I bet you've never tried studying like this before.
6 months, 1 main topic per month and lots of practice. In a world where everything goes too fast, let's take time to:
Talk about tricky grammar and clarify through examples and making it relevant to your life.
Write or monologue your way to mastery: organize your thoughts, try and make mistakes, get feedback and learn from them.
Plan efficiently and self-evaluate.
Be immersed in advanced French: listen, read, speak.
After the 6 months, you'll still have access to all the videos to keep learning and reviewing.
I wish people could see how smart I am when I speak in my native tongue or in English.
I feel like a burden to others because I'm not as articulate as I wish to be.
I refrain from participating in conversations because I don't want to expose my less-than-perfect language skills.
French grammar is so complex, I have no hope of ever making sense of it, let alone using complex structures.
I wish I could convey my thoughts and feelings more accurately.
I want to fix recurring mistakes but I have no idea how to do it.
How can I master the French subjunctive?
I make too many grammar mistakes to pass or have a good grade at my upcoming French exam.
Even though I'm Francophone and can speak fluently, I make too many grammar mistakes and it reflects negatively on my work and what people think of me 😔
I've been learning languages at various levels of profiency for over 20 years, both at school and by myself. I've also learned baking from scratch, on-the-job, until I eventually became a master at making macarons and even creating cake recipes. Both as a language learner and a baker, I've felt the same imposteur syndrome and "never good enough" thoughts.
I've realised most of it is in my head. However, I also know that self-confidence can only get you so far. "Faking it till you make it" alone won't get you to mastery despite what some coaches tell you.
It can get you to a decent level, sure. But it won't liberate you from that nagging imposteur feeling.
What are you doing to fix recurring mistakes?
Here's a quote from Malcolm Gladwell: "Do you know the difference between you and a champion? 10,000 hours of practice."
According to scientific studies, 10 000 hours of practice seems to be a constant in elite performers of any activity. And Elite French speaker is the level you're aiming for, right?
But's it's not random practice. They get strong foundations, do it well and practice over and over. They don't keep repeating the same mistakes over and over, hoping they'll fix themselves magically. They take corrective actions when needed.
If you don't get to a point where you master the technique (here, French grammar), how can you hope to refine it and clear any doubts about how to use it correctly?
How much high-level French practice do you do every week?
Do you want to do it but often get sidetracked and end up doing something else instead?
Professional Neurolanguage Coach®. Podcaster (My Polyglot Life en français). Atypical Language Learner.
Creator and facilitator of this course.
I'm passionate about language learning and I do it in my own way.
I invite creativity into the process and I'll guide you to find YOUR OWN WAY and YOUR OWN VOICE in FRENCH.
When you get to the point where you're rather comfortable with conversational French, almost all of us hit a roadblock.
All the learners I've helped tell me they feel the limitations of the way they've learned French so far.
You can get by but get stuck on "repeat mode", always using the same words and "safe French" that feels safe but offers a limited range of expression.
You get frustrated when trying to express more nuanced, deeper thoughts or tell complex stories about your past or about things that could've/would've/should've been.
Doubts and recurring mistakes shake your self-confidence.
You realize you need to understand the grammar on a deeper level in order to stop being afraid of it and eventually start using it. And you need more practice. You need someone to challenge you.
You're aiming for C1 or C2 at an exam but you still make too many grammar mistakes and you don't know how to correctly apply what you've learned.
Same words?
Same mistakes?
Same blocks?
Delve deep into the French language and start to grasp nuances, especially when it comes to conjugations.
Enrich your vocabulary.
Use more advanced words in the right context.
Whether you needed it for work, to pass a C1 test or to follow your passion for the language and culture, the principle is the same but we can adjust the content.
The type of grammar we're working on is sometimes hard to come up with in spontaneous conversations so, invariably, we end up going through a "writing" or "prepared oral presentation" phase which gives time to think and challenge yourself , while giving the coach time to analyze and explain mistakes. I can then give useful feedback and explain nuances.
Over the years, I've found myself going over the same tricky grammar points with advanced learners so I've decided to compile the most pressing issues into an online course, which you're about to embark on!
When you study, it's also important to be able to plan and self-evaluate. I will encourage you to set your own goals, decide on what you need to do (which may be different from other participants in the program) and evaluate your process and progress regularly.
Merci pour les rétroactions, elles sont géniales et exactement ce que je cherchais.
Merci pour toutes tes corrections et ton commentaire audio -- je les apprécie tous. Je traîne toujours mes pieds, mais je suis toujours très contente après le fait d'avoir écrit quelque chose.
Salut Cathy, Merci beaucoup pour tes commentaires clairs et bienveillants. Je me mets aux corrections demain et je reviendrai vers toi avec mes questions. Sincèrement,
When you think about it, in a French sentence, pretty much everything, especially tough grammar points, revolves around the verb.
Which tense should you use? How to form each conjugation? Exceptions to the rules, pronouns, prepositions that follow some verbs...
That's why this course places so much emphasis on verbs (conjugations and their embedded nuances or grammatical rules) and everything around them.
