WHAT PEOPLE SAY

For the past 8 months, I have had the pleasure of taking French lessons from Mai. I came to Mai as a beginner and have made more progress than I had expected. Her style of teaching is methodical, supportive, and engaging. Her explanations of the mechanics of French are excellent and her breakdown of the pronunciations is extremely helpful. Mai also makes sure to keep lessons fun by incorporating material based on your personal interests. Mai is accommodating and dedicated. Not only did she conduct in-home lessons with my baby in my (and sometimes her) arms, but when the 8-week COVID-19 quarantine began, Mai was able to continue our course via video calls. Mai is a talented teacher and I highly recommend her services. 　　　　　　　Gina (USA)

During my 2 year stay in Bordeaux, I had French lessons with Mai. I was a beginner. From her courses, I learned everyday words, phrases, conversational French and culture through textbooks that matched my level and even from the worksheets my children brought home from school. It was very useful. Mai's explanations are very clear and delivered in a kind way. During this time, my youngest son was only two years old. To prevent any stress, Mai was able to come to my home for lessons. It helped me a lot. I had fun learning French, thanks to Mai!　　　　　　　　　　　　Hiromi (Japan)

I have been taking French lessons with Maï for a year now, and I can wholeheartedly recommend her as a great French teacher. She is supportive, patient and dedicated, and understands the challenge of learning a new language later in life. Her intricate knowledge of the whys and wherefores of French is truly extraordinary. Mai sends a typed summary straight after the lesson, which frees you to focus your attention on the conversation in the moment, and saves time in taking your own error-prone notes. She is very happy to tailor the course to your needs, and has a creative approach which makes the material enjoyable and memorable. I thoroughly enjoy our lessons!

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Harry (Australia)

J'ai étudié le français dans une école de langue où j'ai appris plutôt la grammaire pendant mon séjour de 3 mois à Bordeaux et parallèlement avec Maï qui m'a renforcé les cours de conversation très utiles dans la vie quotidienne : conversation avec ma famille d'accueil et mes camarades, shopping et aussi partir en week-end autour de Bordeaux, etc.

Les explications de Maï étaient très claires et compréhensibles.

Je pense que si je n'avais appris le français avec Maï, je ne serais pas été aussi satisfaite de mon séjour à Bordeaux.

Je suis donc ravie d'avoir appris le français avec Maï et je continuerai d'étudier le français même après mon retour au Japon. 　　　　　　　Sanami (Japan)

(février 2019)

Je suis contente d'avoir pu prendre des cours en ligne en étant au Japon pour préparer l'épreuve oral du Diplôme d’Aptitude Pratique au Français,

« Futsuken » en japonais, car les cours se déroulaient exactement de la même façon que ceux que je suivais à Bordeaux.

Et en plus j'ai réussi l'examen grâce à Maï. Merci beaucoup !

Je recommande vivement Maï.

(juillet 2018)

Les cours de Maï étaient indispensables pour ma vie en France. Mon fils a commencé à aller à la crèche aussitôt après être arrivé à Bordeaux, mais j'avais de la difficulté à communiquer avec le personnel de la crèche. J'ai donc commencé à apprendre le français avec Maï qu'une amie m'a recommandée.

Au début, j'ai appris des phrases et des expression utiles à la crèche et après celles de tous les jours à l'oral sans manuel. C'était donc les cours 100% personnalisés. Ses cours me convenaient parfaitement. Au début des cours je pouvais lui poser des questions auxquelles elle répondait clairement. Surtout le résumé des cours qu'elle m'envoyait par e-mail m'a beaucoup servi. J'ai suivi ses cours pendant presque 2 ans et j'aime beaucoup le français grâce à elle ! 　　　　　　　　　　Aïko (Japan)

I tend to be a perfectionist, certainly not a good personality trait while learning a foreign language. I'd rather not speak than mispronounce or misconstruct a sentence. French is the fourth language I've been learning. I thought it would be easier but I struggled. During my first meeting with Maï I barely could introduce myself in French but her warm personality won me over and put me completely at ease. I felt instantly comfortable and decided to work with her one on one. Maï is a bright, honest and genuinely caring person with a strong interest in teaching. She truly loves what she does and does it well. I very much recommend her. 　　　　　　Janette (Poland)

　Je suis restée à Bordeaux pendant 2 ans et j’ai appris le français avec Maï pendant les 6 derniers mois. Au début je me demandais s’il valait mieux apprendre le français plutôt avec un professeur français pour mes progrès. Mais comme Maï comprends très bien la nuance subtile de la langue puisque je suis aussi Japonaise, elle répondait clairement à toutes mes questions. Chaque leçon me donnait confiance et je me suis réjouie de pratiquer la conversation de tous les jours avec les Bordelais. Je suis donc entièrement satisfaite d’avoir appris le français avec Maï.

