French for Foreigners (FLE)

Carole is an amazing teacher - clear, wise, kind, easy to talk to; she is very experienced in the language and politics of the office and of working life, equally strong in the world of education and in normal everyday life. I have had lessons with Carole Simons for over two years now and she has built my skills and confidence enormously. She has helped me with grammar and vocabulary, and I am now able to relax with French friends but more importantly for me, to do my job without worrying about making mistakes in my French Thanks to Carole, I can work in French and talk to colleagues without problems. Even better, she has helped me to speak French in public, to give talks and lectures to students and at conferences, to do interviews with journalists on radio and on tv and to speak at public events from the town Hall to the théâtre - all in French We are now working on my written French which was GCSE level only and she is equally brilliant. She is an outstanding teacher and I am very happy indeed to have the chance to work with her.

I am extremely happy with Carole and her classes. She is a consummate professional and prepares each lesson with great care and attention. I always wanted to learn the language and when I arrived in France, I was referred to Carole. What I like about her is that she is patient and that she allows a total immersion in language and culture. And if something is not clear, she continues to explain in French as best as possible. For someone who is a beginner and has very limited experience in French, she is great. But given her skills, in-depth knowledge, her credentials and language understanding, she can handle all levels of tutoring - from the novice like me to someone who wants to perfect their knowledge of specific areas of interest. I intend to continue working with her every time I come back to France to continue improving my French.

I have enjoyed French lessons with Carole for over a year now and during that time, I’ve steadily improved my ability and confidence with the language. With the advent of Covid-19 our weekly face-to-face sessions seamlessly transitioned to 2 Skype calls per week. This is one example of a key quality of Carole: her adaptability. She adapts the content of lessons based not only on my learning needs but also around topical subjects in the news, which has helped me join in conversations with French colleagues. Carole also brings variety to the lessons, including vocabulary and grammar, different interactive exercises such as role plays, and often aspects of French culture and history. She is always listening carefully to me while we’re conversing, subsequently giving positive as well as corrective feedback. She picks up on any repeated errors and usually brings an improvement exercise in the subsequent lesson. Every week, Carole sends me links to interesting and relevant articles and videos. She always follows up on questions I have about French life, culture, and language she can’t immediately answer. Overall, Carole is an excellent teacher whom I strongly recommend.