http://www.yelp.com/biz/french-classes-austin
David K.
Have really enjoyed weekly lessons with Gwen these last couple months
Geruza P.
I met Gwendoline after searching online about a private French teacher.
She is a great teacher and I am learning a lot.
She has a great method of teaching and I am understanding the language better. I am very happy that I found her and will continue taking lessons. It is great to a have a one-to-one language lessons. That's the best way of learning something new!!
Oli D.
Gwendoline is a great teacher. Plain and simple. Her approach is eclectic and tackles learning the French language from every angle. The hour usually flies by and always leaves me feeling like I've been challenged just enough. I've noticed significant improvement every time I go to France.
Bruce S.
"I've been taking classes with Gwen for over a year now. My French went from stiff to fluid. I went from being strongest at reading to being strongest at conversing which I had sort of given up in previous teaching environments. There is nothing worse than thinking you're prepared and arriving in Paris and realizing everyone is going to reply to you in English for the entire duration of your stay. Gwen changed that for me. Highly recommended!"
Vanessa A.
"So after changing majors, my academic advisor told me that I needed to take two more semesters of a foreign language in order to graduate. I freaked out a bit because it had been almost four years since I barely passed French 102 and I had pretty much forgotten all the French I had struggled to learn in those classes.
I decided to get a tutor over the summer to help me prep for the fall semester.
I've always been terrible at learning languages and I was prepared to be disappointed and frustrated again. Gwen completely changed all that. We met in a coffee shop and she was friendly and excited to get started with me. I was impressed to learn that she was a native French speaker, born in Paris. I'll admit I was also a bit intimidated, but Gwen never let me get too down on myself. She never let me leave a lesson without feeling like I had learned something new. She has a great way of helping you build confidence by acknowledging your strengths and tailors her lessons to help with your weaknesses. Gwen is an amazing teacher! I highly recommend her for those looking for academic help or those wanting to learn conversational French as well!"
Meghan D.
"Gwen is an incredible teacher. I've taken french classes from her off and on for several years - and I couldn't recommend her any higher.
She has a very approachable teaching style that makes it easy to digest & process the information. I've had previous tutors that made the experience seem very overwhelming and intimidating - learning an entirely new language isn't easy. She makes the daunting task of taking on learning a second language very palatable and tangible.
Additionally, coming from France, Gwen teaches you the proper language, but also the nuances of French - how people actually speak. Not the outdated ways of speaking you may learn when taking foreign language at a university.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND."
Ryan M.
"Gwendoline is the best foreign language teacher I've ever had the pleasure of learning from. I've spent years trying to learn in high school and college, with no success in actually learning practical, every-day speaking and understanding skills. What I can say about Gwen is this, she is genuine, hard-working, and focused on YOU and your learning. She's not like other French teachers who are only interested in their paycheck. She will give everything she has to offer to really get you speaking and understanding French in a REAL way. Her style contrasts greatly with what I experienced in institutional classes, where the emphasis was on mostly irrelevant text-book progression. If you are DEDICATED to really learning how to speak and understand French, Gwendoline should be your teacher. She is without any doubt in my mind, absolutely DEDICATED to YOUR learning and will help you to be proficient in as efficient a way as I think is possible."
Stephanie S.
"My trip to Paris, France, last year was a very humbling illustration that a few semesters of French in high school and college left me woefully unprepared for the realities of communicating with native French speakers. I found that traditional classroom lessons—where I might have the "best" pronunciation in a group with poor to mediocre verbal skills—wasn't helping me improve. That's when I started taking private lessons with Gwen.
Gwen mixes the materials we study and the assignments she gives to so that I'm exposed to all levels of language complexity and formality, from classic literature to children's books, from political editorials to food blogs, from Nietzsche to YouTube videos of animals using swear words. She even indulges me in tailoring our lesson materials so that I can learn how to talk intelligibly about some of my more esoteric interests and hobbies like homebrewing and beekeeping. Gwen also includes small lessons about French history and culture into our class materials; these give me better context for why some sentiments or ideas are expressed the way they are, how contemporary language usage differs from what you find in textbooks, and how to politely express myself (or impolitely, when needed).
In the months I've been taking lessons from Gwen my overall French communication and comprehension skills have not only dramatically improved, but I feel much more confident overall. How many times have you been able to answer "Actually, I do know how to say that in French!""
Kyle E.
