Practice your French with an American with 4 years of lived experience studying and working in France!

Find out more about Julia

• 1) Do you speak this language fluently because of your origins or because a teacher inspired you to learn?

  1) Although I grew up mainly in the United States, I speak French because I was born in France and spent many of my early childhood years in a French speaking preschool. Much of the pronunciation and comprehension of the language came from this early learning, but I then studied French in school and lived again in France during high school, where I first began to feel fluent. I have now spent 2 years living and working in a small city in France, where I speak French at work, with friends, and in daily life.

• 2) Can you name a living, historical or fictional character that you think is the emblematic representative of the language's culture?

  2) I particularly love the characters in the film Les Intouchables. Philippe and Driss embody two versions of modern France, and the film touches on many of the dynamics of contemporary French life.

• 3) Is there a typical word, phrase, tradition or behaviour in the language that you particularly like?

  3) My personal favorite phrase in French is "C'est n'importe quoi !" Which l translates to "this is nonsense!" Any of the phrases to express frustration are satisfying and funny, but this one is great for its ability to really apply to anything!

• 4) Why does speaking this language matter to you?

  4) Learning to speak French has been an opportunity for me to open up my eyes to a different country and culture and to learn it from the inside. Being able to integrate in France with French people in their native language has allowed me to recognize the unlimited similarities and differences we share because of, and despite of, our different nationalities.

• 5) What is the main difficulty in learning this language and what can help the process of learning?

  5) I think the hardest thing about learning any language is getting enough practice speaking. No matter how much studying you may do, improving word recall and practicing sentence structure out loud can only really progress with regular speaking practice. Finding a weekly conversation partner is a great way of doing this, and the next best thing to full immersion!

• 6) Provide a valuable anecdote related to your language learning or your days at school.

  6) Besides French, I also learned German when I moved to Germany several years ago. When I first arrived, i found that I froze up every time I had a chance to practice speaking, because I wanted to get the sentence just right and not feel stupid in front of other people. In fact, I didn't start to really make progress until I accepted the idea of feeling embarrassed when I tried to speak. Getting past our social inhibitions when speaking a new language is an essential part of success!

• 7) How has travel or a specific trip helped you to increase your skill and knowledge of the language?

  7) Any type of language immersion is the best way to make progress- moving to France and beginning to live in a fully immersive French environment made my French progressive extremely quickly because it was necessary to practice speaking in order to get through my daily activities. I learned an enormous amount of new vocabulary that was necessary for my daily life, and I remembered them because I had to use them continually over time.

• 8) What makes you a Superprof in language?

  8) I have been a French learner in both an academic and a real life environment. I also have the experience of learning the language as a child that has allowed me to have close to native pronunciation and an ear for what "sounds" right in French, not just what follows the rules. Additionally, I have experience learning a language from scratch with German, an experience that will help me relate to my students as they begin their language learning journey.