This course will help you master this key part of French sentences to help you reach a deeper understanding of the language and improve your speaking skills.
You'll still have access to the online course after the end of the 6 months
Telling stories from your past (alternating imparfait / passé composé / plus-que parfait)
Prepositions after the verbs and their consequences (choosing the correct pronoun between le and lui, correctly use "~ lequel" relative pronouns)
The subjunctive in French, beyond the basic uses
Hypothesis with and without "Si" and choosing the correct tense
"Changing the world" (talking about things that could've, would've, should've been)
After the initial 6-months program, I'm planning to continue offering additional modules addressing other tricky points of grammar. You'll still have access to the initial course. It's yours, you can keep it for life.
Because there's no quick fix at the advanced level.
We're literally trying to rewire your brain circuits to think more like a Francophone.
This kind of process is slow. It takes regular practice and repetition. Especially if you want to get to the nitty-gritty and get a chance to get rid of recurring mistakes.
After 3 months you should start to be able to look back and see how you've grown so why stop there? Keep the momentum going!
And you have a life besides learning French, am I right? Can you devote 8 hours a day, or even 8 hours a week, to study and practice French at a high level? If you can, then maybe this course isn't for you.
What if you realize this program isn't what you're looking for after a month trial? You can cancel before the next month starts and get a refund on the portion you haven't used. There's also room to talk with Cathy and make some adjustments so it fits your specific needs better.
Every learner may not face exactly the same difficulties but the French language presents some challenging points to pretty much anyone who is not a native speaker and hasn't had the opportunity to learn through intensive immersion in a Francophone environment.
And even then... One of my friends who's lived in France for 10 years and says "On y va" et "J'en ai marre" without thinking confessed to me she usually avoids using the pronoun "en" because she doesn't know when to use it except in some fixed expressions she's heard many times in her daily life.
Does this sounds familiar?
If you can commit to 60 to 90 minutes of active practice per week to see some progress, then this is for you.
You want your feelings to match your love for the French language and culture, ie, you want to feel good about the French you speak.
You're here because French is part of your life, and you want it to have a bigger place.
Working with me, most of my coaching clients have developed a love for the learning process and language learning in general. They've come to enjoy talking about words and nuances and how different cultures view and talk about the world.
They've learned to laugh about mistakes, learn from it and move on. They want to get better but they've come to accept they'll never speak perfectly and that it's not the end of the world. (Heck, even native speakers don't speak perfectly! Even linguists, translators and such use dictionaries and grammar books. Public speakers write their speeches and memorize them or use teleprompters. No one -but you- is expecting you to do better than them.)
Guided Practice and Coworking (usually on Sundays, to be confirmed with the participants. Recording available.)
Call #1: a guided practice (small group session) to ask questions, clarify the concept and practice it with fun activities designed by your coach (60 minutes).
Call #2: a 60 minutes guided practice/coworking session: during the last week of the month, reserve some time to review and summarize what you've learned in the last 4 weeks. Connect at the same time as Cathy and other participants for accountability and Q&A.
👀Visual components in all lessons.
👂🏼🗣️Audios to hear key sentences and for you to practice using the shadowing method (listen-repeat)
🗣️✍️"Learn by doing": write or speak in your own words and join the guided practice sessions
A basic version of the course is available for purchase
In this "light" version, you'll only get access to the pre-recorded online course.
In addition to the course content, you'll also have access for 6 months to all the videos and exercises I've created to help French learners to this day (and any new one that may be added).
Only available if you join the full program including group calls.
Basic training and ideas on how to use AI tools to help you practice, create exercises and more.
Learning with mindmaps
Developing self-confidence (speaking)
Using short films and subtitles to complement formal studying (and a discount code to use a great platform with lots of movie packs designed for French learners)
WE WANT TO SPEAK REAL GOOD FRENCH BUT...
That being said, we do not shy away from exploring our love for words and ideas well-articulated. Even when people may think we're "fluent" or "good enough", we have the right to want more and pursue our ambitions.
Les explications étaient claires, le contenu intéressant. J'ai aimé les vidéos de shadowing et les séances de pratique en live.
Les leçons étaient intéressantes, c'était bien expliqué. J'ai participé à toutes les rencontres et les coworkings. Il y avait beaucoup de vocabulaire spécifique et de termes de grammaire, particulièrement dans les leçons du subjonctif alors c'était un peu difficile pour moi mais les exemples étaient clairs.
J'aime la flexibilité, je peux regarder les leçons quand j'ai le temps. J'ai essayé de participer le plus possible aux rencontres. J'ai aimé l'écriture même si je n'ai pas pu finir toutes les consignes. Mon préféré était les vidéos de shadowing.
If you realize after a month that this program isn't working out for you, you can talk with Cathy about making some adjustments so it suits your needs better. If there's nothing we can do, we'll refund the unused portion, no questions asked.
Do you still have unanswered question? Send us an email: bonjour@mypolyglotlife.com
Images credit
Inspire Studio on Pixabay