"J'apprends par moi-même."
-- answered at every language exchange I've ever been to.Duolingo & drilling myself on conjugations
French Coach for expats
A brief overview of my story...
When I realised that I'd gone beyond the basics of the language, French school was no longer beneficial to me. However, I didn't just know that right off the bat. I spent time and money on going to a language school because "that's how you learn a language, right?".
Like many other learners, and possibly you cher lecteur, I found that this was blindly throwing money at the problem because it was easier. I wasn't an expert, after all. Just someone wanting to apprendre le français. At first I didn't know what to do, but I knew that French school wasn't working for me. So I left.
I found that with a foundation in the language, the Internet, and a healthy dose of desire to actually find the right way to improve in French, I didn't need to have teachers guide me and tell me what to learn next. I could create a plan for me.
I was able to learn at my own pace and be the judge of what constitutes progress in my French journey.
I'd love to save you time and energy by coaching you the techniques and mindset shifts that I've found make the most successful independent French learners and therefore confident French speakers.
Foire aux Questions (FAQ)
Tu as appris le français où ?
C'est une longue histoire :
- 5 years in school in the UK, but never used it, it wasn't encouraged, and foreign languages played no part in my life until 2014. I consider that until then, I had almost 0 French.
- Refound French in 2014 when travelling Australia (bizarre, n'est-ce pas ?). Got hooked to Duolingo and learning the grammar.
- Once a week private tutor in Melbourne for 3 months. Started speaking very slowly.
- Moved to France to push myself to the next level. Maaaaaaany ups and downs.
- Learning every day since then through informal interactions, organised language exchanges, conversation lessons with tutors...
- French is a part of my life and I still learn something new every day.
Tu viens d'où ?
Où est-ce que tu vis ?
Actuellement, je vis à Montpellier, France.
Pourquoi "French in Plain Sight" ?
So much of the French we should be learning is that French that is all around us; hidden in plain sight. I wanted to raise awareness for the importance of pragmatism in language learning, rather than blindly following course books and techniques that are out of touch.
GET TO KNOW HOW I TICK ON INSTAGRAM
TO SEE IF YOU'D LIKE TO WORK WITH ME
Instagram is a great platform for me to connect with fellow French enthusiasts such as yourself and for you to see how I see the French language, life in France, and the importance of mindfulness in the language learning process.
Just like you, I'm a French learner first and foremost, so I often post things that relate to other learners' wins as well as struggles.