I am a Native Speaker, Youth Counselor, and Experienced Teacher Certified by Alliance Française. Join Me to Improve Your French Skills through Personalized, Fun, Fulfilling Lessons!

Find out more about Séverine

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

  I’m a native French speaker, born and raised in France by native parents. My
  passion for bridging cultures through language started as a kid, during
  summer holidays in Spain. My family would go camping for a whole month,
  each year and I loved connecting with local kids—learning and teaching
  songs, and even making puns by mixing French and Spanish. By the age of
  10, I could confidently ask for the right size of clothes, shoes, and prices to
  the market vendors. Cultural exchanges have always been an endless source
  of enrichment for me, whether through social interactions, cinema, or
  literature... In this regard, teaching foreigners has always been a deeply
  rewarding experience.

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

  I’m a movie and music buff, so I choose JEANNE MOREAU—maybe not the
  most famous name, but a unique artist who bridges both worlds. She’s
  emblematic of the French Nouvelle Vague, a film movement that captured
  the cultural upheaval of the ’60s, when a younger generation of directors
  (who later coined the term film d’auteur) sought to break free from a rigid,
  aging-male dominated system.The two most famous directors being
  Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut and their iconic À bout de Souffle
  (Breathless) and Jules et Jim.
  The latter stars Jeanne Moreau and immortalizes the song LE TOURBILLON
  DE LA VIE, which she performs in the film. Both the song and her character,
  Catherine, embody something quintessentially French: the rejection of
  conventions, the embrace of freedom, and the ability to find moments of joy
  and beauty in life’s fleeting and unpredictable nature. Here is the clip of the
  musical Jules et Jim extract :
  https://youtu.be/dcVcwwo8QFE?si=gSFEms3bTZ7plHDY3)
  
  I‘m particularly fond of Jeanne Moreau, for her subtle acting and her deep,
  captivating voice. Less widely famous than Catherine Deneuve, who tends to
  embody a more distant, almost unreachable femininity, Jeanne Moreau
  represents a complex type of Femme Fatale à la française—her characters
  often revealing a mix of strength, fragility, and emotion that transcends the
  traditional notion of the seductive woman. Growing up in a world where
  women were often portrayed as ingénues or hysterical, in any case, mere
  objects of desire under the influence of men, her roles made a lasting impact
  on me.
  She led a parallel musical career, similarly blending depth and lightness,
  giving her repertoire a unique character. Moving between tenderness, irony,
  and nostalgia, she conveys a rich emotional palette (J’ai la mémoire qui
  flanche and La peau Léon are further examples).

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

  My love for language and my life philosophy have definitely been influenced
  by the 20’s SURREALIST cultural movement (from which the energy of the
  60’s actually derives) and their desire to explore language in unconventional
  ways, triggering dreamlike, accidental, and spontaneous creativity that fuels
  our capacity for wonder. It carries the vibrant energy of post WWI era, born
  from a necessity to break free from the dehumanizing logics that lead to
  such events. Its emphasis on spontaneity and the liberation of human
  expression also provided a stark contrast to the rigid structures of the time.
  This is exemplified in the practice of Cadavre Exquis, where several people
  write sentences on a piece of paper, one after the other, without knowing
  what the previous person has written, except for the last word, which they
  start from. It’s a very fun game to try with friends, if you haven’t already.
  
  Surrealism, indeed, has had a lasting impact on art, influencing generations
  of artists. I can’t resist mentioning the writers of OULIPO (Ouvroir de
  Littérature Potentielle) in the 1960s. What sets their approach to tapping
  into the subconscious apart is their use of rigorous constraints—for instance,
  the avoidance of the letter “e” in Georges Perec’s famous novel La
  Disparition, which follows a logical structure while showcasing an unusual use of language. This type of constraint can be turned into a fun grammar
  exercise in class: students can coin words or invent sentences that respect
  the characteristics of the different parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives)
  and maintain a logical syntactic structure, while producing surprisingly funny
  sentences. See the end of this article for an example of a playful Oulipian
  challenge that plays with stereotypes.
  
  Lastly, Surrealism’s influence extended beyond the cultural world,
  permeating French society and inspiring movements such as the
  Situationists in the late 1950’s. This political group advocated for the
  irruption of the irrational as an act of resistance against an increasingly
  normative, competitive and consumer-driven world. They sought to achieve
  this through subversive acts and the concept of ‘détournement,’ which
  involved the reappropriation of mainstream cultural and political messages,
  transforming them to challenge the status quo. An extreme example of this
  was embodied by the May 68 slogan ‘Sous les pavés, la plage!’, encouraging
  passers-by to take out cobblestones to uncover the sand and use them
  against the police. More generally, they advocated parody and bringing art
  into urban spaces. Like the Surrealists, they played a crucial role in
  questioning established norms, utilizing creativity and art as instruments for
  social and personal transformation.

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

  As you can tell by now, the reason teaching French and sharing my culture
  matter to me is that it has greatly shaped my worldview and my love for the
  poetic function of language, whether in everyday life, literature, cinema, or
  songwriting. It has also played a key role in molding my personality, helping
  me balance high standards with a deep need for wonder, creative energy and
  collective initiatives.
  Thinkers like Bourdieu and Foucault have also resonated deeply with me,
  providing an insight on power dynamics and fostering tolerance. While my
  initial studies focused on language, my shift toward social work felt like a
  natural evolution.
  
