This is how David did it: from beginner to intermediate in days

THIS IS HOW DAVID DID IT: FROM BEGINNER TO INTERMEDIATE IN DAYS

Improving the French conversation from beginner to intermediate in days – is that even possible?

David is a brilliant student, and he loves to reach new levels of self development.

He initiated the global movement Silent Disco Squad in a desire to turn the World into a dance floor, he went on TEDx, he was striving to make a difference.

He contacted me to help him prepare for his oral TEFaQ exam, and he has 13 days to attempt this transformation.

This is not an easy task, it flirts with the impossible, but he came to me with the right attitude: “I’m here to stretch.”

Read his story below, and watch the video for some French worth knowing.

(This week: the verb SAVOIR – to know)

And, while the vocabulary and verb conjugation are on his plate, I’m helping him with conversation, crush learning techniques and principles for French conversation that help him across the language.

We started with the J’Ouellette® pronunciation course (2 hours), which helped him enormously, because now he can correct himself while speaking. By getting into the habit of pronouncing the words correctly, he can now get a hint of the words that are similar in English and French, and understand the teacher who will test him, during their conversation.

For vocabulary, he created a deck of flash cards (no translation, just images and audio for pronunciation) with words that he practices every day. For verbs, I gave him the top 20 irregular (and most commonly used verbs), and every time he makes a mistake or is not sure, he runs the conjugation of that verb quickly. We focus on making very short sentences so that the phrase construction is easy to manage.

And, we make conversation (formal and informal) 2 hours every day, when he applies and reinforces all this knowledge.

What amazes me is that he already has a good handle on his presentation, he slows down the right amount to be able to manage self correction during the conversation, he’s enriched his vocabulary and verb conjugation… we are planning to hold our sessions STRICTLY IN FRENCH… and we’ve only been practicing for 6 days!

Would this work for you?

Depending on many factors, of course, but the main element that guarantees success is your willingness to stretch. This is what David has that most people are afraid of.

And, whether he is going to pass this exam or not, he will have succeeded in bettering himself, and learning how to learn and how to perform in another language, to a level he would never have reached otherwise.

Kudos, David, for your open mind, for your desire to better yourself, for your efforts and for stretching yourself to find out what are your limits.

Regardless of the result of this exam (which I believe is in your reach), you will have a great success story for your next TEDx presentation.

David’s experience, in his own words:

“After taking the plunge and deciding I need to become really good really fast at French (A2 to B2 in 21 days), 13 days before my exam, I had the good fortune of finding Llyane; she is custom-tailoring her creative and pragmatic multi-disciplinary approach specifically for my situation and I am seeing results. Moreover, I see Llyane as not merely offering a service but truly as someone who is in service from their place of empowered expertise. I’m unsure I’ll hit my goal of B2 after these 21 days, but what I do know is that by working with Llyane I have set myself up for success in the best way possible, and regardless of what the test score says, I’ll have a long and rich relationship with French.”

NOW IT IS YOUR TURN!
Tell us in the comments below, when are you planning your next stretch? How long do you plan on working to get from beginner to intermediate?

Let me guess.