Tervuren French classes from Home!
Hi, I'm Chris. Head teacher at OuiCommunicate.
We're home to speakers of English who need a step up from one-sided French classes.
Native speaker of French is no longer enough.
Your teacher needs to be twice that.
This is what we do.
If your French teacher doesn't quite "get" you
If you need flexible bookings
Try an English-to-French bilingual school
We can make your life easier!
Who are we?
How does it work?
About our classes
Thanks to the Internet, there is no more need to be present in the same room to conduct a successful language class. There are actually many reasons why in-person classes are less effective, slower and quickly lead to becoming “hobby-classes”.
Probably not the best approach if you want to learn French with intent.
OuiCommunicate is a coursework-based language school. We have the French language available for you on our website in the form of worksheets, videos and quizzes.
You only pay for the 20-minute meetups with your teacher, in which we assess your understanding of specific parts of French.
Speaking French will gradually be integrated as you develop better tools. French will be taught to you as a speaker of English, with full understanding of your background.
As a result, you can expect to build strong foundations in French to become a confident speaker. You will have all the tools to grow and develop as an independent speaker of French.
A solution to an expat's problem
Are you looking to integrate better in the Belgian landscape? Have you been living in Belgium for a number of years and starting to think it may be time to learn one of the National languages?
Easier said that done. It isn’t always so simple to “boldly step forward” and sign up for classes as an expat. For a start, the teaching methods might seem a bit “foreign” to one who was schooled in the UK or US.
And what if the teacher only has a basic understanding of English? Could they even possibly know what it feels like to have English as a mother tongue and to approach French?
What if everyone else in the class is more advanced? What if they have a language that is closer to French and that allows them to speak without an accent?
Even worse…what if no one had any clue about HP sauce, Bisto, Guy Fawkes, Thanksgiving, mac ‘n cheese and all the rest??? Perish the thought!
These fears are very natural and understandable. You’re in a foreign country and you are stepping into a field you don’t know much about: language learning.
But what if there was a kind teacher who had “walked that walk” long before you did? What if this same teacher grew up right next door to Everberg in Overijse as the son of an expat Mum from the UK and a Belgian father?
What if this British/Belgian teacher left Belgium, lived in the UK for several years, married an American lady and had relocated in the US?
And best of all: what if this teacher had founded a language school called OuiCommunicate that specifically teaches French to learners who have English as a first language?
It would almost seem that the stars had aligned to make any expat’s journey into French as easy as it could ever be. But we’ll let you be the judge of that!
Become our next "success story"!
The lady in this video is originally from NY and wished for us to help prepare her move to France.
Today, she is fluent and happily lives in France where she meets new people and uses French daily.
The “secret” to her success is nothing more than what we offer you: the same learning material and the same approach.
But don’t take our word for it: read the review she wrote for our Google Business page!
Book a free Q&A!
No preparation needed
Wish to know more? Phone Chris now or send a Whatsapp message to +1 860-339-6480.
You can book a trial class with no preparation through the booking calendar.
No French skills needed!
Classes are on Skype for reasons of convenience.
Find us on Skype at:
live:reulandchristopher
A word about Tervuren...
When you think “Tervuren” you think of a time in Belgium’s history that was synonymous with the royal family and the Congo. Very few other places have a similar large 4-lane boulevard built for prestige apart from Franklin Roosevelt. As a reminder of this time, the Museum of Africa boasts collections whose provenance can be traced back to the colonial days.
Behind the Versailles-like museum you will find French gardens with typical geometrical bushes and trees. The arboretum of Tervuren was the private property of king Leopold 2 until he donated it the the State of Belgium in 1900.
The king didn’t wish to see his belongings divided between his 3 daughters and opted to make the estate available to all. This Royal Donation also included several other properties and chateaux such as the Laeken greenhouses, the Stuyvenberg chateau and the Duden park.
Closer to us, Tervuren is of course home to some very famous expat schools such as the British School of Brussels, The Courtyard International School, and ISF primary school.
Tervuren classifies as a Flemish commune whose official language is Flemish (or Dutch). This means that you are politely expected to use Dutch in your social interactions in shops, with traders or at the “gemeente” (local council).
For those who still wish to learn French in Tervuren, there are limited options. There is of course a language school in Tervuren, one in Kraainem, a few more in Brussels… and knowing that it would take at a minimum 2 weekly appointments for decent results that means a lot of driving.
The other factor is slightly intimidating in that they don’t offer a comfortable half-step into French by means of an expat-oriented psychology. They don’t teach specifically to expats who have English as a mother tongue because they are not expats themselves. A square can’t be a circle, right?
If I was in a foreign country, I would rather my language teacher understand me culturally and linguistically. I would want to feel comfortable to learn in better conditions.
Being the son of an expat myself. I know what it’s like. Penetrating the Flemish side of Belgium can seem like mission impossible. There was a time years ago when learning a bit of Dutch sufficed to smooth out the tensions, but the political landscape has changed. They want independence whether you speak Dutch or not.
These few lines might show you that despite being in the US, we are still well aware of the goings-on in Belgium. Hopefully, we can serve as a smoother way to ease your way into the French language than by taking slightly more “intimidating” local classes.
I hope to meet you soon! Enjoy Belgium, Chris.
