Raphael Pallais

Attended university in Caen, France. Berlitz-trained teacher in both French and Spanish. Writer with two books published (English and French). My involvement with both language is lifelong and a labor of love. I have been a Montessori teacher and a personal instructor to a number of individual students. My commitment is to excellence in transmission of the subtleties and particular character of either language. In Roman times it used to be said that "learning a new language was akin to acquiring a new heart". It is my avowed purpose to help you acquire this new "heart": the true spirit and cultural signification, both in history an in linguistics proper, of either language.

I believe that learning the words and the grammar of a langue is not enough: you have to get to the spirit of the culture that produced such a language. This requires delving into the historical, cultural and philological-linguistic sources, no small feat for the teacher as it requires a true knowledge of the culture background of the language.

I am able to customize my teaching to the different levels of the students, acknowledging that there is no "one size fits all". Language is not just a technique but an art and a soul, and it must be brought out with utmost delicacy, elegance and experience. My two examples of perfect adaptation of one language to another are Joseph Conrad and Vladimir Nabokov. Anyone who has read their famous books knows exactly what I am talking about.

Thank you.