Salut! My name is Lisiane and it’s great to have you here!
Here’s a quick introduction to who I am, where I’ve been and what I’ve done professionally.
Where are you from?
Originally from Switzerland, born in Paris and raised in Senegal, West Africa until I was 19, I’m currently stationed in Germany and planning to move to France some time in the future.
That makes me a proud born and bred TCK (Third Culture Kid) that has no earthly home. 🙂
I was raised trilingual (French, German and English as a third language when I was 8) but French is “officially” my mother tongue, even if I used to hate it as a kid because I thought the grammar and tenses were too hard! 🙂
Apart from French, German and English, I’ve also learned Spanish, Afrikaans and Arabic and dabbled with some other languages.
Where did you study and teach?
I studied translation for four years at Geneva’s Translation School and then got a degree in teaching French as a Foreign Language from the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris.
However, I started teaching as early as 2007 during my translation studies because teaching was my passion. I’ve taught in two different language schools, including internationally known Berlitz Language Schools, a college level school, an evening school for adults and an online school. I’ve taught in Switzerland, France and Germany.
I’ve enjoyed each season of it and am looking forward to this new season!
Why did you start this blog?
In January of 2014, while on holiday, I was binge-watching an old Mexican series on YouTube in Spanish and found myself speaking Spanish fluently within a few days. I had been at an upper-intermediate level and could understand most written Spanish but greatly struggled when it came to listening and speaking.
I was so stunned by the results of binge-watching and binge-listening (approx. 16h per day!) that I decided to share my experience and provide French learners with more audio resources, since I always found it quite hard to find good ones online for my own students.
I’ve since taken a step back from teaching and am now greatly enjoying publishing podcast episodes, writing bilingual short stories and turning them into audiobooks.
What’s next?
Listen and subscribe to my Random French Podcast and make sure to subscribe and leave a review if you enjoy it! You can find it on Apple podcast, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play and more.
I’ve also got two free email series giving you my best tips on listening and speaking practice – make sure to sign up if this is something you’re struggling with!
In the near future, I’m also planning on writing more blog posts giving advice on how to learn a language quickly and effectively while also enjoying yourself!
If you have any questions or specific things you struggle with, I’d love to hear about it to see how I can serve you best. You can drop me an email at compass.french@gmail.com
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN! I’D LOVE TO GET TO KNOW YOU!
LISIANE
PS: And yes, I happen to speak mostly in exclamation marks 😀