Catherine

I am a French native who has lived in the UK since 1993. I would describe myself as friendly, adaptable, patient and well organised.
I greatly enjoy teaching French because it is my native language and I find it very beautiful and rich. It is so very rewarding to see someone gradually gain more confidence in being able to express themselves freely in a foreign language. I believe that being able to speak a different language opens the door to a very rich and enticing new cultural experience. I always work with my pupils at finding penfriends or holiday opportunities and by doing so, actually put their new skills and knowledge into practice. I love to see someone's mind expand as they learn not just a language but also a culture.

Tutoring Experience

I first worked as a French assistant in 1993, then qualified to become a teacher with a PGCE in Modern Languages in 1994. I taught French and German for a few years before starting a family.
In September 1998, I started to work as a self employed French tutor and translator and, in June 1999, I became an examiner, moderator and later team leader for a major UK awarding body (something which I still do today, nearly 20 yrs later! I do love marking!).
I have taught people from all ages and levels, from young children to retirees. I have also taught in businesses. As an examiner, I am very well placed to know what is currently expected from the exam boards in order to achieve particular grades and I have the skills to teach students towards this grade.

Tutoring Approach

I have a friendly, relaxed and confidence building approach with students, who often find languages very intimidating, especially the speaking element. I am professional and very organised in my work and like to see the students I teach make good, rapid progress. I set homework and mark it, mostly in my own time to save on teaching time.
As a native and qualified speaker, I am able to teach the right pronunciation and the correct grammar as well as really stretch students to higher levels.
Although I do teach in a communicative way, I also do believe in the grammatical approach, which gives the student a true understanding of the workings of the language and gives him/her the freedom to express what they really want to say, and not just to repeat the phrases from a book.
I can teach in the evening and week-ends from the Kettering/Corby/Market Harborough area (at an extra charge of 50p per mile) and during the day, from the Kingsthorpe/Northampton area.
I am also very happy to teach online, via Zoom or Facetime / What's app / Skype