We are convinced students progress through the different learning stages by simultaneously reinforcing grammatical, speaking, writing and reading skills.

In order to establish durable foundations, our teachers apply a comprehensive didactic method, developed by our founder Rachel Hauser over several years of teaching, and proven to be highly effective. Rachel's special educational method combines the following key elements in the learning process:

STRENGTHENING OF GRAMMAR SKILLS
AND STRUCTURES

Grammar is fundamental to improve a long lasting fluency and overall handle of a foreign language, even though this process sometimes seems tedious and overwhelming. Grammar comprehension lays out essential foundations and durable tools on which students are able to rely on their own in the future.

Since there are not too many ways to go around them, we do teach language structures but in more interactive and useful ways to ensure our students do not only connect better to them but also fully master them. When people have a deep understanding of a subject matter, they always retain it better than when they simply learn it by heart without any command of it. Our teachers always apply grammatical concepts to real life practice and build conversation upon them.

DEVELOPMENT OF VOCABULARY

Acquiring new vocabulary plays an important part in learning a foreign language. Although English is a Germanic language, it has a lot of influences from both Latin and French. Americans who have never studied French know on average 15,000 words and expressions in the language. French provides the base for 35% to 40% of modern English vocabulary. This is due to the fact that the Duke of Normandy, William the Conqueror, defeated the Saxons and became king in 1066. The Anglo-Norman dynasty followed by the French House of Plantagenet reigned over England for centuries and approximately 10,000 French words were incorporated into English during those times.

Our teachers help you expand your vocabulary by selecting and working on high-frequency words and contexts. They emphasize useful words and phrases along with idiomatic expressions so that our students reach a point where they are able to perfectly internalize French vocabulary. At this level, students are able to accurately handle French phrases and expressions without translating from English any longer.

PROFICIENCY IN READING AND WRITING

Proficiency in reading and writing are also essential elements for an overall grasp of a foreign language.We help our students develop their reading skills through the reading of authentic cultural and literary texts as well as current articles.

We also regularly ask our students to complete writing assignments so that they can develop their writing skills and practice on recently acquired vocabulary and grammatical structures.

EMPHASIS ON ORAL SKILLS AND PRONUNCIATION

Proper accent and pronunciation are important in making conversations smoother and more pleasant. When people take time and make some effort to learn a foreign country’s natural way of speaking, they do not only look but also feel more secure and learned as well as become more easily accepted by others. Improvements in conversational skills come from extensive speaking and practicing.

Individual or small group classes represent perfect settings to enhance fluency. In this type of environment, people feel a lot more comfortable and mimic more rightfully their teacher. As we devote more attention to our students’ individual elocution, we can address accent reduction and correct pronunciation in better ways.

At J’Adore Le Français, we help our students build confidence in their ability to speak French so that they can venture out and speak the language on their own while in a French-speaking environment. Our goal is that our students do not feel shy or afraid but comfortable in different types of situations. As they dare to speak the language whenever possible, their fluency will greatly improve.

FULL IMMERSION

The idea of a full immersion suggests surrounding students with the foreign language as often as possible so that their brain can learn and subconsciously adjust to the patterns of the studied language. Our teachers thoroughly explain grammatical structures in English at first to make certain our students do master them. Other than that classes are entirely conducted in French so as to fully immerse our students in the French language and culture.

Please check out our “Immerse Yourselves” page in the Resources section to find out more ways to immerse yourselves daily in the French language by listening to French web-based radio stations and watching French television or French movies.

PERSONALIZED LEARNING PROGRAMS
AND EVALUATIONS

Several schools of thought advocate different educational methods to learn a foreign language and assert they have found the best one.

J’Adore Le Français believes there is not one unique method that can be applied to everyone.

We are all different and each person has their own way of learning efficiently. Some people learn better with rules and structures, others with practice and applications. Some learn visually, others orally. Some are independent learners while others learn better when they are forced to or in groups. These represent a whole variety of factors among others that play a huge part in the learning process and must thus be considered.

We feel each student is the core element of the learning activity. Our teachers are working closely with every one of them (or their parents in the case of children) and pay close attention to their individual needs, strengths and weaknesses.

In order to most effectively serve our students, the first meeting includes a free 20-minute evaluation to establish their current level and objectives as well as help them determine what works best for them.

We base our teaching strategy around results and customize a study plan fitted to our students’ personal goals and best ways of learning .

Our students’ needs and goals are then reassessed on a monthly or quarterly basis and we deliver progress reports to parents or students themselves. These written reports represent a way to not only closely monitor our students’ progress and reassess their strengths/weaknesses, but to also follow-up with our clients and provide them with excellent customer service.

We also offer oral and written assessments to those who are interested in keeping track with their level in French more formally.

TOP-NOTCH TEACHING MATERIALS

At J’Adore Le Français we understand that different people learn different ways, so our classes are taught on various levels.

On one hand, we use board displays and other visual aids for those who learn visually. On the other one, we provide thorough explanations and auditory media for the audio learners. In order to supplement our courses, we are also supplying specialized handouts compiled over several years of teaching experience.

Our teachers adopt a multilateral approach to stimulate learning interests. Our courses include diverse interactive supports such as original documents, newspaper articles, comic books, videos, French films and French song extracts.

It is very important when learning a foreign language to be able to connect to it by understanding its underlying environment and culture. This is why we also expose our students to materials detailing French culture and traditions. Throughout our courses, our students acquire a deeper understanding of France’s cultural aspects that enables them to significantly progress in their French studies.

As far as educational textbooks, we only partnership with top-notch education suppliers. We have been working with these suppliers for a very long time and they have proven to be efficient in providing a first-class support to all our students learning French.

INTERACTIVE ENVIRONMENTS

In order to be more efficient, learning must be made fun and enjoyable. Our teachers create pleasant, dynamic and interactive environments where our students are enjoying themselves and become motivated and active learners.

Having fun while learning is fundamental for us and we will make sure you are indeed enjoying yourself!