Student Spotlight: Rebekah T.

Rebekah T. has completed French 1 with LanguageBird and instructor Beatrice Clerc.

Why did you choose LanguageBird? 

It was highly recommended by a well-educated bilingual friend.

What recommendations do you have for future LanguageBird students? 

Choose a teacher that suits you. Set doable goals. Read through notes from class and practice.

How do you plan to use your new language skills? 

I am getting my French citizenship and spending summers in France, where my family got a vacation home. Plus, I enjoy reading, watching movies, and listening to the news in French. I also succeeded in my goal to reach advanced proficiency on the TCF exam. At the same time, my high schooler was able to test intermediate French during his Freshman year of high school. He is better able to communicate with his French family, now able to order and purchase food and other items on his own in France, and much more.

How did LanguageBird support your learning goals? 

My teacher customized our tutoring sessions to my interests and language level and needs. She always had lessons ready to push me to the next level and created useful notes for me to study. My son’s LanguageBird tutor was similar. He kept it interesting and with just the right amount of challenge. He was also very flexible and supportive but very genuine.

Describe your favorite part of your LanguageBird program.

I loved how Beatrice always kept me in the “zone of proximal development,” challenged enough to really use my mind and improve but not overwhelming and never boring. My son liked how Niv kept the sessions relaxed and talked about his interests while also focusing on the grammar points my son needed. My son got an A+ in Intermediate French after his lessons with Niv. I think the sessions launched his grammar study well.

What was your favorite thing that you learned?

We both learned about “en” “y” “lui” et “leur” which was very useful, and when we had a medical issue in my family, our tutors helped us learn how to talk about it in French so we could get what we needed in France. 

How did LanguageBird support you as an adult learner?

By being flexible and by having a convenient online program. Also, letting us set our own goals was important. The staff was very helpful in the teacher matching and tech support too. 

Is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience?

As a Ph.D. in Foreign Language Education, a multilingual person (I speak French, Spanish, and Portuguese in addition to my native language of English), and a professor of ESL, I strongly endorse LanguageBird. I have conducted research and published on Computer Assisted Project Based Learning, and practiced it as a professor for decades., and I can affirm that the application of this methodology by our teachers at LanguageBird is quite strong.  I hope to further improve my Spanish with LanguageBird next.

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