Bi-lingual Oxford Postgraduate Giving French Lessons Online (IB, A Level, Literature and Language)

Find out more about Marjotte

• When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  I have always been passionate about languages - I moved a lot as a child so linguistic skills were always a priority! I was fortunate enough to have great language teachers throughout my education so I realised how much difference that makes. I actually started my very first tutoring job helping out one of my mum's friends perfect her French speaking skills! I was surprised at how involved I got and how much I enjoyed it. I gained some more experience teaching history of art and love that just as much. I have not stopped since!

• Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  I teach both French and History of Art - two subjects that actually go well together! In terms of French, I love combining grammar and French literature together - it makes learning the language and the culture so much more interesting!
  When teaching history of art, I especially love teaching theory as well as seventeenth-century art. But that is only because you are making me pick… I love teaching everything to do with history of art!

• Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  My Spanish teacher at secondary school was incredible. She was full of passion, slightly intimidating of course, but so inspiring! At university, I was taught by some incredible professors - one in particular made me so passionate about topics I thought I was not even interested in to start with. She was truly the best lecturer and tutor I could have ever dreamed of.

• What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  A true passion for the subject and a capability to listen and to adapt - amongst other skills.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  I was born in Paris, so French is my mother tongue. When I moved to Italy when I was 10, everyone was convinced I was German for some odd reason. Once I sung them the whole of "Champs Elysée", they could not deny the French in me!

• What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or still facing in your subject?

  I feel like grammar is always the hard part with French. This is why I find combining it with actual passages of French literature, of French songs, can be so helpful. Once grammar is put into context it becomes much more interesting, especially when students realise how vital it is to them mastering the language! As for History of Art, the difficulty lies in the fact that it is inherently multi-disciplinary. It combines philosophy, history, geography, literature, psychology… meaning one has to be able to dialogue between those different subjects effectively. Although that is also the best part!

• Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  I am extremely passionate about valuing the importance of the humanities in education - whether that be through languages or history. On a more specific note, I am passionate about the history of South American visual culture - the topic of my future PhD!

• What makes you a Superprof (besides answering this interview questions :-P)?

  My French sense of humour? Perhaps?