Annie

I am a native French speaker and have been a full-time French tutor for over 8 years for adults and teenagers. I am very motivated. I have a DEUG in English and American Literature ( similar level to a BA in England) from Brest University in Brittany. I successfully completed the course PTLLS ( Preparing To Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector) (Level 4) in Strode College,Somerset in 2013. I can show my qualifications on request. I am very passionate about French, English and American literature. I speak a good level of English. I am patient and encouraging. I consider myself non-judgemental with regards to the varying abilities of my students. My method is easy, quick, fun and based on repetition. What matters to me is that students transform themselves and are proud of themselves as they see that they have progressed. Here are some testimonials from some of my students:

Sarah and Richard in September 2017:
We have been working with Annie for three years now and really enjoy our sessions with her. We are a couple who studied French at GCSE and A level many years ago and who now spend a lot of time in France on holiday. We wanted to brush up on our French in order to converse with the locals and get more out of our visits to France. Annie is great and allows you to find your own pace whilst paying attention to grammar and helping increase your knowledge of the language. She speaks French very clearly, making it easier to understand. We have used a number of text books as reference points in our sessions to increase our vocabulary and to understand verbs, tenses and conjugations.  We are now more confident when speaking French and continue to improve. Thank you Annie. 

Chris and Maggie on 28th september 2017
We can thoroughly recommend Annie.  We started lessons with Annie to improve our school-level French and to be better at conversation when in France.   She prepares very well and for us the combination of conversation and the use of a text book has been the right approach. It has helped us to refresh our basic grammar which we have found very useful. Finally the lessons, which she tailors to your interests and requirements, are very enjoyable.

David, Scotland:
An excellent tutor who progressed my abilities in French enormously in manner that made it seem quite easy.

William, Millfield School, Somerset who wrote to me on 24/08/2017:
Hi Annie,
I would just like to thank you for helping me with my French as I felt much more confident before taking the exam and I hope that my result reflects all of the hard work. You have been so kind and patient with me and I wish you all the best in the future.
Thank you again.
Will

Anne from Wales: "I would highly recommend Annie as a tutor to anyone learning French. She really knows her stuff – not just as a native French speaker but as a teacher who is tuned in to where a learner has problems and knowledge gaps. She is very helpful in supplying the information that you don’t get in the textbooks and in providing insights into both written and spoken French. Add to that friendliness and a sense of humour and you have everything you could ask for in an expert language tutor".

Kate from Blagdon:
"Annie has a natural talent for teaching her native tongue. However, she backs this up with a useful knowledge of grammatical terms and rules, whilst also ensuring that the student is 'au fait' with colloquial French, both spoken and written. She has a knack of emphasizing the positive and endless patience when it comes to ensuring that the student has fully understood the point, as well as forgiving when s/he has (I have) forgotten it once again! Annie is both reasonable and flexible with a warm personality and a nice sense of humour. I have not a moment's hesitation in recommending that she become your French teacher if you are based in or near Glastonbury."

Tutoring Experience

My experience involves working with adult and teenage students. I have been helping adult students wanting to move to France, or younger ones studying for their GCSE, IGCSE, AS and A levels. I have worked in America, Seattle, for The Alliance Française in addition to being a part-time private tutor. My sessions are tailored to the specific needs of students such as someone needing to speak French for work. My work may involve explaining from scratch the main points of grammar and guiding their pronunciation so students can perform better for oral and listening exams. I am comfortable with teenagers and like to encourage them.

Tutoring Approach

I adapt to each person I teach to. Everyone is different and this is something I fully embrace however I need my sessions to be stuctured. While teaching beginners and intermediate students I do ask my students a minimum of commitment, perseverance and desire to study from home to further the learning. Exercise books are one of my favourites. Repetition is a key point for me. Learning French is not a lonely crossing of the desert, I offer support and my classes are fun and interesting. I like using little dialogues to unable students to practice the language and acquire vocabulary which is going to be useful while in France or in a French speaking country. If for you the only way to learn French is through studying Fashion French magazines so be it! I am open to this. For GSCE, IGCSE, AS and A levels, I follow the curriculum quite closely and tend to offer help on the various the grammar points by offering either my own excercises or those I find in books following the curriculum. I also offer help with pronunciation, listening, writing and reading.