Online French school

French Classes for the 10-year Carte de Résident

Learn with a native speaker of English to skip through this French problem

Chris French teacher ouicommunicate

Hi, I'm Chris. Owner of OuiCommunicate.

I do French classes for speakers of English to make their journey into French more approachable.

No confusion and nothing lost in translation between us.

Your goal is to get to B1

In language learning, there are theoretical “levels”. While these are very imperfect, they none the less help to determine the level of a student at their test. They go from A1 to C2. 

Levels in simple terms

When you are A1 you just know a few words in a foreign language. When you are A2, your level is too basic to hold a conversation. B1 means you can speak comfortably and understand most of what is said at normal speed. B2 means you are a little bit better than that. After this, we enter the C levels with C2 being native speaker level.

What the French government wants

The French government is asking you to have a conversational level of French. This means that you can express yourself with precision and understand others too.

In simple terms, you don’t have to dazzle but you do have to be able to use French with a certain precision. Modestly able. For example be able to explain your day or your future projects and finding the right words to say it. 

It sounds so confusing! .

Yes, it does and with good reason. First the subjective nature of “B1” and second the somewhat shady landscape of the test preparations. 

When a language school is an official testing center or an official exam preparation institution, it can “officially” prepare you for the test. Smaller schools cannot do this because it costs quite a lot to qualify.

What is your best bet now?

There is an unfortunate veil of secrecy surrounding the exact nature of a B1-level exam. And probably a strong effort to discourage exam takers to focus on “everyday French”.

Your best bet is to realize that whatever the exam entails, it will contain ordinary French which you will have to learn anyway.

You now have the option to save money and time to get your French level up to mid-level by learning in our program. You can then take some other classes at a test preparation school to make quite sure they tell what you will have to know on the day of the test.

This student got to B1 too and quite fast!

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.

How do we prepare you?

Let’s be clear: we don’t prepare students for language tests. Our value is elsewhere. 

Our value is knowing that whatever you will find on the day of your test, it will contain French. We are experienced enough to see through the shroud of mystery and understand that B1 means nothing more than “using the French language at a mid-level competence”.

We make your preparation easier

Our coaching is one of the only that is perfectly bilingual. We know English and French on a cultural and linguistic level like few teachers do.

We bring the stress levels down by being able to act like a bridge between English and French. We explain calmly and rationally how French functions. 

Learn our program and know French

On this website, we have all the relevant parts of French neatly explained on PDF worksheets and on video. Better yet, it’s all explained from the point of view of English.

We offer you the possibility of learning all the important constituents of French and come better prepared mentally for the B1 test.

Whatever they tell you…French is French

Make no mistake, it is in the interest of language schools to wave that “we are specialized” flag.  

But you are looking at 2 separate skills: knowing French and passing the test. And the latter relies on a good knowledge of the former.

Yes, we can get you to B1

1. You will need conjugation

The proper use of tenses is paramount. French is a conjugation-based language and you will need all the relevant verbs and their conjugation in different tenses. We cover them all, up to the most advanced.

2. You will need grammar

You will need to know the place of pronouns, the rules of pronunciation, how to ask questions and all the rest that belongs to the grammar rules of French. We cover them all, explained in clear English.

3. You will need vocabulary

You will need a mid-level of French vocabulary including the frequent verbs and adjective as well as the nouns. We have all these exercises as well as the relevant flashcards.

Visit our French program page:

Let's have fun...Fictional characters and their level!

Don't let it spook you. This how easy language levels are:

Manuel of Fawlty Towers

Manuel: A2

Poor Manuel knows the main words but can’t quite put a sentence together. His poor English skills cause many breakdowns in communication, to the frustration of poor Basil!

Borat

Borat: A2

The fictional visitor from Kazakhstan relied on his insufficient English to create misunderstandings. Again, he knows the words but his sentences are too simple.

Colonel Landa

Colonel Landa: B2

Colonel Landa put some serious work in! His French is certainly B2 and his English most probably C1. He speaks with high precision and shows very few limitations.

Officer Crabtree

Officer Crabtree: A2

From the series Allo Allo, officer Crabtree’s pronunciation was just not good enough and made it a challenge to be understood. He might be a higher level in writing but not in speaking!

Book a free Tour!

You can book a trial class with no preparation through the booking calendar.

Click on New Students Guided Tour

We will meet for  video call and we will show all our resources to you and answer every question.

French in Leicester