1st lesson free
Debby
- Rate $68
- Response 1h
$68/hr
Contact
1st lesson free
- French
- French speaking
- French vocabulary
- French writing
- DELF
Drama Teacher Turned Language Coach Teaching French Through Roleplay and Character Work Nine Years Guiding One Hundred Ninety Students to Speak Without Fear
- French
- French speaking
- French vocabulary
- French writing
- DELF
Lesson location
About Debby
I spent years working in theater before shifting toward language coaching, and that dramatic background completely shapes how differently I approach teaching compared to more traditional language teachers. Nine years into this specific work now, I've guided approximately one hundred ninety students, many of whom came to me specifically because traditional lessons left them technically capable but still too afraid to actually speak. My theater training gives me genuinely unusual tools, voice work, physical confidence exercises, improvisation, that most language teachers simply never learned themselves. I work particularly well with students whose real blocker is confidence and fear rather than pure grammatical knowledge, since that's precisely the problem theater training addresses directly. My teaching style is playful, physical, and occasionally a little silly on purpose, because I've found seriousness alone rarely breaks through genuine speaking anxiety. I take enormous pride in watching a quiet, careful student suddenly find themselves laughing and speaking freely mid-scene, often for the first time in years. Many students describe our lessons as feeling completely different from anything they've tried before, in the best possible way for their confidence. After nine years combining theater and language teaching, I remain genuinely convinced that performance, not just study, unlocks real fluency for most people.
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About the lesson
- Primary
- High School
- NCEA Level 1
- +17
levels :
Primary
High School
NCEA Level 1
NCEA Level 2
NCEA Level 3
Adult education
Masters
Doctorate
A1
A2
B1
B2
C1
C2
Other
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Professional
Kids
- English
All languages in which the lesson is available :
English
My background in theatre shapes an entirely different approach to language teaching, one built around character, scene work, and physical confidence rather than sitting still reciting vocabulary lists. Every lesson opens with a quick physical warm-up, the same kind actors use before a show, because loosening the body genuinely loosens a nervous tongue far more than people expect. We build scenes together, ordering wine, arguing playfully, telling a story, using French as a tool for genuine performance rather than dry, disconnected practice. I assign students small "characters" to play sometimes, a confident traveller, a curious journalist, since stepping into a role often frees people from the self-consciousness that blocks real progress. Vocabulary gets embedded directly into scenes and stories, anchored in genuine emotional and physical context rather than isolated, forgettable lists studied in silence. Pronunciation work borrows from voice coaching techniques, breath and articulation exercises that build clarity and genuine confidence simultaneously rather than treating them separately. I encourage genuinely big, expressive mistakes over quiet, careful ones, since the biggest blocker I see is fear of sounding silly, not actual lack of ability. Improvisation exercises push students to think and speak spontaneously under mild pressure, building real, usable fluency rather than rehearsed, memorised responses. Every lesson stays playful, physical, and genuinely freeing.
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Rates
Rate
- $68
Pack prices
- 5h: $340
- 10h: $680
online
- $68/h
free lessons
The first lesson with Debby will allow you to get to know each other and discuss your needs for future lessons.
- 1hr
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