Helene Solange

Bonjour! I am a French National, originally from Beauvais ,a beautiful medieval town , 80km north of Paris.
A graduate from Amiens University with a BA in English Literature & Civilization, I also studied Fashion Design & Illustration in the international Paris American Academy.

I trained and worked in London for several years, before moving to N.Ireland.
In search of calm and beauty, we now live near peaceful meadows and close to nature.

I constantly marvel at the multitude of walks by the sea or mountains, close to our house. With children and dog in tow, what better way to capture the beauty of life.

Not to forget the great pleasure to be able to divide my time between French Tuition and my love of Painting : "La belle vie" !

Tutoring Experience

I began teaching as a French Language Assistant, in the North of England. In the 90's , I moved to London and worked in two secondary schools. I taught 11-16 yrs old pupils, as well as being in charge of GCSE exam preparation.

Until recently, I worked in a Grammar School in N.Ireland and took great dedication in preparing my A-Level Students for the final year examination. I endeavoured to instill in them confidence with oral practice, while providing extra help with the completion of their discussion.

Immersing my Students with French Culture and insightful knowledge about French life and way of thinking, have proved greatly useful to their studies. It helped them understand French Literature with greater clarity, especially when books, such as "L'etranger " by Albert Camus, were placed into historical and social context.
Having studied French literature at A-Level and as a module within my degree in English literature, I am well versed with the subtleties of the French language for essay writing.

Students benefit greatly from my cultural knowledge as a French Native and are able to understand the topics in their curriculum with a depth that can only be provided by a French National. My expertise with the French language is equally wide ranged : from formal /literary written or spoken French to casual and daily modern French.
As I understand the evolution of French as a modern language, I am able to advise Students with the appropriate use of wording, in various social or cultural contexts.

Alongside school, I continued with my Home Tuition Practice and I now exclusively teach privately. From GCSE, A-Level or University Students, I strive to cover all aspects of the curriculum.
As part of my teaching method, I regularly include intensive grammar revision with explanation, and exercises followed by oral practice to cement knowledge.

With my many years of experience, I have successfully devised my own teaching material. Thus creating a list of unusual expressions to maximize my Students exam results. Further notes have been compiled for difficult topics such as the environment and other topics to increase their knowledge.
Students' pronunciation has also benefited from techniques I developed throughout the years, to help them understand the difference in sounds.

Besides school and academic achievements,I have had the privilege to teach many Adult Beginners who were retiring to France. For this purpose, I devised entire courses best suited to assist their individual needs. Each course was aimed at giving them a good grounding for the language and to constitute a vital building block for daily French life. In other words "a survival guide".

My French skills have also been very productive with translations and drafting of documents for French Banks, Builders, Water or Electricity Companies. Moreover my work has included important phone calls to France, prior to my retired Students departure which smoothed their transition abroad.

Each experience with a new Student has a uniqueness. It is always an immense delight to see the progress accomplished on whichever path they choose.
Most rewarding as a Tutor is to see my Students develop fluency and authenticity with the French language while appreciating its full beauty.

Tutoring Approach

Needless to say that I teach French in a pleasant and relaxed manner.
Being flexible, I take into account the various needs of my Students and areas they wish to improve. Consequently, I patiently work along them using my own teaching material or coursework they need help with.
Furthermore ,once I have devised the best course to improve their skills ,I create their own individual material to support their progress.The lessons are well structured to take into account deadlines such as completion of written presentation and mock oral exam.

I strive to establish a peaceful environment conducive to learning and will encourage or praise my Students, for every progress made, after each tuition. My principal aim is to instill trust in their abilities. With gentle guidance I help them express themselves with growing confidence, while enjoying the language. Not only are the tuitions enjoyable, they are equally highly productive and successful.