What is your teaching philosophy?

I believe each lesson should be personalized. People have different reasons for learning a language; that's why I like to specifically work on my student’s needs. I also like my lessons to be entertaining, because when we have fun, we learn faster!

What might you do in a typical first session with a student?

The first thing I want to know is WHY a new student wants to learn French, because I like my lessons to be personalized and specifically tailored to each student's language needs. Then I quickly evaluate my student's level and start the lesson.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I always share a lot of resources with my students, and I also do a personalized mp3 recording of what we've worked on so that my students can feel confident about practicing on their own.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

At the beginning, I like to create a learning plan for my students with clear and realistic goals, so that they can see progress. I know for sure that students stay motivated when they can see progress!

If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?

I will try to approach the difficulty from a different angle, and/or give simpler examples, with easy structured sentences.

How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?

I noticed my students learn faster when reading comprehension and listening skills are taught together. I never give a text without a recording of that same text.

What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?

Again, the strategy is to have a deep understanding of your student's language needs so that each lesson is personalized, and to create a teaching plan with clear and realistic goals. I also like to know a little bit about each student, so that I can come up with themes and subjects they are really interested in.

How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?

I always make sure a subject is mastered before moving on to something new. And even after a goal is reached, I regularly check my students on past achievements.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

I try to gather as much information regarding why they want to learn French, whether it's for professional or personal reasons, and then I evaluate their level in these 4 categories: reading, writing, listening (comprehension), speaking (expression) skills.

How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?

I can quickly identify the recurring mistakes that students do, or the area they need to work on most. For example: a student comes to me and says he wants to learn French because he will be travelling to Paris in 3 months. In his case, I'll focus on comprehension and expression, and a little bit less on writing skills.

What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?

I use many resources. It always depends on the age/level of the student. I like the class to be interactive and alive, so I can create exercises on top of my head. I also like to use books, videos, recordings, and games (for children).

How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?

I would break the problem into smaller pieces.

What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?

I'll answer the first questions of a series of exercises with my students to make sure they understand.