Who we are
Jane McAdoo
I have taught French for over 30 years, first in a college of Education, then at London University and for the Open University.
Now retired from Goldsmiths (London University) where I specialized in Renaissance Literature, and from the Open University where I taught Level 3 French and acted as examiner for both written and oral L211 and L310 exams. I very much enjoy teaching French Language to all levels of ability, and making it accessible and enjoyable.
In my spare moments - which are not many - I enjoy cooking, gardening and listening to music of all kinds.
Monique Meager
I was brought up in the outskirts of Paris with a French father and an English mother, so have dual nationality and am totally bilingual.
After graduating from the Sorbonne, I came to England for one year as a French "assistante". It has been the longest year in my life: I still live in England.... I have been teaching French to adults for over 30 years now, in an adult education college, for the Open university and in ARCA colleges (residential week-end courses in England) - and I still find teaching motivated adults endlessly exciting and rewarding. You can see details of my courses by clicking the link on the left. Apart from that, I love reading, going to the theatre and walking.
Penny Sewell
I have taught French at London University for over thirty years. My college, Birkbeck, teaches only mature students so I am very used to teaching adults.
I am a specialist in French linguistics (see left panel) and the French press, and have published widely on the teaching of French and on translation.
I particularly enjoy helping students understand how the sound systems of the French language work - this helps them improve both their pronunciation and their understanding of spoken French. I have two children and in my spare time, I like do-it-yourself, art and opera.
Michel Pigny
I have taught French as a foreign language to adults, teenagers and primary students, in England, Peru and then Mexico, where I became head of an Alliance Française. After a degree in Spanish and English as a foreign language, I worked for some years in the College of Education at Blois before becoming a schools inspector, a job which I enjoyed until retiring a few years ago. My obsession when I was teaching or training teachers was to try and make my students happy to learn, (not, I must admit, the main objective in the French way of teaching!). I’ve always been convinced that one can’t learn well under pressure and that learning must be enjoyable.
I’ll be very happy to share with you my passion for my mother tongue, as well as my love of gardening and cooking. I’ll be delighted to work with you in a language and you will find details of my cookery classes by clicking on the link in the menu.
Françoise Koreneff
I was for many years directrice of a primary school in Paris, a job I took up after spending eight years in a bilingual college in the United States.
Before that, I specialized in teaching non-French speaking children newly arrived in France. Recently retired, I divide my time between Suèvres and Paris.
In Paris, I sang with one of the major choirs. I now play recorder with a mediaeval consort and train and conduct the village choir. For IF, I offer sessions on French chanson.