Valerie

I am French and a qualified teacher of languages as well as a teacher educator. I have a PhD in language education and I am a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Linguists and a Chartered Linguist. I have a great deal of experience in teaching (A Level students, undergraduates, casual learners, business trainees), and I very much enjoy sharing my enthusiasm for languages and cultures with students of all ages.

Tutoring Experience

I taught languages in secondary schools (to A Level) where I became Head of Department. I then taught French part-time to BA and MA students at a local university, supervised dissertations and helped students build confidence and develop the skills required to make the most of their ability : essay writing, presentations, summaries, dissertations, translations, etc.

I have also offered language services to businesses, including large scale learning programmes for staff (German/Spanish/French/EFL), training days on cross cultural capability and translation/interpreting.

A few years ago, I became a teacher educator and was in charge of the MFL teacher training programme in our education department. I very much enjoyed working with my trainees and passing on my enthusiasm for languages, cultures and teaching.

More recently, I opened and ran an Alliance Française in the city where I live as well as a community school of languages nearby. Following the Covid waves, I decided to
mainly offer private classes in French (or very small groups) to young and university students (A Level and above) as well as to casual learners wanting to develop their knowledge of language / culture and their conversational skills.

Finally, I am also a published writer Removedand I am very happy to study literature as well as language per se.

Tutoring Approach

Below are some of the comments and recommendations I have received:

“It’s really great to be able to boost and develop my core language skills for school in a fun and interactive way, enabling me to feel confident in class at school”
“Without the classes I have taken, I would not have been able to reach the grades to take French for A-level. Having gone from a foundation GCSE paper, I now feel within my comfort zone at A level.”
“While Valerie always has a plan of learning, I feel able to direct the lessons to the areas I feel I would like to built my confidence in or would simply be interested in having a look at.” Alfie. (GCSE and A Level)

"It has been an utter joy working with Valerie, and sharing this language-discovering journey with her. I would strongly recommend her services to anyone who wants to advance their language learning, especially those struggling to find opportunities for conversation, personalised lessons on grammar, and want more than just another standardised language course. " Kate (Beginner / Elementary student)

"Valerie is a natural teacher. In class, she's always bright and cheerful providing a vibrant ambiance for learning. She has immense experience of finding the right learning tool to effectively improve one's languages skills and corrects erroros without seeming to criticise. I'm not a natural linguist but somehow Valerie, at my very senior age, has enabled me to enhance my enjoyment of French culture and language" Meryl (conversation)

Whatever the age, background, needs and ability of my students, I make sure that their learning experience is truly learner centred, meaningful and positive. The lessons focus on shared objectives, repeated and meaningful practice, positive feedback and a nice, friendly atmosphere. I draw on skill acquisition theory and socio-cultural learning theories to create classes which are rewarding and enjoyable.