How do I teach French?

My motto is "communicate first". I am an experienced teacher who likes to chat and laugh and will boost your confidence in speaking French. I will help you talk, I'm good at it, but I also know all the rules of French and will correct your mistakes, and explain them to you clearly. My lessons focus on preparing you for real interactions in modern French, by improving your language skills as well as your cultural knowledge of France. For more info, read reviews from my students.

First, let me introduce myself; my name is Camille Chevalier-Karfis. Born and raised in Paris, I then taught French to adults for 16 years in Boston, and developed a unique teaching method along the way. In 2009, my family and I moved back to France, where I carry on my private lessons over the phone, and develop reachable audio tools for French students.

"I am astonished at the progress that I have made. I definitely owe this to Camille's extraordinary teaching skills and enthusiasm"

Reza Mollaaghababa

"Variety and flexibility make this an ideal learning experience"

Stuart Wamsley

"I have taken lots of classes over the years, tried studying on my own, but it wasn't until I discovered Camille that I really noticed a huge improvement in both my French comprehension"

Natasha Yakovlev

If you are a beginner or a lower intermediate student:

The focus at this stage is to develop your knowledge and self confidence in French so you can actually communicate. If some grammatical basis is essential, I introduce guided conversations, then spontaneous chats as soon as possible.

For reading and comprehension, I use my book A Moi Paris, une Histoire au Présent (available to read, listen or download for free exclusively on this site).

Working with A Moi Paris is a wonderful experience for my beginners who can see the grammar in use, train on their pronunciation, learn the vocabulary in context and simply, for the first time, read, understand, and discuss a French story.

Buy it today for On Sale for $12.74! (Reg: $14.99)

For my intermediates 1, it is an excellent review. It has all the necessary basic grammar, the irregular verb conjugations and some challenging new vocabulary and idiomatic expressions. I use it a lot as a source of discussion, since this is often the most important step at this level.

For grammar, I use the "grammaire progressive du francais" books by Cle International. It is a very clear grammar method; it has a logic approach and good exercises. I have developed my own exercises, a bit more complex than the ones in the book, to test and challenge your new knowledge.

If you are a higher intermediate or an advanced student:

Whether you are an Intermediate 2 or Advanced student, the problem is often the same ; you are frustrated to still not understand the French well enough when they speak fast. To better your understanding, not only do you need to increase your vocabulary, but most importantly your comprehension of the language speed, accents and idioms/slang used by French people in their everyday life.

Une Semaine à Paris, an Intermediate Novel and Paris Guide is a wonderful tool for all French students ; the 3 CDs, recorded at a manageable speed help you improve your comprehension, and the text, full of idioms and up to date vocabulary, is a great source for conversation in class. Since the story takes place in Paris, it's also a great travel guide for those of you who are planning a trip, or like to talk about the one they already took.

Buy it today for On Sale for $33.99! (Reg: $39.99)

Since this is a private lesson, I am pretty flexible and always try to do what interests you : we can train on pronunciation with newspapers, novels or short stories, and then discuss them, write essays, business letters, watch a DVD, or discuss poetry...or food! Simple chats are often the most challenging, because you need to use all your resources and knowledge with little time to think…

Buy it today for On Sale for $29.74! (Reg: $34.99)

But rest assured; for those who really enjoy the brainstorming of grammar, I also have some spicy exercises that are even challenging for me

I offer phone or skype lessons to the world, and private lessons in my house in Bretagne, France

I charge  USD 60.- (45 Euros) for a 55 lesson. For more info, click here.  If you are interested in setting phone or private French lessons with me, contact me and let me know WHAT DAYS AND TIMES would be best for your schedule: my schedule is very busy, and the first thing we need to find out is whether I can fit you in!