Information About Tim - Verwood teacher -

(3 reviews)

Personal Description:

A professional, full-time teacher of French - and nothing else - since 2013.

Bonjour, I have a degree in Law and French (the 3rd year of which I spent in France) and am passionate about the country. Whether you`d like to learn the wonderful French language for school, work or holidays, I can help.

My teaching approach is focused on simplicity, logic and enjoyment, and starts from the fact that you already know around 40% of French words, as they are exactly the same as in English!

There are lots of tutors out there, so why choose me?

1) I don`t teach anything else

Unlike some other tutors out there, I don`t believe in being a Jack-of-all-trades and offering to teach you any one of a range of different subjects. Although I also speak conversational Italian and Spanish (and could offer to teach you these as well), I prefer to focus on just one subject. As French is ALL I teach, I can concentrate on giving you the best learning experience possible.

2) 9 years` experience

Having worked as a solicitor in the past, I launched my French tuition business in April 2013. Over 9 years later, it`s still teaching French full-time to individuals and groups both online and across the south of England. So I must be doing something right!

And being self-employed means I am available to tutor my clients whenever they like, including evenings.

3) I can teach ANY LEVEL

Having studied French to degree level (including studying the finer points of French criminal law in French during my year abroad), I can help you with everything: from ordering a meal to when you should - and should not - use the imperfect subjunctive.

4) A passion for `la France` and `le français`

I haven`t counted, but between running residential language programmes, family holidays, school exchanges, the year in Nantes during my degree, cycling trips in Brittany, canoeing in the Ardèche, and even a Provençal wedding - not my own, alas - I`ve probably been to France at least once for every year of my life. And as I`m now in my forties, that`s a lot of visits! So if you`re looking for things to do anywhere from Lille to Carcassonne, or St Malo to Marseille, I`m your `homme`… 5) Free, `no obligation` trial lesson

If you`d like to discuss what you`d like to achieve from our lessons and sample some of my teaching before committing yourself, I`d be more than happy to provide a free trial lesson (60 mins). If you don`t want to proceed afterwards, that`s absolutely fine. So you really do have nothing to lose!

Teaching Experience:

- 1 year spent living in France (including providing private English tuition)
- 3 months French and English teaching in Costa Rica.
- Work as a freelance interpreter in criminal cases for the Ministry of Justice.

But most importantly:

- over 9 years` professional, full-time experience providing individual and small-group French tuition.

Teaching Approach:

I believe teaching of any subject, and especially languages, is most effective when it is:

- simple;
- logical; and
- (most importantly of all) enjoyable.

As paradoxical as it may seem (in the context of a foreign language), my approach to teaching French emphasises the "head start" that English-speakers have when it comes to learning French. For example, around 40% of French words are exactly the same as in English, and the ways in which we use tenses (to refer to past, present, future and possible events) are very similar to those of our continental cousins.

You didn't learn English from wading through reams of unfamiliar material and trying to memorise obscure verb endings (which you may have had to endure at school). You learnt by making connections, practising, making mistakes, and moving from A to B, to C in small, easy-to-manage steps. This is how I teach French.

Unlike some "new fangled" teachers out there, though, I don't believe that you can disregard grammar. It is the "glue" of any language, and without it, you will struggle to be able to construct sentences "on the fly" and express yourself properly. Don't worry, though: any new concepts will be explained clearly, patiently and only to the extent necessary to make your "real-life" exchanges with French-speakers more successful and enjoyable.

Of the 4 fundamental language skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening), those which, in my experience, English speakers most struggle with are the verbal elements (speaking and listening), and so I place a particular emphasis on my students developing them. After all, having a successful conversation with a native speaker -maybe enjoying a little joke in the process- is perhaps the greatest reward for learning any language, n'est-ce pas?

A lot of my teaching is done online, via Skype. As a result, I am available to teach you practically wherever you are located (in the UK or beyond).

If on the other hand, you’d prefer face-to-face teaching, that’s no problem either. Lessons can take place at either my home, or yours. I am happy to travel within a 3 mile radius of Ringwood, Hampshire at no extra charge. For appointments outside this radius, I charge a fixed fee depending on the distance from my home in Verwood.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any queries or would like further information. Merci!