My name is Chiara. French and English are both my first languages. I did not learn French in a classroom; I grew up in it. I placed first in my state and fifth in the nation in Le Grand Concours, the National French Contest run by the American Association of Teachers of French. I am now a Finance and International Affairs student at George Washington University and a Presidential Scholar in the University Honors Program.
I began teaching French in high school as a teaching assistant in...
My name is Chiara. French and English are both my first languages. I did not learn French in a classroom; I grew up in it. I placed first in my state and fifth in the nation in Le Grand Concours, the National French Contest run by the American Association of Teachers of French. I am now a Finance and International Affairs student at George Washington University and a Presidential Scholar in the University Honors Program.
I began teaching French in high school as a teaching assistant in French classes and by tutoring classmates. That is where I learned that a student taking French because it is required, a student preparing for an exam, and a student who speaks French at home all need very different things from a tutor. I now teach at George Washington University as a Junior Business Instructor, delivering material to undergraduates and giving feedback that is direct and useful.
In French, I work with students preparing for AP French Language and Culture, IB French, and the DELF, with students in immersion or bilingual programs who need support on either side of the language, and with professionals who need French for their careers. I also prepare students for interviews conducted in French.
My approach is to find out what a student can actually do before deciding what to teach. In a first French session I ask the student to talk to me for ten minutes, however rough it comes out. It tells me more than any placement test, and usually shows the real gap is confidence and structure rather than vocabulary. For interview preparation I ask students to answer their two hardest questions cold before we discuss anything. Both are uncomfortable and both save weeks. I am direct about what is not working, but never harsh.
I tutor online and in person in the Washington, DC area.
