Results-focused French Tutor - 96% pass rate with exam-sitting students (45% gaining 8, 9, and A*)

Find out more about Sarah

• Do you speak this language fluently because of your origins or because a teacher inspired you to learn?

  I come from a long line of teachers, and my father taught French. As a family we would go camping in France every year, and as a young girl and I enjoyed discovering new ways to communicate with my campsite friends who spoke different languages. Learning French at school was a joy, and as a young adult I spent several years living, working and studying in France.
  
  I was inspired by France, as clichéd as it sounds. Growing up knowing the country, and then living there, it became a part of me. 

• Can you name a living, historical or fictional character that you think is the emblematic representative of the language's culture? 

  There are so many characters that spring to mind for a wide variety of reasons. Film, literature, fine art, food/wine - where to begin? Admittedly, these form part of the French culture rather than that of the language specifically.
  
  I suppose the best I can do is share an anecdote on the subject. In the early 90s (and a week prior to my departure for two years living in Marseille in the south of France), British TV showed a French film: La Gloire de Mon Père by Marcel Pagnol. A novelist, playwright and filmmaker, Pagnol is generally regarded as one of France’s greatest 20th-century writers.
  
  Set in the region I was headed for, the film’s opening credits drew me in as if through hypnosis - sweeping cinematic shots of limestone hills with oak, beech and pine forests, set to the rhythmic shrill of cicadas. I fell in love with the romance of Provence: the countryside, the accent, the French way of life. All thanks to Pagnol’s writing.

• Is there a typical word, phrase, tradition or behaviour in the language that you particularly like? 

  I have favourite French words that I find wonderful, and there are certain phrases in French that I adore. Similarly, there are French words that I find difficult to pronounce and which I feel are uncomfortable for an English-speaker to produce.
  
  As a translator I have come to notice subtle differences in the phrasing of sentences and paragraphs that amuse me greatly as I discover them. When I am translating, it is not unusual for me to spend days (and nights!) pondering over single words or phrases, so that I may be true to the authentic context of the original text. 

• Why does speaking this language matter to you? 

  This language, this culture, this country - it has become part of who I am. I also studied German and Spanish, but it is the French language that captured my heart. 

• What is the main difficulty in learning this language and what can help the process of learning? 

  All of us, young and old, have our own unique set of talents: maths, languages, nursing, engineering, creativity, sports, parenting, mechanics, the arts, IT, medicine, history…
  
  Each of my students have their own talents. What one finds easy, another may find the hardest thing in the world. It is my job to identify these differences, and to steer my student through their language-learning journey so that they feel supported, accompanied, and their accomplishments celebrated.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your language learning or your days at school. 

  Many of my students find speaking French very difficult. They prefer reading or writing - understandable, as you have longer to think about the word on the page or the phrase you want to write. Speaking French can be terrifying, even for my adult students.
  
  As a 16-year old I went camping with my French penpal and her family (including her 10-year old cousin) for a month in the south of France. I could follow the dinner-table conversation to a point, but struggled to join in. A precious moment occurred during a conversation with myself and her cousin, who spoke no English whatsoever. No one else was around to judge or correct my spoken French. He asked me a question and I answered… and the French that resulted was the best French I had ever spoken up to that point. My French was full of mistakes without a doubt, but the response was positive and my message understood. It was liberating.
  
  It taught me the power of a pressure-free and judgment-free learning environment, which is what I strive to create for all my students.

• How has travel or a specific trip helped you to increase your skill and knowledge of the language?

  I lived in France for several years, both working and studying. I then continued to live with French friends for over a decade, and we would communicate in both French and English, sometimes within the same sentence. We could finish a conversation and have no recollection in which language the conversation had been held. I dreamt in French. I talked to myself in French. I once wrote my shopping list out in French without realising. 
  
  I’m incredibly grateful to my French friends and colleagues who helped me gain knowledge and confidence in the language.

• What makes you a Superprof in language?

  All of the above! As a professional, full-time French tutor, I am 50+ years in the making. From the young girl drawing her age (6) in a campsite sandpit while making friends with another girl my own age who didn’t speak English, to the woman opening doors of confidence and ability for her students, both younger and older. 
  
  I feel so lucky to be able to say I love my job. I truly do.