French - Intermediate

I grew up with multilingual parents speaking 6 different Indian languages between them but sadly unable to speak any myself. In my teenage and university years, I was surrounded by friends who could speak 2 or more languages and I always felt left out, as though I was missing out on a secret world, where language was the key.

I got my first taste of French, age 6, on a class trip to a local creperie. We were sitting outside on a lovely covered terrace with fairy lights hanging around us. As the waiter came to me, I said, “Une crêpe au sucre s’il vous plait”! It was love at first taste, and also the start of my love of French language, life and culture.

I studied French the academic way for 15 years in school, university and Alliance Française in Bordeaux. Though I knew a lot of theory, grammar and vocab, I lacked confidence to actually speak. When I was 28, I decided to quit my job as a business consultant, move to Nice and make it my mission to become fluent like a local! It was then I discovered immersive, intuitive learning through self-study methods and the fantastic Institut Français in Villefrance sur Mer. For the first time, learning became fun, rapid and natural.

I had lived in Paris in my mid twenties, but never had the courage to actually speak. Living and working as a waitress in Nice, I discovered the power of throwing yourself in the deep end, and simply speaking, speaking, speaking. Oh how good it felt to finally speak!

Ten years later I met my partner who is Mexican. I began learning Spanish, starting in the deep end. Through Duolingo, Google Translate and speaking with him and his family right from the beginning, I threw fear of speaking out the window and embraced being the family laughing stock for a year! What took more than 20 years to achieve in French fluency, took less than 3 years in Spanish.

I am as passionate about how to learn a language as I am about languages themselves. Confidence is everything. I began teaching French privately, and came across Language for Fun. The method and teaching style instantly resonated with my own learning experience and I decided to take the plunge and set up Language for Fun in Hampstead and Camden. I’m really happy to be sharing the joy of language learning and helping students and fellow language lovers become confident speakers!