Christine CAMM shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Christine, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What battle are you avoiding?
Ha h a- the neighbourhood’s barky dogs . . . do I tell them that 01h30 is not the best time to let the dogs bark in the night? It’s best to go straight to them and find out which house it is . . . Yup – I will stand up for those who are too timid to complain!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Thank you.
I help all levels of French learners enjoy confident conversations. More often these days, I host people in my home in the SouthWest of France so they can live the French dream for a week. They eat, drink, talk, meet people and visit places throughout the week experiencing the ‘best of’ this wonderful area, staying in a classic, old, renovated farm house.
They have lessons, to help them learn, tackle new grammar and meet my French friends to try out new skills.
Everyone enjoys the “Pic du Midi’ bedroom and giant bathroom, the local food and the home grown fruit and vegetables from the garden here.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
When I was 16 I wrote a letter the the Mayor of Calais and asked him to find me a French family. I was so happy and surprised to get a positive reply! He had found me a lovely family not far from the post of Calais.
When I left, on my own, on a train from Sheffield and with a little travel bag, I distinctly remember the voice of my French teachers . . . they all had told me I was not bright enough to learn French. But when I got back after 2 weeks in such a wonderful household, I had my French oral exam the day after my arrival. Overlaying the criticism of my teachers was the current French teacher’s face – her jaw dropped as I read out loud so fluidly and answered all the questions with ease and style.
That moment etched itself into my memory – if I take action, I can shape my own capabilities.
In many ways, conducting Homestays now is a way of facilitating that great feeling of confidence in others. It’s a beauiuful experience to see people growing in their linguistic capacity throughout the week .
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Interesting question here because learning a language is largely about daring to venture, daring to speak out and redefining your view of perfection.
Being told I was in the ‘stupid people class’ and that I shouldn’t be learning French as a second language, and to count myself luck I was being given a chance, this engendered a lot of limiting beliefs in me.
However, there was always a little spark inside me, something that said ‘what if’ and the injustice of unkind judgement on me taught me that I had a choice – the choice to be the person they casually took me for, or the person I was free to develop. It took moving away to France and to teach for a year, on my own, in a new place to take off that burden.
And it is precisely that burden of never feeling ‘good enough’ that gives me a sense of empathy for language learners who are struggling to have those confident conversations in French of their own.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
Oh yes!
I don’t hold back – I am authentically ME. And the authentic ME will always encourage you to relax, lean in and be the person you are intended to be – you, authentically you!
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If you retired tomorrow, what would your customers miss most?
Great question here – the time is coming where I am enjoying a lot of success in the Simply French space. So I have decided to streamline certain activities. I started by employing people to help me, but at the end of the day, I am the business – simply French IS me. So when I declared that one part of the business will close, there were a lot of sad faces.
All is not lost though – many of the people who have been clients are set to be life long friends now. The future looks even more exciting.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.simplyfrenchonline.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplyfrenchonline/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FrenchChristineCamm
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SimplyFrenchOnline
- Other: christine@simplyfrenchonline.com
