French qualified native speaker teacher with over ten years experience

Bonjour! My name is Samantha. I am a qualified and experienced teacher originally from Bordeaux. I have been living in the UK for many years and, after working in different roles in the educational system, I decided to undertake a French teaching qualification. The course was really stimulating and learning about pedagogy was particularly interesting. That was over ten years ago and I have enjoyed teaching ever since.
I am a friendly, patient and approachable person. I am doing my best to make my students feel comfortable and relax, so they can ask me questions and don't feel afraid to make mistakes.
During my lessons, I use different materials such as videos, images, games, films, music and the latest course books as well as my own creations. I regularly give feedbacks and informed my students of their progress.
I do not give a large number of pages of grammar rules or long lists of vocabulary, they simply do not work. Instead, I make my students think how French works as it helps them to understand and memorise the language better. The vocabulary is always seen in context and my students learn new words by drawing them or using a synonym, a method which is far more effective than long lists.
My students often comment on how quickly the lessons go and how much they enjoy them, which is a great satisfaction for me.
I have experience of teaching on a one-to-one basis as well as small groups.
I teach face to face at home and online (using Zoom).
I am very familiar with the curriculum for French GCSE and A Level. All my students are doing very well at their exams, some have got A* result and gained a place at Oxford or Edinburgh University.
I teach University students who have French as a major or as a minor subject. At this level, a few lessons can do wonder on oral exams as well as learning how to debate or present a project.
I have many years experience teaching general French and French for tourism to adults together with French culture, which is crucial when learning a language.
One more thing, I empathize with my students because I had to learn English myself. Therefore, I know it can be difficult to learn a foreign language and even frustrating at times. Yet, it is also very rewarding to be able to understand and speak another language, to laugh at a joke or read a book. It takes a bit of time, practice and perseverance as well as a good sense of humour!