Welcome to Rue Français!

A tremendous course. Working with Joëlle Carlin has expanded my understanding of the French language and culture while improving my ability to speak French almost painlessly. Innate language acquisition skills that we lose in puberty force adults to make a serious effort to gain new ground. The aid of direct learning, one-on-one, or low ratios such as four to one, is not available in most of language schools in the Lyon region, and low teacher to student ratios are difficult to find anywhere on the planet. Joëlle’s credentials are too long to list here. Suffice it to say that she is a Sorbonne graduate and a professor in the French school system. Her patience and calm demeanor are a product of her exemplary background and training. She is a joy to study under and is not constrained by that often used teaching mandate to communicate only in the language one is learning. Her English is on par with a native speaker (full fluency) and she has a knowledge base in language structure that allows her to explain and simplify common linguistic traps. I have gained French language skills that will continue to enrich my life for many years. - Nelson OShaughnessy

Joëlle is an excellent French tutor, and I can't thank her enough for her help. She is very passionate about teaching, very effective and patient. She not only teaches, but she explains the French language so it makes sense! No matter what your level and your goals, Joëlle will help you improve your French immensely! Don't think about it (like I did) and waste valuable time. I recommend you get started with Joëlle as soon as you can! - Laurie OShaughnessy

Spending my time studying French with Joelle turned a holiday into a life experience. Joelle was professional and had a wonderful style that made even a beginner feel confident.  In only a few short lessons I felt part of the French culture and yearned to learn more.  Quickly, it felt like a good friend was teaching me this beautiful language, making the experience interesting and passionate.  I would recommend her to anybody planning a trip to Lyon and I will certainly continue lessons over Skype remotely.   - Yulia Rozhkova

Joelle is an outstanding French tutor. Her French lessons are informative and a good mixture of oral, written and listening exercises that improved my French immensely. Joelle uses a variety of sources which makes each lesson interesting and they can be tailored to suit a particular need or interest. She has a very high level of understanding of the French language which is evident through her style of teaching. Deciding to take private French lessons was one of the best decisions I’ve made and I highly recommend Joelle! - Cindy Aquino

Joelle has been my French tutor for approximately two years. During the entire time, Joelle was engaging and imparted the right amount of fun, learning, humor and purpose into the sessions. Each lesson was tailored to individual needs. Excellent all around. As a language professor, obviously her knowledge of the French language is sound but when combined with fluency in the English language it makes the students experience so much more enjoyable. I especially benefited from her inherent understanding of the subtle cultural differences. It is surprising how much we don't know about the French culture, what they expect or need from us, and vice versa. I highly recommend Joelle to any future students and wish her all the best. - Patrick Gaffney

I was instantly put at ease when Joelle arrived at my home.  Having a teacher who is so knowledgeable and affable set the stage for a great learning environment.  I was challenged and motivated to learn, not only the French language, but her approach made me feel more a part of the French culture, enriching my experience.  With Joelle's help, I learned how to survive in my new culture, from the grocery store to working on documents and letters. Joelle's custom approach gave me what I needed, when I needed it.  Learning conjugations and French grammar rules was made much clearer having a professor who could explain it in words and phrases that I understood.  My confidence grew under her tutelage.  All this and more, custom fit to my needs and schedule. I strongly recommend "Rue Francais"! - Jennifer Anderson

I am so happy to have found RueFrancais.com! Joelle is a vibrant and highly intelligent tutor who mentored me not only in the French language but also in French culture. Her schedule was very flexible and she met me in my home at my convenience.  She has an easy disposition and is professional and organized in her work.  The innovative lessons she prepared were adapted to fit my needs and interests.  This was important as it allowed me to apply and use the language in my day-to-day life, leading to better information retention.  Joelle also made herself available to me outside of class through email.  Several times when I had question or difficulties understanding specific documents or writing formal letters in French, Joelle came to my rescue!  I highly recommend Joelle! - Pamela MacWilliams

Joëlle has been my French tutor for about a year and a half now. For me, as a monoglot from an English speaking country, Joëlle has been more than just a language tutor: she has helped me adjust to life in France. Joëlle has a professional, but very easy going, relaxed style of teaching where lessons become conversations, interjected with grammar and cultural information. She happily adapts lessons to suit what I need for my life in Lyon and explains grammar rules in a way I can understand. I feel comfortable to ask for further explanations or to ask her to repeat something if I do not understand and she patiently re-explains points when I totally forget. It was such a relief to find her after attending ‘immersion’ classes which do not suit my style of learning. I can honestly say that I feel so much more confident in actually speaking French now than when I arrived thanks to Joëlle! - Rebecca Stewart

I highly recommend Joelle to anyone interested in improving their French quickly and efficiently.  She tailored our meetings and assignments to my specific interests, addressing the language skills that really needed attention and moving at precisely the speed I wanted to.  By the end of a summer of working with Joelle, I had not only made concrete gains in my spoken, written, and reading French, but had been given the confidence to fluidly interact with the language I encountered during daily life in Lyon.  I've taken both group French courses and private French lessons prior, and can honestly say that she is the best and most professional French instructor I've ever had the pleasure to work with! - Vreni Schonenberger

Joelle is an extremely professional and highly motivated French teacher. She clearly enjoys sharing her knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, French language and French culture with others. Unlike some other teachers, she tailors her lessons to the student's individual interests and needs. She puts a lot of thought into preparing the material and gathers it from a variety of current sources, instead of just making photocopies out of some outdated workbook! - Jennifer Hill-Tsimpis

I really enjoyed my studies with Joelle. She was flexible to focus on my learning priorities while also directing logical next steps. As a beginner, I appreciated that she gave me important practice in oral comprehension and speaking, which boosted my confidence to have meaningful interaction in French. I highly recommend Joelle – and especially for those who want to be somewhat self-directed in their language study. - Sarah Sitts

I learned a great deal with Joelle through private French lessons. She was passionate, and she adapted to whatever I asked of her. The French classes were well organized and varied, with videos, books, and more. C'était amusant! - Mika Tanaka

Madame Carlin offers a wide range of different subjects and themes for all levels of linguistic knowledge. She knows how to combine French grammar and vocabulary exercises, French cultural themes, and current events so learning the language becomes as interesting as possible. Especially her flexibility to deal with any kind of subjects we asked for (for example, administrative tasks or special examen preparation) needs to be mentioned positively. I can highly recommend RueFrancais.com and Madame Carlin and thank her for her permanent competence and commitment. - Niclas Ropers

Thanks so much for tutoring Evie on her recent visit to Lyon and I'm glad the arrangements worked out so well. She found the sessions really helpful and is now more confident about the forthcoming oral exam. - Stephanie Snow

Bonjour Joelle! I passed my oral exam today! It went well! I was able to respond to all the questions, and discuss them with ease. Thank you so much for your helpful French classes. It was very kind of you to make the extra effort that you did. Merci encore! - Evie Snow

Merci beaucoup for the French classes, Joelle. I am very happy to have met you. It made my visit to Lyon very special and memorable. And now I am much more motivated to learn the French language. - Jeff Humphrey

Professional.. Friendly.. Punctual.. Understanding.. Flexible.. Knowledgable, and always Prepared. Learning French with Joelle was a useful and enjoyable experience. - Mahmoud (Cairo)

Joelle tutored me for several months in Lyon. Her fluent understanding of English allowed her to quickly teach the English native speaker. Joelle used a variety of sources to keep the classes relevant and entertaining. I would not hesitating in recommending Joelle to any student interested in studying French. - Robert Kennedy

Joelle's French coaching is lively, interesting, communicative, informative and educative! - Franca Emakpor