Annie

I am a bilingual native speaker from the Loire Valley in France, have a Master’s Degree in French as a Foreign Language and have worked in the UK since 1998 as a French teacher and in Community Education.

Tutoring Experience

I began teaching French in 1991 as a French assistant in a secondary school and throughout 1995-6 undertook Training Placements at l’Institut de Touraine, l’Université François Rabelais and le Centre Linguistique pour Étranger (CLE) de Tours. I have taught French to students from beginner to university level and my experience includes working as a French assistant in primary and secondary schools, French classes for children and adults, private tuition for SQA (NQ 4 and 5, Higher Grade, Advanced Higher), BA Degree level students, DELF or DALF students, leisure classes and literacy.
For SQA, AQA/ GCSE/ AS and A2 level, and DELF/ DALF students, I adopt a person-centred approach in line with course requirements: grammar and discussion around topics such as society, family and friends, lifestyles, media, global languages, citizenship, employability and culture (planning a trip, other countries, celebrating a special event, literature of another country, film and television). Whatever the level, I am particularly interested in developing oral, writing and translation skills, and in tailoring lessons to suit each student's requirements.
Always aiming for fluency and proficiency in French, I provide practice for oral and written communication with emphasis on authenticity, idiomatic expression and translation; provide a concerted development of the four basics – listening, reading, writing and speaking; provide pronunciation tips in light of the phonetic and phonological rules of pronunciation; and, of course, provide access to those grammatical textbooks which perplex many students of the language.

Tutoring Approach

To inspire confidence in speaking and writing, to encourage improvisation in language use and to stimulate interest in French culture and manners. My lessons aim to be fun as well as methodological, whether instructing school students for SQA/ AQA exams, encouraging casual learners or assisting university students in the finer points of grammar!