FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

To participate in an online lesson you need 3 things:   A computer that is connected to the internet, Skype and a communication headset.

If you are not a user of Skype,  you can download it here.  It might take you 5 minutes to set it up.  https://www.skype.com/en/

The teacher then calls you on your Skype number and we begin to talk.

Please note that tablets and smartphones have the disadvantage of having smaller screens  and are impractical for sharing documents during the lesson.

In online lessons, the advantage is that the speaking time is greatly increased compared to group lessons.  Online  teaching tends to put the student in a more active role.  It is also easier to assess the students' understanding on the moment.

The student benefits from the full attention of the tutor and can speak with no limitations.  Learners are not usually inhibited as they would in a group and factors such as the lack of travelling distance and improved time management contribute to a better atmosphere in the lesson.

Grammar is often misrepresented as the antagonist of "natural speech"  in a language. Effortless and fast learning are promised to language students by developpers of apps.

One of the risks of learning a Second Language "as it comes"  is to carry mistakes for years without realising them.   Native speakers will forgive the bad grammar and accept it as the learner's unique way of speaking.  Communication might still  be sucessful but progress will usually cease.

Used in the right way, grammar makes  the student's learning easier and more enjoyable.   Grammar tells us which are the rules by which we play and act like friendly signposts to guide us.  

(See our videos in the PDF section for examples of grammar!)

Indeed!  French is not only the language of France but of other countries as well.

Francophones of Switzerland, Belgium, France, Luxemburg, Congo, Morroco, Cameroun or Algeria can understand each other effortlessly.

There are actually less variants between the French of the different francophone nations than between the English of America and the UK. The French language is very unified in terms of the names of things (nouns),  the pronunciation and the grammar.

We do indeed teach students who learn French for the pleasure and have done for years. Fun is an excellent motivator ! 

For our language lessons, the age limitis is set at 8 years old due to the nature of online learning which requires concentration and  computer handling. (Opening documents or web pages) 

Regarding homework and helping to adapt to a new school, Chris is a qualified language teacher as well as a literature major.  Analysing novels,  critical reading, poems, essay writing, argumentation or spelling  are all part of his skills set.

These videos are the same system as MOOC courses used at universities in which the teacher films themselves  teaching a certain topic.

The advantage of these videos are educational and... financial !

They benefit the learning because the student can sit back and watch the course at the moment they feel most receptive.  They can pause, rewind, play again and make notes  during the short presentation. At the  end of the video there will be drills to make sure the student has understood.

From the teacher's perspective it means we can go into more detail during the lesson without being concerned about a clock ticking.  It generally allows to cover a topic thoroughly.

Lastly, it is a financial advantage because it stretches the time you get for your money.

Moodle is the name of a brand.  They design websites that serve for teachers to store their exercises on. 

We give  a student a login which enables them to view the exercises at their best convenience and prepare them for our next lesson.

It also serves the purpose of answering any random question about the French language.  

English and French have a very unique relationship in that a lot of French and Latin makes up the vocabulary of English. 

On a further level, the tense system is sometimes quite similar as well such as the future, the imperative, the past perfect, the conditional or reported speech rules.

It makes a lot of sense to exploit these similarities and point out the differences. 

When teaching a student who speaks a language that the teacher doesn't know, there is no way of guessing why a mistake occurs.   However , if your teacher not only speaks your anguage as a native but also teaches it, chances are high that he will see very clearly in your learning of French. 

This is what we do at  OuiComunicate.

I recommend a minimum of two lessons a week to achieve a noticeable difference. 

It is important to reach a certain momentum for the language lessons to be beneficial.       Think of it as going to the gym!