References – ABC French

Pam Clavier, Program Manager at BCI

Carole is an incredible French teacher. Not only did she keep each class interesting, but she had empathy with me as a student learning a new language. She helped me think of creative ways to maintain my French learning in-between classes and had practical suggestions that I could feasibly incorporate. She was always patient and encouraged me to the point where I moved well out of my comfort zone. I’ve really enjoyed the one on one classes with her, even when learning that tough French grammar!

Carolina Sulocki, Graphic Designer

I needed to have a high score in my TEF (Test d’Evaluation de Francais) so I could have enough points to immigrate to Canada. After 2 attempts I decided to hire an instructor and that’s when Carole comes in. I had exactly 4 classes with her, where we would speak in french but mainly write, write, write! She knows what you need to do in the test and will help you achieve the skills necessary to do it. She is not only knowledgeable but also super cool person to interact with. Thanks to her classes I did score the grade that I needed! Merci Carole pour tous vos efforts et patience. 😀

Tim Blonde, C.E.T. Formation Chief at Maritimes Forces Pacific

Carole is an excellent French language instructor, very detailed, always quick to provide tips and tricks on how to master the French language. She provided excellent texts and examples to make learning grammar easier. I highly recommend Carole to anyone whether you are a beginner or an expert.

Miriam Issac-Renton, Research Scientist at Canadian Wood Fibre Centre NRCan

Many thanks to Carole Masure for her help preparing for the federal government French oral exam (SLE TOP) – I passed! I am very grateful for her assistance. She was very friendly, knowledgeable, helpful and patient. I would recommend her to anybody looking for similar assistance.

David Turner, Multimedia Operational Readiness Lead at House of Commons

Carole was instrumental in preparing me for a presentation I recently gave in Ottawa. It had been a long time since I spoke French regularly, and I had never done so in a professional work environment. Carole created a plan to get me proficient in technical spoken French and guided me on the way. I highly recommend Carole.

Cameron Keller, Director of National Homelessness Project, Mental Health Commission of Canada.

I have been taking French lessons from Carole and have been delighted with the experience. As Director of a national project that has been implemented across Canada including in cities where French is prevalent such as in Montreal and Moncton, it is important for me to increase my French language capacity. I have appreciated the variety that Carole uses in her instruction, from the oral to written exercises and even a little bit of singing. Carole has created an excellent learning environment for me and she works hard to ensure that each and every lesson is relevant for my professional learning needs. Carole’s encouragement along the way and her acknowledgement when she sees my progression has been very inspiring. She has also encouraged me in my between lesson self learning, and is always keen to recommend local community opportunities to link with Francophone events and cultural experiences to enhance my learning. I expect to continue my French language training with Carole for years to come.

Elizabeth Bennett, Retired Journalist, Victoria, BC

From my first lesson with Carole Masure I was impressed by her flexible, yet methodical, approach to learning. Like many BC natives studied French in public school, achieving a modest level of proficiency that slipped away over four decades of under-use. When I started with Carole, five months after deciding to make regaining that proficiency a retirement project, I had already finished a self-directed review of French grammar, and suspect that this tipped her off to my tendency to become far too serious. She immediately began pointing me toward resources and strategies that make learning French — even the grammar — fun, an approach that has also proven to be efficient. After only six months I have regained, perhaps exceeded, my first-year university level of comprehension for both written and spoken French, and am comfortable reading a written text aloud.

Marion Perkin, Retired Teacher, Victoria, BC

I have been taking private lessons from Carole for several months and have enjoyed the experience very much. I really looked forward to my weekly lesson partly because the class was relaxing and fun and partly because I could see my conversational French skill improving as the weeks passed. Carole’s teaching style combined just the right balance of high expectations and encouragement, structure and flexibility.

Jennifer Morgan, French Immersion Teacher

I have had the pleasure of knowing Carole Masure for a period of 1 year. I began taking private French lessons from her in preparation for my entrance exam for the French Immersion Teaching Program at the University of British Columbia. Carole is a reliable and innovative French teacher. She has a wide range of teaching resources and uses them with a learner-centered approach that helped me improve my French immensely. When I began my lessons with Carole, it had been 3 years since I had had the opportunity to practice my French. During our 1-hour weekly lessons, Carole discovered the areas that I needed to work on, assigned useful grammar exercises, and helped me improve my conversation skills. For 2 months prior to my entrance exam, I took 2-hour weekly lessons from Carole in preparation for my exam, which I passed successfully. In addition to our weekly lessons, Carole edited my French work and correspondence via email. Carole is a very personable individual with excellent communication skills. She was consistently welcoming and encouraging during my lessons. Carole’s friendly and easy-going manner made French lessons enjoyable. Her clear instruction and useful feedback made it possible for me to attain my goals. As a former student, I highly recommend Carole as a French tutor.

Martina Haakenstad, Professional singer and music teacher

Carole Masure taught me French for the last year and is an excellent language instructor for the following reasons. She is always reliable and on time. She always prepares appropriate lessons for me. She has an exceptional talent for pointing out areas of weakness in a sensitive fashion and for helping me to improve. She is very organized and prepares lessons that include a variety of activities; writing, reading, grammar, vocabulary, listening and speaking. Some of the projects I have worked on with her include excercises from the DALF exam prep book, translation of pages from English novels towards the French, essays on the subject of my career, reading of articles from French newspapers followed by written and spoken explanations in French. I want to emphasize that Carole is a person of impeccable professionalism and I highly recommend her.

Kimanda Jarzebiak, Owner of Ascent, Public affairs consulting firm

I took French lessons from Carole Masure prior to a trip to France. Carole was a very patient instructor with an ability to explain concepts in a straight forward manner. My intention was to develop my French speaking skills in order to converse proficiently while traveling in France. Carole provided me with the skills I needed in lessons that enable me to increase my vocabulary and grammar skills. The content of her lessons were relevant to my needs and she provided a positive learning environment. I would highly recommend Carole as a French tutor.

Jenny Holder, Program Manager for Bridges for Women Online

I am writing this letter in support of Carole Masure. Carole has been a tremendous asset to Bridges for Women Society. She was employed on a contract basis for approximately a year in 2007-2008. During this time she translated important documents into French for our funding proposals and reports. Carole’s largest role with Bridges was translating the Bridges for Women Online Curriculum. Carole produced a high quality of translation work and provided us with proof reading and editing services. Carole is a well organized and focused worker dedicated to meeting deadlines and producing excellent work. Carole worked well independently and on our team. We depended on her to solve some of our large translation challenges. She was highly skilled at working in a collaborative manner with other staff and translators. At all times she demonstrated her professionalism and passion for her work. There is no doubt that if the opportunity arises for her to work with us again we would definitely hire her. Carole is a wonderful woman to work with.