Ongoing Private French Class for Beginners (3x Per Week)

Bonjour, hello, and welcome to my page - my name is Alessandra! I'm a new teacher here on Outschool but certainly not new to teaching (online or offline). I'm so excited to meet everyone! 

I graduated from the University of Washington, Seattle with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and a minor in Political Science. During my time as an undergrad I was able to integrate several advanced French language and culture courses into my coursework, which enabled me to move to France as a teacher. 

After graduating, I received my TESOL and spent 2 years teaching English to primary school children in France, which sparked my passion for education. Since beginning my teaching journey, I have also taught 100+ students French and English online, launched an English language program for refugees in Paris, and developed my competences in French language instruction through Boston University's Master of Education in World Language Education. 

My master’s coursework is specialized for teaching French learners of all levels following a proficiency-based methodology – according to ACTFL World-Readiness Standards. For my master’s project, I had the pleasure of collaborating with BU's World Language program director to design an advanced conversational French course. 

I have a range of interests - including history, art, and literature - which I am also passionate about sharing with my students. I believe in cultivating a supportive and positive atmosphere in all my classes - adapting them to my student's demonstrated level, interests, and personality. Most importantly, I absolutely love getting to know my students individually and seeing their confidence grow over the course of our classes together.

My Philosophy of Teaching

My classroom requires three components to be successful: personalization, collaboration, and active engagement. In the context of a language classroom, these qualities must equally promote lifelong learning in developing students’ metacognitive processes. Therefore, consistent practice of planning and reflection are invaluable for myself and my students – allowing us to consider our learning path and what we hope to achieve along the way.

I believe personalization is incredibly beneficial in fostering a holistic and dynamic learning environment. In constructing the most effective learning plan, I get to know the student on an individual level – their educational goals, history, and interests – although this can take a considerable amount of time, it is incredibly rewarding. Through such personalization, I can easily build a rapport with the students, earn their trust as an educator, and develop confidence in themselves. When students see you take a genuine in interest in their learning, they will take an interest as well.

While I enjoy the process of individualization, to learn in a class with other students can prove to be incredibly advantageous in teaching one another the concepts – reinforcing their understanding of the material and developing their interpersonal skills through scaffolding. Therefore, I am a proponent of project-based learning and gameification. I actively integrate collaborative work in classroom, as it provides students with a meaningful goal to work towards while improving their communication skills. These projects should be authentic in nature while also engaging with cultural elements within the language. To balance this collaborative work, I use technology purposefully by designing games that both challenge the learner and consider the material in an alternative, yet captivating context.

Most importantly, the classroom should be a place where learners feel challenged, yet comfortable enough to make mistakes while engaging with the material. I understand that some learners may need more encouragement than others, so I always try to find a variety of resources that may suit different types of students. To do this, I facilitate our activities with an empathetic disposition and a willingness to embrace different approaches and learning methods. Therefore, as a teacher, I must equally be a lifelong learner in adapting to the ever-changing educational environment