I can't say enough about working with Christelle.  She is simply great.  I have studied French for many years, in many settings, and my experience with Christelle has by far been the best.  She has a number of qualities that I really appreciate:
-- She is a a professional teacher, with a clear understanding of how people learn languages and common pitfalls that occur.  She also has excellent knowledge of both French *and* English grammar, and can explain the French language in a way that makes sense for English speakers.
-- She does a good job of balancing grammar studies with free conversation.  To speak a language well, I am a firm believer you just have to spend many, many hours speaking it.  A solid understanding of grammar, though, is essential to accelerating this process.  In our lessons, we would spend a good fraction just chatting.   She would then identify rough spots where we could review grammar points and add vocabulary.  I really liked this adaptive approach, and felt like the session was finely tuned to my needs.
-- She comes prepared with a huge array of content: radio interviews, videos, newspaper clippings, grammar summaries, vocab sheets, etc.  She tries to identify subjects her students are interested in (cooking, traveling, hobbies, etc.) and then tunes the content to those areas.

Joshua - Berkeley, CA

​

I am a high school student and I began looking for a tutor because I found myself falling behind in my level 3 French class. After my meetings with Christelle I would walk into class feeling confident and ready to participate. When I was working with her, taking my tests and quizzes became dramatically easier and French class overall became less stressful. Christelle is kind and considerate. She has never made me feel bad for not knowing things. I could ask Christelle for help with things, which I felt too embarrassed to ask my French teacher about because it was something we'd previously learned. Our sessions were always on track and there was never a wasted moment. Yet the sessions never felt like too much information was being thrown at me. She explained the same concepts which had flown over my head in class, in a way which I was able to understand. We would work on areas that I felt I needed help with. If we were halfway through an exercise and I told her I wanted to work on something else, then we would. Even when I was exhausted from a long day of school and a two hour sports practice, I was able to be attentive and focused because of the energy Christelle brought to each of our meetings. It was super pleasant and rewarding to work with her.

Nala - San Francisco, CA

​

Christelle is simply the best. I studied French with her for a little less than a year--I had studied French in college and wanted a refresher--and she was fabulous. She totally understood what I was hoping to get out of our lessons and she tailored them accordingly. I mostly wanted to improve my speaking skills, so we started by sharing articles and short videos back and forth, which we would then discuss during our weekly lessons. Later on, she assigned me some relevant grammatical homework, which was super helpful. She was really flexible and open to whatever I wanted to chat about--from food to politics to tech to my upcoming vacation. She's super prepared and professional, lovely to spend time with, and an excellent teacher. Highly recommend for students of all levels!

Claire - San Francisco, CA

​

Christelle is a true gift to this world. I was always excited to work with her on French because she is such a positive force in this trying times. She was forgiving while still keeping me accountable and I really couldn't have gotten through an online French class without her. She is kind, smart, and resilient. Not only did she teach me the language, but she also taught me the culture which was so important to me. I will forever cherish what I've learned from her and am so grateful.

Anneke - Oakland, CA

​

As an adult learner who nearly mastered French way-back-when, I was determined to better my language skills when I took a break from work (plus we go to France every summer). Christelle has totally taken my french to the next level, better than any group class I've ever taken (and at a better price!!!!). I feel so comfortable speaking French - this is an incredible service & I love it :)

Gwendolyn - Charleston, SC

​

I have been receiving lessons from Christelle Durandy for nearly a year. She is a very competent, encouraging, and patient teacher. She understands her student's skill levels and tailors the curriculum accordingly. I highly recommend her.

Archie - Palm Springs, CA

​

Christelle has been working with my son since the beginning of the school year.  While my son had significant exposure to the French language as a child, he needed to strengthen his grammar and vocabulary very quickly as he launched into a French II high school course last Fall.  Not only has he been able to keep up, but he is thriving in the class.  Most importantly, he really enjoys speaking French now!  Christelle is attentive to the needs of her students and teaches with a warm, positive style that sparks a desire to learn and speak French.

Meryl - Oakland, CA

​

My daughter worked with Christelle (over Skype) for several months over the summer to review for the SAT II French subject test. Christelle was dedicated and engaging, willing to work around my daughter's crazy schedule. We just received the test results and my daughter scored well enough to pass her college language requirement. She could not have done it without Christelle's help! Overall we were very happy with our interactions with both Christelle and Pascale and would not hesitate to use Bay Area French Tutor again.

Teresa - Cupertino, CA