En plus, j’avais de la difficulté à me déplacer avec mon enfant en bas âge, mais Maï venait chez moi pour chaque leçon et j’ai pu continuer tranquillement les leçons jusqu’à la fin de mon séjour à Bordeaux. J’ai donc vraiment pris plaisir à apprendre le français grâce à Maï ! 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Nao (Japon)

The Step by Step teaching Mai was a wonderful way to learn french. Using a combination of sensible conversation techniques with visual learning supplements, Mai delivers a well-rounded program for a beginner like me. Her engaging style and motivational attitude was appreciated. Highly recommended! 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Ryan (USA)　　

I really enjoyed learning French from Mai! She is very patient and well organized. She will focus the lessons based on your questions/needs. I received a lesson summary sheet after each class which is useful for review. I also participated in her Chat classes - definitely worthwhile! I highly recommend learning French from Mai.　　　　　　　　　　Krista (USA)

I started lessons with Mai in January 2016 - July 2016. Before I started, I had lived in France for a year and a half. I had very basic french and not a lot of confidence. After several months with Mai I felt much more confident to go into different situations and attempt to use the french that I had been practicing with her. I can even call a french call centre now!!

She was very accommodating and arranged evening lessons for me. She also includes a 'what was taught' sheet to help reinforce your learning after each lesson. It's something to reflect on before your next lesson.

I would most definitely recommend Mai as your french tutor. Robert (England)

Mai's French class is excellent. She has so much energy and enthusiasm, and is always very prepared. I didn't speak a word french when I started but she made me feel comfortable and learning french fun from the beginning.She is also able to cutomize your learning content to fit your needs.
I recommend Mai to anyone at any level. I could not have found a better or more understanding and patient teacher. Buse (Turkey)

Having lived in France for just over a year I knew my French wasn't going to progress much beyond my basic school level so I decided I needed some help!! A friend of mine recommended Mai and I haven't been disappointed. I started weekly lessons with Mai and a friend in March (2016) and I feel I have definitely gained in confidence in both written and spoken French since. Revision notes from the lesson are emailed to you the same day which is really useful to look back on. Also, for the past year I have had to write my sons 'cahier' for school, so each week I hand Mai my written notes and I receive the corrections the following week. I've found doing this particularly good for my written language. The course can be tailored to what you want to work on and because we are only a class of 2 the lessons feel very personal. I highly recommend this friendly and enthusiastic lady to anyone at any level! Kerstie (England)

I really wanted to improve my French conversation so we did a lot of talking, and Maï made notes to help me with the things of which I was unsure. Also, every week she gave me a new article to read - this helped me to learn the language, but also to learn about French culture. The lesson was tailored just for me!

Ginny (New Zealand)

Quelle chance!

Starting to learn a new language in your adulthood can be a challenge, especially when you are busy with family and other responsibilities. I feel so fortunate that Mai was available to help me. Her lessons are individually tailored to match your own capability, time, interests and learning goals. Mai is a caring and empathetic teacher who knows what it is like to learn French. For me, she has made learning French fun and relevant while greatly boosting my confidence to speak up in French. Sally (Australia)

My friend and I have been taking lessons with Mai since last September and we both feel that we have made a lot of progress with the language. We are not the easiest of students but Mai has a lot of patience and has adapted the lesson plans to match our personalities! We would not hesitate to recommend Mai to beginners or advanced students as she covers all the bases. Shona (Scotland)

I had been living in France for two years and felt that my skill in the language was just not quite enough. I started lessons with Maï and immediately gained the confidence to speak up and speak out. She seems to know exactly what I needed to learn and always had notes from each lesson sent to me by email the very same day. I was able to improve rapidly with this method of revisiting and reflection. Today, I joined one of her chat class and had so much fun that I am resolute to do it again. I highly recommend this intuitive and dedicated lady. Suk Ye (Singapore)

I knew I was coming to France just for one year, and I didn't want to spend every day sitting in a classroom, but I still wanted to learn enough French to be confident living in France. I have been taking both private and group lessons with Mai for the past 8 months and it has been the perfect balance for me. My course with Mai was tailored exactly to what I wanted to learn. I could fill in specific gaps and skip over familiar territory. I could ask her questions about what I was picking up from talking and listening outside class and integrate all of it together. It was very efficient and personal. I highly recommend Mai as a French teacher for anyone at any level! Jill (USA)

I have been taking part in a weekly group lesson with Mai for approximately 3 months now and have seen a huge improvement in my French and in my confidence when speaking French. Mai is a wonderful teacher, she is incredibly patient, she takes time to explain, has the ability to make you feel at ease with the language and to make her lessons and learning French with her a lot of fun. I cannot recommend Maï Zhendre highly enough to anyone looking to learn or to improve their level of French. Sarah (England)