Maeve Isabella Ward

I am 20-year-old female, studying for my BA in French and Russian at the University of Bristol. I took A Levels in French, Russian, English literature and music, achieving A*s in each. I also achieved 9 grades in all of those subjects at GCSE. I am a keen linguist, with a desire to share methods I have found beneficial during my time in education. I believe that because I am also still in full time education, I can really connect with students in a way that creates an atmosphere of mutual respect. This is key to the learning of languages.

Tutoring Experience

I am a student of French and Russian at the University of Bristol. I am British, but lived in Moscow as a child, so I speak fluent Russian. I completed my GCSE and A Level qualifications in Russian in 2016 and 2017, upon my return to the UK. However, through not technically being a native speaker I have retained an objective view of language learning, and I apply this to my studies in French.
My French language level is B2/C1, and I specialise in speaking and listening practice for students. I currently live in France temporarily, so I am immersed in a French speaking environment constantly. I have completed multiple extended summer courses in French language and literature between 2018 and 2023.
I have tutored for French, Russian and English (literature and language) GCSE and A Level since I began university in September 2021. I am used to teaching classes of up to three students at once and working with a range of abilities (target grades 4 to 9 at GCSE and C to A* at A level).

Tutoring Approach

My teaching approach is to create an atmosphere within which students feel challenged to improve their language skills to the point of high competence but feel unashamed and unafraid to make mistakes. I believe that students' desire to communicate has to outweigh their fear of error when it comes to speaking French. I conduct lessons primarily in the target language (French), following important instructions with their English translation to promote word connections and build students' vocabulary. I like to do short, rapid fire grammar exercises to reinforce trickier points that are more alien to native Anglophones, coupled with longer exercises that encourage more fluent expression, both written and spoken. I make use of discussion in the target language, in order to achieve a larger accessible vocabulary for students and increase their freedom and fluency when expressing themselves. I like to do analyses of simple news articles or blog posts to contextualise new words and encourage interpretation of phrasing and style as well as translation itself.