Testimonials
Valérie Defendini is a French national and lives in Bridport. She’s a qualified teacher and for 25 years has worked with adults privately, as well as Dorset Adult Education, secondary and primary school children. Valérie is currently expanding sessions in her native language – but with a new twist. “I’ve just been to see my mother in Provence. She has Parkinson’s Disease and I became more aware of how important it is to have regular, intellectual stimulation to keep neurological processes working well, and to improve cognitive function.”
There are well-documented reasons why refreshing rusty O/GCSE and A-levels, boosts memory and multi-tasking skills. Also, the way that Valérie works is designed to help overall communication and thinking. “After the lockdowns I feel we need to dust-off and enhance our social skills. Solitary online classes can be a good starting point but nothing beats eye contact and animated discussion.” French is such an expressive language and it doesn’t take long to see the benefits. “We start by looking at what’s in the news and the sheer act of forming an opinion in English and then translating that into spoken French is an excellent mind work-out!”
The classes are tailored to suit individual needs/experience and can be one-to-one or in small groups. “It’s fun, friendships have been made, and I feel it’s immensely valuable to share thoughts, holiday memories, or a love of all things French, in a safe environment. Excellent for confidence building. À bientôt!”
By Annette Shaw
Valérie is an excellent teacher who makes her lessons varied and enjoyable. In a relaxing environment, she has helped us to improve our French both spoken and written. Being taught by a native speaker always helps with learning a language.
I enjoy my private lessons with Valérie very much! The lessons are informal and it’s not at all like school, but I am learning lots each time. Our conversations flow naturally so that I am able to learn colloquial French phrases.
Valérie is friendly and calm even when I make a mistake. I enjoy having conversations in French and learning this beautiful language.
Best wishes,
I really enjoyed my lessons with Valerie. She puts care and thought into every session; she is very widely read and as well as improving my French I felt I learnt more about French culture and history.
We have been having French lessons with Valerie for over a year and it has helped us improve our skills enormously. She is patient and dedicated, all in all an excellent teacher.
I always enjoy my lessons with Valerie. The conversation is lively and she provides interesting materials for us to discuss. Valerie is excellent at finding your level and helping you to express your ideas.
My daughter Phoebe was really struggling in her final GCSE year with French and needed extra tuition. I contacted Valerie who was able to help. She immediately recognized areas that Phoebe needed to practise and revise as well as understanding how the French language is spoken and written. Phoebe enjoyed learning with Valerie as Valerie’s teaching made it easy for Phoebe to grasp and gave her the confidence to write and speak it for her exam. To our delight, under Valerie’s tuition, Phoebe passed with flying colours. I am so extremely grateful for Valerie’s help and guidance. I definitely recommend her!
We have enjoyed studying with Valerie on a weekly basis over a number of years. Valerie is approachable, patient and informative. She is able to teach at any level. Not only did we learn the language, but much about the French people and their history, their daily lives, politics and literature. Merci a Valerie!