After making considerable progress improving my French through traditional classes, in-person workshops, and a number of other methods, I realized that when talking with native speakers I would only sometimes be corrected for my errors. I knew that if I wanted to quickly learn from my mistakes and continue progressing, I needed one-on-one attention from a private tutor who would help me practice my conversational skills.

I noticed a similar phenomenon years ago when I was learning to speak Spanish and traveling often to Spanish-speaking countries for work. Though I was spending a considerable amount of time conversing with others in professional settings, I noticed that my colleagues wouldn’t correct my grammar if I made errors. Whether it was for cultural or professional reasons or just out of politeness, that fact that I wasn’t being corrected meant I wasn’t progressing as quickly as I wanted to. I then found a private Spanish teacher on a platform called Verbling and had a great experience.

Fast forward a few years and I found myself in a similar situation while learning French. I live in Paris, but found that daily interactions weren’t enough to improve my French quickly. I thought to search on Verbling for a private tutor, but the options for French seemed limited. I then came across Preply, a platform that matches language students with their network of thousands of private instructors. I filtered through their nearly 4,000 French teachers to find a native speaker that also spoke English, lived in my time zone, had good reviews, and was within my budget. I spent some time scanning profiles and watching introduction videos, and scheduled a trial with my top choice. I’ve since had more than 20 sessions with her, and have been thrilled with my Preply experience.

Continue reading to discover how I use my private, one-on-one lessons on Preply to improve my French, and why I like the format of their subscription model to turn language-learning into a habit.

I found my French tutor Amélie on Preply, and I highly recommend her!

How I use Preply to improve my French

I can wholeheartedly recommend my teacher Amélie who I’ve been taking private French lessons with through Preply.

Preply tutors design your lessons to be as structured or as free-flowing as you want them to be, and they can be customized based on your feedback. I’m naturally a very talkative person and can go on-and-on in my native English, and one of my goals was to be able to express myself in the same way in French. Sometimes my lessons are spent by me just talking away and my teacher will make note of all my errors for us to review together each time I take a pause. We then identify all the grammar, vocabulary, rules, and exceptions that I tend to have trouble with, and we focus on correcting them. She’ll assign me additional exercises to complete outside of our sessions if I request them, which are customized based on what we’ve worked on.

My teacher has also been very dynamic and creative in designing my lessons, and sometimes assigns video or written content for me to watch or read along with questions to test my comprehension on a variety of topics. In the time we spend together working on my conversational skills, she thoughtfully engages me while I discuss current events, my work, my hobbies, my family, my personal life, and other things I want to be able to better express myself in. We’ve shared many laughs and I’ve really enjoyed the time spent in my lessons, and have been especially grateful for her thoughtfulness, attentiveness, and patience as I work to improve my French. At this point, I truly consider her a friend and am glad to have found her thanks to Preply!

I had a B2.3 level of French when I started taking private lessons on Preply, but could have definitely started sooner and certainly see myself continuing to use the platform years to come. While what I’ve described in this article is how I personally like to use Preply, teachers on the platform can also tutor you for more specific needs like test preparation, intensive curriculums, or instruction for professional settings. You can easily filter based on other specialities like experience teaching children, teaching literature, or teaching complete beginners. Once you’ve narrowed it down, you can get to know prospective tutors through their video introductions or by booking trial lessons.

I regularly receive emails from Preply that remind me of my progress and encourage me to keep learning.

What I like about Preply’s subscription model

Learning a language isn’t a one time deal– it’s a practice, it’s a commitment, and it’s a journey. One of the best ways to make considerable progress while learning a language is to commit to practicing it consistently. Preply’s subscription model ensures you can do exactly that, at a pace that is both economical and conducive to making real improvements. The minimum subscription is 4 classes every 4 weeks, but you are able to schedule them according to you and your teacher’s availabilities. You can choose to subscribe to a greater number of classes if you prefer to take lessons more often than once a week, or if you would rather do less, you can extend your renewal date by up to 20 days.

I’ve found that subscribing to a program like Preply helps me remain consistent, and holds me accountable to continue improving. Having tried a number of methods to learn French, I’ve learned from experience that sometimes having too much freedom to study at my own pace isn’t motivating enough, and scheduling lessons with a private tutor will encourage me to show up and follow through on my commitment.

I’ve also found that the more regularly I schedule my lessons, the easier it becomes and it eventually starts feeling like a habit and part of my routine. The repeated action of attending my language lessons not only improves my capabilities, but I’ve noticed it has also started to reform my identity of a speaker of the French language. These compounded benefits then encourage me to continue learning and continue improving, and will make the entire experience feel even more effective and worthwhile.

Tips to make the most of your experience on Preply

Know what you want to get out of it
Coming in with some experience in the language you want to practice can definitely be helpful. The biggest advantage of private lessons is the one-on-one attention from your teacher, so being specific in what you want to work on will get you started on the right foot and help you make the most of your time. For example, specifying that you want focus on things like pronunciation, conjugations, grammar rules or exceptions, conversational skills, vocabulary, or even topics like learning slang or familiar expressions can provide your teacher with useful guidance.
Take notes during your lessons
Having taken a number of in-person group language classes, one of the biggest differences I noticed when I started taking private lessons was the pace at which I could absorb the material. In group classes, there was less focus on the exact things I needed to improve, but I was able to take more time to internalize the things that I was observing and being exposed to. In private classes, we purely focus on the things that I need to improve, but sometimes I feel there’s less time for me to pause and internalize the material. By jotting down notes during class, I give myself time to pause. Forcing myself to slow down helps me reflect on how clearly I’m understanding the material, if I have any follow-up questions, and improves my memory. My teacher also takes notes on the vocabulary, spelling, and grammar we discuss during our lessons which I can see in our shared chat.
Practice handwriting while reviewing your notes
After every lesson, I take a few minutes to copy our notes by hand in a physical journal. I may be showing my age with this fact, but I grew up taking handwritten notes in school and I think my brain is just trained to more effectively internalize the material when incorporating the physical practice of writing. And with all the digital methods available to us these days, I feel like there are fewer opportunities to write by hand and it’s easy to forget what we were once used to. The practice also gives you an another opportunity to assess whether you fully understood something or if you have additional questions to follow up on during your next lesson.
Don’t be afraid to give feedback
Your private lessons are yours, and with the guidance of your instructor you can choose to spend as much or as little time on any particular topic. If there are things you wish to revisit or need additional clarification on, or you simply have preferred ways you like to learn, take the time to share your feedback and communicate your preferences with your teacher.
Switch it up if you want
If you want to gain even more experience and increased exposure in the language you are learning, you can have subscriptions with multiple teachers at the same time. Practicing communication in a variety of styles, with a variety of accents, and with a variety of personalities is a great way to prepare you to speak clearly and communicate effectively with anyone you may come across in your language learning journey. Additionally, if you are interested in moving on from a teacher, Preply allows you to transfer your credits.
Realize you’re already achieving your dream just by participating
I’m often asked if I use AI tools to learn French, and my answer is no. I’ve thought quite a bit about it– the potential benefits, the convenience, the lower cost, etc– but when it comes down to it, I always remind myself to revisit my original goals and my purpose. My goal of learning French is to be able to converse with real people. And by participating in methods that involve real people, I’m already doing exactly that.

Are you considering using Preply to learn or practice French or another language? You can use my referral link for 70% off your trial lesson by clicking here. If you have any questions about my personal experience using the platform, let me know below in the comments!