Information About Maria - Merton teacher -

(3 reviews)

Personal Description:

I am an experienced French and Italian teacher and author of several books on teaching and learning French.

I am a French national with a masters Degree in Modern Languages (French and Italian) from the Sorbonne University in Paris.

Since 1990, I have taught French and Italian to students at primary, secondary and university level in Paris, Milan and London, covering both language and literature.

I give private tuition to children and adults and I successfully prepare my students for the following exams: Common Entrance / GCSE / IGCSE / AS / A2 / IB

Teaching Experience:

1991- present:

Self-employed Italian and French language teacher:

- Tuition for students preparing exams: I have followed specification from various examination boards – mostly Edexcel and AQA

- Courses for companies including Goldman Sachs, Sony, Ubisoft and ICL



From 1988 to 1991

Taught Italian to Baccalaurea**Contact Detail Removed**vel at the Lycée Claude Monet in Paris

Taught Italian to pupils from 13-15 yrs old at the college George Braque in Dieppe (France)

Organised trips to Barcelona, London and Rome with students

Examiner for the Baccalaureat and B.E.P.C exams.



Author of French language books:

‘Hexagonie’: a scheme for teaching French at KS2 /KS3. linked to the new national Curriculum for Modern Languages and designed to develop effective learning strategies. Four titles: Hexagonie 1, Hexagonie 2, Hexagonie Yr 7 , Hexagonie Yr 8

‘Unforgettable French’: uses memory tricks to teach and reinforce the major points of French grammar from the basics up to GCSE level. Designed for all ages.

My books are now used by many school and my method has been recognised by the Times Educational Supplement

Teaching Approach:

I believe that a foreign language can be remembered and mastered by students if they use memory tricks and idea association. That’s why I created my own innovative way of teaching. A key principle of my method is that parrot-style learning of grammatical rules and vocabulary lists should be avoided. Instead I show to the students the logic of the language and I encourage them to play with words and language structures. I use flashcards and stories I have created about the imaginary land of Hexagonie, whose colourful inhabitants are nouns, verbs and other parts of speech. I use my own memory tricks to facilitate the learning process because what seemed difficult before is suddenly much easier to remember. Let me give you some examples:



To remember verbs: example cacher = to hide

Memory trick: imagine you hide your cash and cash reminds us of ‘cacher’

To remember adjectives: example cher = expensive

Memory trick: when something is expensive we want to share the expense.

To remember key words: example pendant = during

Memory trick: in the word ‘during’ there is ‘ring’. However, the French word use a different piece of jewellery: pendant