French classes for seniors
Don't feel left out!
Senior citizens often feel they are being left out of the world because of modern technologies. There is a perception that everything is going too quickly and that we can never catch up with the “next new thing”. Cloud storage? Wifi? How about flying cars?
At OuiCommunicate, we are of the belief that the practices that worked yesterday still work today. A few bright buttons and smartphones won’t change the core principles.
Greek philosophy, the wonders of the Middle Ages architecture, the understanding of geometry, the great works of poetry, and quite simply rational human thinking were achieved well before the Digital Era.
Classes that benefit the mind!
First, the "hard" part
To take part in our online French classes, you’ll need a few things:
- The ability to answer a Skype call
- The ability to log into this website
- The ability to open a PDF and press PLAY on a video
- The ability to answer an email
Next, the easy part
Behind the appearance of Modernity, our French classes are really very traditional. We have spreadsheets that are stored in this website that contain exercises. Learners make their way through the exercises under the guidance of the teacher and book a meetup to discuss their progress.
Practically, you take out your pen and paper, sit at your favourite desk and do exercises just as if you were back in school. You can listen to the answers on video, too. There is nothing “futuristic” about this. Instead of it being in a book, it’s in a website.
A French course that resonates with seniors
Relatability
In terms of the generation gap, seniors will not have a “culture shock” when they learn with our videos and exercises. Our teaching program remains traditional and relatable to all.
Ease of use
Practically, the “technological skills” that are needed are the ability to open a website, click “login” and click on the video and PDF of your choosing. Our learning material is on one single page with no hidden menus or maze-like structure.
Stability
Every single of our lessons follows the same logic: the PDF sheet starts with easy explanations and ends with exercises. It is a recurring logic that is easy to get used to. The information is in the place you expect it to be in.
Discover a typical French exercise
Page 1
Page 1 introduces the topic and provides clear explanations in English.
Page 2
Page 2 illustrates the notions by means of a picture.
Page 3
Pages 3 and 4 contain the written exercises.
Page 4
Pages 3 and 4 contain the written exercises.
Page 5
The last page contains all the answers.
Why this could be a life saver
The very best definition of old age might be “the active pursuit of comfort.”
Well-intentioned families tell their older realtives to “take it easy”, to sit in their favourite chair, to not take any risks….and before long it’s all they do.
It is so preventable and at the same time so widespread. Seniors are encouraged to downscale their activities until in the worst cases they end up living an “organic” life comprised of sleeping and eating.
One by one, their activities get crossed off the list until there is literally nothing left.
For the families, it can be hard too. The senior is still an adult and free of their choices. Since neither the family nor the senior have much experience being a senior they figure it is a logical thing to “rest” and do less and less.
It works for a while until one day, we realize the senior literally has nothing left but TV and has done nothing for their body or their mind. The decline then accelerates at a frightful speed.
Some would say it’s a typical Western World phenomenon. You’ve probably seen on TV seniors that are still actively part of the village life in traditional societies.
These societies don’t tend to sit them down in front of the TV and say “You do nothing right there Grandpa. Just sit there for a few years.”
It has been proven that learning a language keeps the mind engaged and significantly slows down cognitive decline.
It’s there for the taking, it’s fun and costs significantly less than full time care !