Online Pronunciation exercise program

1- Program Outline

  • 2 Options of your Choice:
    *Full 20 Session Program
    *10 Session Refresher Program

Session Duration : 20 minutes 1-2 times/week
Price : 25€/session

We will decide on the meeting time together. 

  •  Program Logistics

    1) Prior to our session : I will send you a document regarding the sound we will be practicing together.

    2) During our session, I will work with you on your pronunciation of the sound, so that it becomes clear and effortless for you.

    3) Post our session : You will have a recording of the session so that you have the opportunity to practice aloud afterwards.
    I recommend at least 5 minutes a day.

After 20 sessions, and your practice every day,
you will sound like a true French!

2- Registration and Payment :

On My email address : maryse@la-petite-classe.com

I will provide you all necessary contact details

As we are confined together, throughout the world ..
Let’s make the most of it and have fun together intelligently and effortlessly!

I am Maryse and for years I have specialized in serving as a French teacher for foreigners. Many are under the common misunderstanding that to be French means to have a standard French accent, when in fact this is not the case. Regionally different parts of France have different accents, and I am fortunate enough to be from Burgundy, which has the authentic accent most strive for. Allow me to use my great fortune to help you too have the sought after perfect French pronunciation!

The situation right now is unideal for many, and confinement is not easy. As someone who tends to book out home stays months in advance, which have had to be postponed due to travel restrictions, I have a unique opportunity to carve out time to help those of you around the world remote. So why not use these circumstances as a time to fine tune your pronunciation in a comfortable, trusting space?

This way, when we are out of confinement, you can be one of the few foreigners who in a truly effortless French way can smoothly order that « un verre de vin » to celebrate, request that « shampoo » your hair has so been waiting for! Yes, I know these are just two of the many terms more challenging for many to pronounce!

Or, perhaps dare I say, even shock a future French boyfriend/girlfriend with that amazing French pronunciation you suddenly acquired out of nowhere!

Regardless of your level in French, or even if you’ve decided to learn it later,
You all can benefit!

Aubrey, a current student (Harvard University, 2018), testimony:
As a foreigner, there is only so much French I could learn through books, the classroom and youtube tutorials. I want that real French that only those who truly grew up speaking it know — for example, that « je ne, » is usually just sounded as « jen. » Or, that French when pronouncing « acheter » in it’s plural conjugation typically drop the « e » sounding it as « nous achtons, » as opposed to “nous achetons,” for example. These are seemingly simple things, but they seperate out Foreigners from French. They are simply not things we can learn on our own, except from people like Maryse. Maryse has given me so many helpful insights and I am really grateful to have the opportunity to learn these things quietly with her so that when I am actually speaking French, I sound much more authentic!

Un brin de grammaire

Vous l’avez remarqué, dans mon texte « l’aventure commence… », du 16 janvier, j’ai souvent utilisé le plus-que- parfait..

Les étudiants étrangers sont presque toujours persuadés que le subjonctif est une difficulté majeure en français.

Or, c’est faux ! Pour les anglophones surtout, c’est l’utilisation correcte des temps du passé ( passé composé, plus-que-parfait et imparfait) qui pose un réel problème !

Considérons aujourd’hui le plus-que-parfait:

1- sa conjugaison est très simple, il suffit de regarder le tableau ci-dessus.

Attention toutefois à la règle d’accord des participes passés, règle valable pour tous les temps composés.

2- son utilisation est également très facile :

Le plus-que-parfait est employé pour une action antérieure à une action ou une situation passée :

Ex: 

  • Mardi, j’ai acheté (action) un ordinateur parce que, lundi, j’avais cassé le mien.
  • J’avais très soif (situation ) parce que j’avais beaucoup marché 

Dans mon texte, j’écris  » je suis donc partie » mais, (Avant,) en 6 ans, j’avais ..appris ..etc…,tout est au plus-que-parfait.

À bientôt..✍️✍️✍️

I recently spent a memorable week …


I recently spent a memorable week at Maryse Planel’s “la petite classe,” (www.la-petite-classe.com) with a goal of jump-starting the French I spoke many, many years ago. By the end of the week I was not only speaking, but thinking–and even dreaming–in French. 

If you are interested in “la petite classe,” know that you will find yourself in Semur-en Auxois, a beautiful medieval town in the heart of Burgundy. The peaceful, secure town feels far away from the big cities of France. You will enjoy the small squares, the friendly people, the excellent local cuisine, and the views from the town walls. And you will be staying in a restored 12th century convent, with a beautiful stream passing outside your bedroom window.  (See picture.)

But ‎know that you will be expected to work. Madame Planel is an experienced professor with high expectations, and she will demand much of you. Your morning sessions at her kitchen table are serious affairs, as you are there to learn–and she is there to teach. She is an engaging, fun woman who has led an exciting life, and from her you will learn much‎ about the French language, but also much about contemporary French society.  You will also enjoy her cooking and the excursions into the beautiful countryside. 

“La petite classe” will not be for you if you are not committed to putting in the work. This is a serious program that requires dedication, as well as flexibility and patience.  In the end, it will be a visit to France unlike any other you have ever experienced, one you will long remember.

Tom Barber   Charlotte, NC

Your bedroom

une chambre chez la prof