Alec

Rate $35
Response 1h

$35/h

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French
French speaking
French reading
French vocabulary
French listening

Let's put down the books and learn a language the way language is meant to be learned: by LIVING it! (Mich. Certified Teacher)

French
French speaking
French reading
French vocabulary
French listening

Lesson location

- online

About Alec

I grew up on the very western edge of the Upper Peninsula - Not a lot of French speakers. My family isn't French by Heritage... I had no real reason for taking French in high school other than my amazing French Teacher, Madame Moore. She was funny, enchanting and bubbly, and proved to me that people are diverse; being American doesn't mean you're rude, and being French doesn't make you a snob ( BTW newly rich students were registered as "S.Nob." = sans nobilité; ,meaning they had no connection to the royal family ). After high school... :

- Michigan State University where I worked at the Writing Center
- I started out as a reporter with a BA in journalism from Mich. State
- I spent two years in AmeriCorps working with at-risk youth as a tutor/mentor.

Side note: This is was immensely formative. Those kids hated me (the feeling was mutual), and I NEVER wanted to be a teacher. By the end of that term of service, my students and I were old war pals, and I was ready for my next classroom.

- I was a substitute teacher for ~6 years (it was as rough as it sounds);
- I went to GVSU for grad. teaching certification;
- I spent winter semester '18 at L'Université Catholique de l'Ouest;
- My student teaching @ Kenowa Hills HS '19-'20 ;
- Briefly worked for the Michigan Online School - French instructor '20.
We had a differences in methodology and priorities.

( I have a method, and my students are my priority ;)

About the lesson

I believe that my role as a teacher is less as a leader and more as a guide; education isn't about the student meeting the state's or my standards, but meeting their potential. Learning a foreign language isn't just about communication, it's about perspective; it's the ultimate expression of a education in the humanities.

By learning French, for example, we are also learning history, art, geography, sociology, linguistics, economics, anthropology... the list goes on. It seems to me that the best way to do that is to experience it; to take virtual field trips to the caves at Lascaux and discover how early man survived amid monolithic glaciers; to have Zoom-pals with Québécois students learning English; to watch un match du foot au télé en Français! It's the little things - les petits trucs - from which we learn the biggest lessons.

I'm cantankerous, loud, and definitely bizarre, but I believe that the kind of learning that happens between a student and a teacher happens best when the two have a relationship that is positive and appropriate. To me this happens when both parties can be themselves, openly and honestly. I never ask for perfection, only that my students put the effort in toward progress. I don't want to force my students to do anything; being in my courses means they want to be there.

A typical lesson will start with warm-ups intended to strengthen and make limber the muscles necessary for cogent speech, much like vocal warm-ups in a choir or theatre troupe. There will be 10 minutes of review, followed by 15-20 minutes of direct instruction. After that, it's all hands-on. I believe we learn a language best by DOING THINGS. Speaking is an action, writing an action. We use verbs constantly and it only makes sense that we should learn by verbs as well. There will be very little sitting, and if you aren't at least a little uncomfortable with what we're doing, then I'm making it too easy! I'm kidding... ish.

The point is, this isn't like your typical classroom. This isn't about grades or verb charts, or homework - this is about what the students can produce at the end of the lesson. You want to have fun while learning a practical and invaluable skill? Then you should come learn French with me.

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5h: $160
10h: $320

online

$30/h

Travel

+ $$10

Details

My certification tells you that I hold myself to the highest standard; Michigan is one of the most stringent states when it comes to teacher preparedness and disciplinary knowledge.

My test scores and academic record put me in the classification of "Highly Qualified Teacher", a designation created under the language of the No Child Left Behind Act which stipulates such an educator "1) holds at least a bachelor's degree from a four-year institution; 2) holds full state certification; and 3) demonstrates competence in each core academic subject in which a teacher teaches."

This means I have, essentially, two bachelors degree's and have proven myself not only competent as an instructor but highly skilled in my field of study. I am trained in multiple pedagogical theories and am ready to take on even the most unruly of students. My aim is to provide you and your loved ones with the highest quality instruction possible.

Let's put down the books and learn a language the way language is meant to be learned: by LIVING it! (Mich. Certified Teacher)

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Let's put down the books and learn a language the way language is meant to be learned: by LIVING it! (Mich. Certified Teacher)

Lesson location

About Alec

About the lesson

Rates

Rate

Pack rates

online

Travel

Details

Other tutors in French

Bernard-Alexandre

Robbert

Audrey

Émilie

Gwenola

Jules

Aurélia

Julien

Michael

Kata

Mathilde

Claudia

Anna

Max

Jose

Pierre

Fay

Awa

Thibault

Hic

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