Learning your first language was so natural and stress-free that you have no memory of how and when it happened. So why do so many of us, as adults, often see learning French -or any other language- as an insurmontable challenge?
I assure you that it does not have to be this way!
Your own commitment and motivation, combined with the right learning strategy is the key to tapping into your inner French speaker! That's why my sessions, workshops and classes with you always incorporate the following mutually reinforcing elements:
Personalized and Tailor Made Lessons Plans
Are you an advanced student or a beginner? Teacher or dilettante? Need to speak French for that new job? Or perhaps you're preparing for that make-or-break exam?
By designing lesson plans that are structured by your most immediate French-language needs, "grounded" in your own set of tangible, "cognitively fertile" experiences, and built to make the most of your learning strengths--be they visual, tactical, auditory, kinesthetic, etc.--I help you to make rapid progress while avoiding the unnecessary abstraction that all too often renders language acquisition a burdensome chore.
Goal-Oriented Pedagogy
Simply put, the clearer your goals, the faster you learn!
I help you to establish reasonable goals, relative to your personal or professional needs, that allow you to measure your fluency in French not just by your mastery of abstract grammar "rules", but by your ability to use the language with confidence in an ever-wider number of social situations.
Performance Oriented Scripts
As Shakespeare said, "All the world is a stage" and each one of us needs to be ready to perform!
Of course, that's easier said than done when it comes to speaking in a second language. That's why I use original, customized scripts, based on a wide variety of realistic conversation situations, to help my clients rehearse for the exchanges, discussions and even debates that they are most likely to have with other French speakers.
An Anxiety-Free Learning Environment
Any coach will tell you: fear, anxiety and self-doubt are an athlete's greatest enemy. The same is true when it comes to learning a second language.
I use some simple techniques to help my clients rid themselves of the highly destructive fear-based negative self-talk which, more than anything else, impedes their progress. For face-to-face clients, I often suggest that we work together in one of the many inspired spots in the Basque Country such as a cafe with a view of the sea or a quiet hotel patio.
Cultural Literacy
Why is the table considered sacred in France? Did you know that the French consider themselves chronic complainers? Have you noticed that few French movies have happy endings?
It goes without saying that culture expresses itself through every aspect of language, not just vocabulary and expressions but grammar and pronunciation as well. Learning French becomes a lot easier (and more interesting) for my clients when I leverage the who, what, when, where and why of Francophone cultures to help them get a more concrete grip on the language--and vice-versa!