"Gwen may be a French teacher, but she speaks an even more important language when it comes to teaching anything – the language of realness and understanding. She will never make you spend hours learning esoteric or antiquated grammatical constructions, rather she teaches you to speak the way actual people do. Class is fun and is usually held outside on one of Austin’s many inspiring and charming East Side patios, and Gwen will teach you to speak French with both in-class exercises and cool materials such as French plays, books, stories, and whatever you want to work on!"
Paloma T.
"I took AP French 4 this year, a class that demanded proficiency and knowledge of the French culture and language. I needed a teacher that would not only provide a way to help me become fluent in French, but also help me get to know the French culture better. Gwen did both. Her classes are structured in a way that they offer practice in listening, and being able to understand French, as well as being able to speak it and comprehend it. This provided me with a well rounded skill set in French. The classes are always fun, engaging and very helpful."
Rebekah R.
"I have been taking private lessons with Gwen for about a year now and my French has greatly improved. I found that being in a group class setting was frustrating for me, having to go at the pace of the slowest learning student. With a private tutor I am able to go at my pace and have the lesson tailored to me by Gwen and how she sees my progression going. When I went to France last fall, my language skill really made my experience so much more personable and exciting. Being able to communicate with the locals was great! I think they really appreciated me trying to speak their language. I plan on going to Quebec next and can't wait to take my French with me!"
Mauricio M.
"I've been studying French with Gwendoline for the past three months. What I really like is her straightforward approach to get the important concepts and the pronunciation right. I like this approach as the ultimate goal is to be capable to speak French with native speakers and being able to sustain a conversation. As a native speaker, Gwendoline can guide you through the complexity of talking French vs. written French and also can tell you which words and phrases real French people would use in any given situation. She also provides a lot of context/background information about French culture for a well-rounded learning experience."
Savannah C.
"Gwen is a wonderful French teacher! She takes a holistic approach to teaching French. You don’t just study a list of vocabulary words in her class. You learn the proper way to pace a sentence, pronunciation, cultural references, literature and pop culture. After several lessons, she spoke to my classmates and I primarily in French, which is definitely hard at first, but helps train your brain to really hear and understand the language. My family and I travel to France often, and I was thrilled last summer when I could effectively communicate with Parisians. I look forward to practicing with Gwen in the coming years.
We have also hired Gwen to tutor our 8 year old in French. Our daughter went to a French immersion preschool, but needed some refresher lessons. Gwen’s approach has translated perfectly to children. They have sung songs, cooked together , read, and watched videos. Savannah is very excited for “Miss Gwen Days” She is also helping her read and write in French."
Roxy S.
"Gwendoline is a very attentive teacher who is able to identify the areas where your language skills are the weakest and help you break bad habits you might have formed elsewhere. You won't spend years learning a language you can't actually speak here. I'm really pleased with my progression and have also enjoyed our materials - we've worked with specialized textbooks, magazines, and classics from Breton and Genet. Highly recommended. She is very annoying about her website, though."
Roberto V.
"I have been taking private classes with Gwen for the last couple of months. With her help I have improved my grades at the university. She has been very patient teaching me how to read and pronounce the words. Gwen has always been willing to help me out with all my doubts about French. She is so knowledgeable about different topics related to French culture. Gwen helped me to prepare for my trip to Rennes and Paris this summer. Thanks to her help I feel more confident. The good thing about Gwen is that she does not make you spend your time with grammar, rather she teaches you what you need to know or improve, like reading, pronunciation, listening, or writing. Gwen is always flexible with your schedule so you can have a class. If you really want to learn or improve your French I recommend taking French classes with her. She enjoys talking about aliens, the Bermuda triangle, twilight zone, reincarnation, and all that weird bulls***. I believe it's a French thing."
Marcus Z.
"Gwen is the real deal. Straight from Paris to Austin. If you want to learn and speak real, understandable French, she is your "professeur". Yes, I've studied French on my own. Learned from a textbook as well as listening to CDs. Those are great in their own right but if you wish to converse with the locals...like *really* converse with the locals, you need hands on experience with a tutor. With Gwen, I have studied poetry, grammar constructs, cooking French recipes, watching streaming Canal+, etc.. The francophone world is at your fingertips for your study and exposure. These are small cultural elements you can't really get in a classroom. You will also fine-tune pronunciation. This is very essential for the French language. A testament to my studies with Gwen was in Paris when walking into stores and speaking French to the clerks and having them reply back and start a conversation in French. Most Parisians will reply back in English if your French is not perfect as most don't have the patience to endure bad French.
Mastery of the language is work and a long continuous process but with Gwen, you'll be on the right path towards it. What's best about Gwen is that your lessons are not constrained to some outdated textbook. You will be learning French as the living, breathing language as it is meant to be experienced."