Jane L.

I have taught for many years in schools and universities in the UK and in France, and have an enormous range of experience. I enjoy the very different challenges of teaching languages to each stage, and take great pleasure in helping students overcome blocks to learning, or taking flight with their understanding of languages or literature.

My first degree was in French and German language and literature (Oxford), and I have also worked teaching English, including concentrating on the specific skills of phonetics, translation and conversation, while living and working in Paris. I am now happily settled in rural England, however.

A Qualified Teacher in the British education system, I am very familiar with how British schools teach, and also with GCSE, A Level and IB syllabuses for English, French and German. I equally enjoy teaching language and literature, and would love to work with students looking to improve their academic English and to adapt to British qualifications.

As a qualified DELF/DALF examiner and practising FLE teacher, I am aware of how much teaching styles can differ from country to country.

I have taught in secondary schools in England from beginners in Year 7 through GCSE to A Level, and have a developed familiarity with the British school and university system.

At the University of Exeter I have taught French to a wide range of language levels. The university runs courses for beginners as well as experienced specialists, and I have also taught evening classes to members of the public. The student cohort includes a certain proportion of students from different cultures with varying language strategies, and I am very comfortable fitting my teaching style to the learners' acquired habits.

In teaching language, I always aim to balance enjoyment with rigorous learning, so that the student can feel confident and in control of mastering the language. I design lessons to be engaging and relaxed in atmosphere, to encourage interaction and build confidence in speaking and writing skills. However, I believe in the necessity of developing a solid grammatical understanding, and regular vocabulary learning, as the essential underpinning that enable the student to develop fluent language use. I believe this can be done in a variety of ways which enables this more formal learning to be done in a way which is both accessible and even playful.

I really enjoy helping students to understand conceptually, and not simply to learn by rote, so that they learn at a deep level. I am happy to teach any level of language learner, from beginner to advanced.

My teaching of literature is based on close analysis of key passages, from which I then help the student to understand overall themes and characteristics of the text. Once the student has a clear and coherent vision of the text (book, play or poetry collection), we work on building essay-writing skills to be able to convey and exemplify this vision in a logical manner.