The Waterloo French classes from Home!
Dear Visitor,
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 just up the road from Waterloo 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!
Practical information
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.
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 class now!
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
Who are we?
How does it work?
A word about Waterloo...
This page would not be complete without a word about what brought us here in the first place: Waterloo!
When I think of Waterloo, I’m always struck by how “English” the name sounds, as if it was destined to house future expats. As a kid, we referred to “the scouts of Waterloo” which sounded like a natural extension of Britain! It our little minds, it’s also where the “English Shop” was located (Stonemanor), which further contributed to making it home!
The name itself comes from Dutch: Water meaning…yes you guessed it. And “loo” meaning “marsh”or “bog”. Despite this rational explanation, Waterloo still sticks out as a linguistic oddity since it is not in Flanders but indeed in Wallonia. But of course in those times, Belgium was still under Dutch rule for the next 15 years.
My very first ascension of the “butte” was when I was around 9 years old. Our family from England had come over and my father probably judged that a bit of exercise would do them good. At the top, I remember there not being that much room to step back and look at the lion.”So much for that”, I thought.
Growing up in Overijse myself, I naturally befriended a number of expat kids whose parents worked for Nato or for SHAPE. Some of these kids went to St John’s school which make me extremely envious. “Why do they get to enjoy top facilities and modern classrooms with computers?”, I would ask my poor mum.
My own Belgian school had a small cement playground and a public park to do sports in. It was very unfair. Perhaps I should have started a “Go Fund Me”? with a little cup and raggedy trousers?
There are no doubt quality French classes in the municipality of Waterloo, some even organized by the “commune”. Perhaps you have tried them and progressed in French. Or perhaps not.
The issue that I often encounter is that the classes remain “too Belgian” without fully taking into account the cultural identity of the learner. In my experience, one size does indeed NOT fit all.
The second issue is that being an expat quickly leads to joining expat social circles which makes it harder to venture into Belgian territory.
Perhaps we could be that reassuring first step towards French? Why not stay on familiar ground until you can fly out on your own?
I hope to meet you soon! Chris.