  However, over time, I have also developed a critical perspective on French
  culture, including its libertarian trends, which at times veered towards extremism. Moreover, despite their aspirations for social justice, these
  movements were not free of misogynistic undercurrents. I believe that while
  the 1960s paved the way for more women’s rights, the sexual revolution
  never fully materialized. The recent rise of #MeToo and the many scandals
  that have only emerged today—years after the initial wave of
  #MeToo—highlight this gap. It is also striking that, at the outset, some
  prominent women, including Catherine Deneuve, even defended what they
  called men’s “right to bother women” (le droit d’importuner les femmes).
  This serves as a stark reminder of how persistent certain sexist dynamics
  still are.

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

  The fact that French requires learners to know the gender of nouns—a
  concept that is arbitrary and varies across languages—to avoid grammatical
  agreement mistakes can be discouraging at first.
  To help with that, I always introduce new words with their gender and help
  spot the patterns that can guide you to find out on your own. Besides, I
  encourage learners not to get inhibited by gender mistakes, but instead, to
  dare take risks while trusting that my guidance and their cognitive faculties
  are progressively building up a set of recognizable patterns that will prove
  efficient over time.
  Added to that, the fact that not all letters are pronounced in French can be
  an unsettling challenge at first. For example, certain vowel combinations
  create specific sounds (e.g., ai = è, au = o). That’s why, from the very first
  lesson, I provide a phonetic chart to use throughout the lessons,
  encouraging learners to write down words they find difficult to pronounce,
  and offering practical training with these sounds.
  By making them aware of the characteristics of vowel sounds and how to
  shape them with their mouth, I equip them with efficient tools that they
  quickly learn to use to correct their pronunciation themselves.
  
  Over time associating spelling patterns with the right sounds becomes
  second nature. But I must not lie to you, finding the right gender remains a
  playful challenge! : )

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

  As a kid, I remember one specific challenge I was facing while learning how
  to read, practicing with the woman who watched over me before school. I
  had trouble assimilating the - ent pattern at the end of verbs in - er
  conjugated with ils/elles. I kept getting caught, identifying it too late and
  pronouncing it, whereas it is a silent sequence of letters.
  I also have a funny anecdote from my childhood that the Surrealists would
  have definitely praised! We were having this exceptionally fancy lobster
  soup. Not only was this sea creature new to me, but so was the name of this
  creamy fish soup: La bisque. I accidentally referred to it as La bisque de
  Léomard, triggering bursts of laughter from my parents and my brother. No
  doubt, that’s why I remember it to this day, ahah! I had mixed up homard
  (lobster) with léopard!

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

  I’ve always been amazed at how physically stepping into an
  English-speaking environment seems to instantly switch my brain into
  another mode. I have a vivid memory of the first time I dreamt in English,
  while visiting my Australian friend for a month—my longest stay abroad at
  that time, when I was 19. It felt like something had clicked, as if my mind
  had fully embraced the language. That moment made me realize how
  immersion isn’t just about picking up more vocabulary—it actually reshapes
  the way we think and process information. It’s the difference between truly
  internalizing a foreign language’s structure and doing the mental gymnastics
  of constructing sentences by translating from one’s native language.
  
  However, books—and especially movies, since they also train your ear—are
  also wonderful ways to internalize structures and build meaning from the
  context. They helped me tremendously in improving my English.
  We will be able to find movie and book references that match you. Le Petit
  Prince is always an excellent choice of book for beginners. Its simple
  language and original illustrations make it accessible and engaging.

• 8) What makes you a Superprof in language?

  What makes me a Superprof is my parallel career in specialized education as
  a youth social worker, because it helped me develop skills to be truly attuned
  to the goals, pace, strengths, and obstacles of the people I supported — the
  key to effective guidance.
  Then, my training with Alliance Française gave me practical tools to turn
  these insights into personalized learning sessions.
  So beyond my strong command of French, what students value most is my
  ability to use material that sparks their interest, while understanding what
  holds them back and helping them develop tools and strategies that work for
  them, so that progress feels intuitive and long-lasting.
  Everyone has different strengths and different hurdles. You might feel “bad
  at grammar”, but you may have an amazing ear, great people skills, or a
  strong visual memory. Building on your strengths and treating mistakes as
  part of the process, you will gain confidence, feel engaged, and progress
  steadily.
  
  It’s funny how deeply ingrained the idea is that giving a wrong answer is
  “bad.” My students and I often laugh about how automatic it is to say
  “sorry,” when in reality, mistakes are like gifts to me. They show me how
  you’re thinking, what you’ve understood, and what you haven’t yet. That’s
  why they’re so valuable: they help me guide you toward a clearer, stronger
  grasp of the language.
  
  It’s funny how deeply ingrained the idea is that giving a wrong answer is
  “bad.” My students and I often laugh about how automatic it is to say
  “sorry,” when in reality, mistakes are like gifts to me. They show me how
  you’re thinking, what you’ve understood, and what you haven’t yet. That’s
  why they’re so valuable: they help me guide you toward a clearer, stronger
  grasp of the language.
  
  - And a version where I asked it to only respect the alphabetical
  progression of the first letter of words:
  Avid bees cautiously dart, eagerly flying, gracefully hovering, instinctively
  jumping, keenly looping, methodically navigating, overtly pausing, quickly
  rushing, subtly turning, unpredictably veering, wildly zigzagging.
  Words starting by X and Y were first missing, then it added, wildly xeroxing,
  yielding zealously.
  - And I couldn’t resist trying my version!
  À brader : carnet dicté en français, grossièrement, honteusement,
  injustement jeté, kitsch, laid mais novateur, ouvertement provocateur,
  quoique racoleur, subtil, terrible, unique vecteur, wigwam xénophile : yeux
  zélés
  Can you!?