Barbara has studied, lived and traveled in France. Before your trip to France, she will teach you about those aspects of French life that you are most interested in and would like to learn the French terminology for, so you can converse with locals, eg., dining/food, wines/wine tastings, museums, cooking classes, getting around town, eg., car/bike rentals, asking for directions, etc.

Barbara has worked widely with adults who love things French and have had French in school, but “remember nothing,” or learned rules but never learned to speak; have always wanted to learn French, but it never happened or have native French relatives or close friends and would love to be able to speak to them in their language.

Barbara has taught in middle schools, high schools and community colleges in California. She has helped countless students struggling with the way they are learning (or have learned) French in school. She is expert at clearing up confusion(s), and at filling in the “holes” left by former learning/present learning. Schools are unable to address this because of the high number of students in each class.

In particular, regarding those potential students who believe they are “too old” to learn, Barbara has worked widely with adults in their 50s, 60s and 70s. She has found that not only are they not “too old,” but there is scientific proof that learning a foreign language is one of the most powerful ways to keep one’s cognitive skills sharp, to improve memory, and to healthfully improve brain function.
Barbara welcomes students of any age.