Singing and guitar lessons. For those who want to learn to sing and accompany themselves on the guitar or Ukulele - great fun! We start with simple rhythms and chords and take a beautiful trip into the world of song. We will be able to explore many landscapes: French songs, American folk songs, blues, Mexican, Chilean, Argentinean songs, ... We will work on relaxation, breathing and vocal ease amongst other things. The lessons bring feelings of well being and release. I have studied several years at the Conservatoire and I sing in various projects around Nice: Choeur 1732, Opus Opéra etc. I have also given lessons in music schools and conservatoires. I grew up in England and also give English lessons. I can therefore help with English pronunciation. 


Learn real French, as spoken in the street, in shops or at work. The lessons are based on actual communication in French. Imagine you met a French person who didn't speak or understand English, and you had to communicate... how would it go? maybe it would be difficult? especially at first?... Thankfully I am used to this situation and have many techniques to overcome the difficulties of the language barrier: 1) I always use a whiteboard to illustrate my explanations. It may not seem like much but the use of pictures to illustrate an explanation makes it so much clearer! It also stimulates the imagination and increases students Pictionary skills. 2) A great deal of miming enters the communication. A student who wants to talk about his pet parakeet but doesn't know the French word "perruche" will have fun acting like a bird, imitating cage bars with his fingers, chirping merrily... When I finally understand what he is doing, I happily shout out the word PERRUCHE! as if I had just won a game. The student is happy he managed to make himself understood, and all the miming and effort will act as a powerful stimulant for his memory. 3) So in lessons we use miming, drawing, and also ... talking!! I love to teach students to use French words they already know in order to discover new French words. Students often know I'm bilingual so if they don't know a word, for example "beginning" in French, they will ask me "comment dit-on beginning en Français". So I look dumb and I ask them "C'est quoi BEGINNING? (What is BEGINNING?). And I always use a strong French accent on the English word to emphasise the fact I DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH!! They often laugh at my reaction and search for ways to explain. Sometimes they have difficulties to explain, so I help them. Yesterday my eleven-year-old student was at a loss, but I showed him he could simply use the opposite « La Fin » (the end) to make me understand he is searching for « Le Début » (the beginning). Lessons are lively, interactive and effective. A vous de jouer !