Adult Beginners

There is no such thing as a total beginner in any language: the language has been heard, it has been seen, and it has been experienced in some way already by the learner. Some adult learners are already able to pronounce the main sounds of French without difficulty, and of course many French words are integral to the English language even though pronunciation is quite different.

Therefore, there is no such thing as a standard first lesson. Everything with regards to learning a language has to be adapted to the specific circumstances, including the student's personality, skills, learning pace, starting point, goals, deadlines, etc. Right from the start, the Tutor will make these adjustments and adapt the learning to meet the student's needs.

Read a little more about his story to get to know the Tutor better.

Lesson Introduction

Most first encounters with a language are with the sounds of the language. To speak a language well, you must hear it well.

The sounds of French are linked to numbers containing that particular sound, so that a common system of references can be established. Therefore, the sound [u], which is written “ou” will be associated with 12, or douze. This is a far easier and more effective approach to isolating the sound itself without any extra support. If you note, “toujours” sounds like 12.

Subsequently, the first 12 numbers (or more, depending on what the student already knows) will be used – first for recognition, and later for production – but not in order. From the start, the student's ear must be tuned up to the new sounds and trained to recognise them accurately.

Further in the lesson, the basic mechanisms of the language are explained and immediately applied. Use is crucial in language learning and nothing must be left unexplored. For example: the verbal system in French has a reputation of being difficult, but it's not difficult if you put them in perspective. There are roughly 12,000 verbs in French if we disregard technical verbs and slang – this is much less than in English. In this total, approximately 370 are properly irregular (and many of these you never need) and the rest are regular. So, if you learn one, you know at once how to deal with 11,630 verbs. While this is a slight simplification of the system, it does work in practicality.

Next, you meet the tough ones: the 4 main irregular verbs (remember, you can't learn English without confronting the verb 'to be' almost immediately) and finally the art of recognising and asking the main questions.

See the trial lesson to get a taster.

Lesson Conclusion

By the end of the first lesson (1:30 hour of fun, sweat, and no tears), the student will be able to start using the language. This means the student will be able to answer (perhaps even ask) questions in context in French.

Each subsequent lesson will begin by reviewing the previous lesson, as this overlap is a significant key to success.

Contact the Tutor to discuss the tuition options available to adult beginners.