What is your teaching philosophy?

I believe that confidence is the key to success. Praising your students with every effort means giving them the confidence to push themselves to the next level.

What might you do in a typical first session with a student?

A typical first session depends on the student's experience and skill level. With typical elementary language students who must learn to communicate in an academic setting, in the first few sessions we will go over the basics of subject-verb associations, some basic conjugation, and greetings.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Students become independent learners when they find an opportunity to engage in the target language in everyday life - this means introducing the student to French films, books, food, and other Francophone culture, to make learning French exciting and not just something read from a book.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I believe that to keep a student motivated you need to show him or her that they are making real tangible progress. This means constant practice, redoing a lesson that was done last week, and measuring improvement.

If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?

Be patient. Assess what part of the concept is difficult for the student to understand, and break the question down in parts. If the student is still not understanding, I would try trying to re-introduce the subject matter through another tactic, i.e. the student may be more of a visual than auditory learner, and would benefit from having the concept written or even drawn out for them.

What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?

When working with a new student who is starting out learning French, I have found that these students benefit the most when you create an environment in which it is OK to make mistakes. This means constantly encouraging speaking and converting some lessons into interactive dialogue.

How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?

First I would find out why the student wants to learn French; second, what are some of their interests and curiosities about the French language and French culture, and then I integrate these interests into our everyday lessons.

What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?

One of my primary methods of instructing is teaching a concept visually, as I am a visual learner, and find that many of my students learn this way too. I find that illustrating a concept on paper and allowing the student to work an idea out on paper too, helps in grasping a new idea or concept.