on both cheeks as greetings or why Paris became our capital : I will happily go down that rabbit hole with you!
When I learned my first foreign language - English- I realised it was a kind of superpower. It opened doors to another culture, more books, more videos, more music to discover! But also people I would have never met otherwise, opportunities and possibilities I never thought of.
My wish is that you feel that too, by the end of our time together.