About Our Students

I started by investing in the Rosetta Stone program, which felt like "practice." I was having to practice a lot to feel like to was getting the hang of it, which I barely was. I then went to the bookstore to look for a French grammar or workbook, and came across the book Fluent Forever. This book taught me about using a online flashcard system with an algorithm to help me remember vocabulary and phrases. It also recommended working with an online tutor, which is how I found Cédric.

 

When I found Cédric's page (thanks to some God-given miracle), I knew he would be a good fit right away. At the time, he was living in Argentina and thinking of moving to Brazil. I had also lived in Argentina and had learned Brazilian Portuguese, so I knew we had a lot in common. The next piece of information on his profile really convinced me, though. He said (and he was the only teacher I found who said this), "I am a specialist in online learning."

 

Wow! That sounded good to me. As I was planning to learn online, I wanted to learn from the best - someone who was specifically trained and certified in online language learning.

 

When I booked my free intro session with Cédric, he showed me the first of many tools he would later use to help me learn French in a completely new way. With his color-pronunciation chart, he showed me how to pronounce the French vowels (which are not easy for a native English speaker) in a way that was completely new (and delightful) to me. What I noticed most is that he was completely focused on me. The entire session consisted of me learning, and rapidly. Later I would come to find out that that is a hallmark of the Silent Way, the system that Cédric uses over and over to great effect in helping his students reach an absolute mastery of French.

 

As we did that first session, I also noticed a lack of something I usually get when learning something new - praise. I'm definitely used to people telling me, "Good job!" and "Wow, you learn fast!" so when all Cédric told me was, "That's correct" (in an albeit friendly way), I felt a little deflated. He would soon explain to me that the search for praise gets in the way of the search for knowledge, and that the Silent Way uses only feedback, not praise, to help its students learn. In that one moment, I grew so much. I became quite strong, and my goal of learning French became the reward in itself. I no longer was externally motivated, but became internally motivated. It's how I knew I was "doing it right" - if I was learning French, I was getting my goal. And, of course, outside the limits of the lessons, Cédric did encourage me and motivate me to keep progressing.

 

In the long run, I ended up exceeding my goal by several times. With three 90-minute sessions per week over six months, Cédric taught me French. I, with many hours of practice by myself, solidified and built on that knowledge to reach an enjoyment and mastery of French that I would have never discovered without him. Probably my biggest accomplishment was listening to the 15-hour audio version of The Three Musketeers (a book I have not read in English) and understanding basically every word. I was able to follow the (quite remarkable) story of Arthos, Porthos, Armais, and D'Artagnan as they navigated the intrigues of court and rode through the countryside seeking and finding adventure.

 

I also find success in knowing that I have a great pronunciation of French. Many native French speakers have asked me, "Are you from Paris?" or, "Are you from France?" This serves to underline a basic strength of Cédric's, which is that he emphasizes pronunciation from the get-go.

 

I feel lucky to have found Cédric, as not only did he teach me french, he has shown me so much about learning. Thank you Cédric!