What French Should I Learn Before Camping in France from London - Hi, I’m Caroline, a French national living and working in the UK as a French tutor and part-time French teacher in a local primary school.

I teach French in person and online, supporting students with GCSE and A-Level studies, as well as adults who want to build their French over time and work towards fluency.

Over the last couple of years, I have had more and more people asking for something different: practical “emergency French” for holidays in France and other French-speaking places. Not perfect French - just the confidence to speak, understand a little more, and not freeze after bonjour.

That is why I have created Holiday French Confidence: French Without the Freeze - a friendly 6-week group programme for adults who want useful French for real holiday situations. Each lesson lasts 90 Minutes.

The first step is simple: complete the form below to find out your current Holiday French Confidence level. You’ll then receive your report, and we can take it from there.

See you soon,
Caroline 💚

What French Should I Learn Before Camping in France from London - Emergency French Lessons for Your Holiday in France. Stop freezing after bonjour and start enjoying real French conversations on holiday.

You have booked the ferry, the flights, the campsite, the villa, the gîte, the hotel or perhaps that lovely little place in Provence that looked perfect online.

There is only one small problem.

You suddenly realise that your French currently consists of:

Bonjour. Merci. Au revoir. Deux croissants, s’il vous plaît.

And even that last one depends on how brave you feel when faced with an actual French person, a queue behind you, and a display full of pastries that all look more confident than you do.

That is where Holiday French Confidence comes in.

This is a friendly, practical and slightly revolutionary 6-week virtual French programme for adults who are going to France and want to feel more confident in real holiday situations.

Not school French.
Not grammar drills for the sake of grammar.
Not an app asking you to translate “the duck is wearing a hat.”

This is French for the moments that actually happen on holiday.

At the supermarket.
At the restaurant.
At the campsite reception.
At the beach.
At the train station.
At the pharmacy.
At the car hire desk.
And, yes, when your brain completely freezes and you need to say, “Sorry, I only speak a little French. Could you repeat that more slowly?”

Before you book, you will be invited to complete the Holiday French Confidence Scorecard. This helps you discover where you feel confident, where you may freeze, and which group is the best fit for you.

Who is Holiday French Confidence for?

This programme is for adults who are travelling to France and want emergency French lessons for their holiday.

It is especially useful if:

You are going to France in the next few weeks or months.
You know a few French words but cannot hold a simple conversation.
You rely on Google Translate but want to feel less helpless.
You feel nervous when French people reply quickly.
You want to order food without pointing at the menu like you are playing charades.
You are going camping, driving, taking trains, eating out, shopping or travelling with family.
You want practical French phrases you can actually remember.
You would like a small, friendly group rather than a huge class where you never get to speak.

This is not about becoming fluent in six weeks.

That would be a silly promise.

This is about something much more realistic and useful:Helping you feel calm, prepared and confident enough to handle everyday holiday conversations in France.

Because the truth is, you do not need to know every tense in the French language to enjoy your holiday.

You need to know what to say when you arrive, when you need help, when you want food, when something goes wrong, and when someone replies with what sounds like one very long French word.

Why this is different from Google Translate or Duolingo

Google Translate is useful. There is no need to pretend it is not.

But Google Translate cannot help you look someone in the eye and speak with confidence.

It cannot teach your brain to stay calm when someone replies.
It cannot practise a campsite check-in with you.
It cannot gently correct your pronunciation.
It cannot help you remember phrases under pressure.
And it definitely cannot give you a little laugh when you accidentally ask for a sheep instead of a room. We will try to avoid that.

Apps can help you build vocabulary, but they often do not prepare you for real holiday conversations.

Holiday French Confidence is different because it is built around real situations, small group practice, and memory-friendly repetition.

You will practise out loud.
You will hear real French spoken by Caroline.
You will learn rescue phrases for when you do not understand.
You will practise the same useful phrases in different holiday situations.
You will build confidence slowly, without embarrassment.

This is French for real life.

Not French for passing a test.
Not French for impressing your old school teacher.
French for ordering lunch, asking where the toilets are, finding the platform, explaining an allergy, checking into a campsite, and getting through the holiday without feeling like you need to hide behind your partner.

The Holiday French Confidence programme is a 6-week virtual course, taught in a small group of up to 6 people.

Each lesson lasts 90 minutes.

That means you get the benefit of group energy, but you are not lost in a crowd. Everyone gets a chance to speak. Everyone gets a chance to practise. Everyone gets a chance to make mistakes in a safe, friendly place.

Mistakes are not a problem here.

In fact, mistakes are useful. They help your brain remember. And they are often funny, which helps even more.

Your tutor is Caroline, a French national who has been living and working in the UK for around 30 years. She is originally from a small village in Provence, in the heart of wine-making country, a part of France known for sunshine, food, friendly people and the singing cigales that remind her of home.

Caroline first moved to Nottingham, where she worked as an au pair and studied English as a second language. Since then, her life and work have taken her through places including London, Birmingham, Reading, Chester and now Chesterfield in Derbyshire, where she lives with her family.

That matters.

Caroline knows what it is like to learn another language as an adult. She understands the nerves, the blank moments, the strange feeling of knowing a word yesterday but not being able to find it today.

Her existing French lessons are described as friendly, fun and functional, and she offers both virtual and face-to-face lessons. Her teaching is bespoke to the learner’s needs, with a relaxed and supportive style.

Caroline’s approach is ideal for holiday French because she is not trying to turn you into a textbook.

She wants to help you use French in normal life.

As her current French tuition page explains, her lessons can help people who are visiting France for a holiday, have a house there, want to chat with a neighbour, or simply want the confidence to ask for the right amount of ham in the boucherie.

And let’s be honest, being able to ask for the right amount of ham is a life skill.

Before joining the programme, you will complete the Holiday French Confidence Scorecard.

This is not a scary test.

There are no red pens.
No awkward oral exam.
No one will ask you to conjugate verbs on the spot.

The scorecard simply helps you find out:

• How confident you feel with basic French
• Which holiday situations worry you most
• Whether you freeze when someone replies quickly
• How many rescue phrases you already know
• Whether you are ready for a friendly 6-person virtual group

It helps Caroline understand what you need.

It also helps you see that you are probably not “bad at French.” You may simply never have been taught the French you actually need.

Many adults say things like:

“I did French at school but remember nothing.”
“I can read a few words but cannot speak.”
“I panic when someone answers me.”
“I know what I want to say, but my mind goes blank.”

That is exactly what this programme is designed for.

What makes this programme revolutionary?

Holiday French Confidence is not revolutionary because it teaches French phrases.

Phrasebooks have existed forever.

It is revolutionary because it teaches French in the order your holiday needs it.

You do not start with abstract grammar.
You start with confidence.

You do not memorise random sentences.
You practise real conversations.

You do not wait until you are “good enough” to speak.
You speak from the beginning, gently and safely.

You learn how to recover when things go wrong.

That is the missing piece for many adult learners.

The goal is not perfection.
The goal is participation.

To ask.
To reply.
To smile.
To recover.
To try again.

That is where confidence grows.

When you join the 6-week Holiday French Confidence programme, you get:

6 live virtual lessons with Caroline
Small group size of up to 6 people
One hour per lesson
Practical holiday conversation practice
Useful French phrases for real situations
Friendly correction and pronunciation help
Confidence-building speaking practice
Rescue phrases for when you do not understand
A supportive group of adults learning together
A clear focus on your holiday needs

This is not about sitting silently while someone talks at you.

You will speak.
You will practise.
You will laugh.
You will remember more than you expected.

And by the time your holiday arrives, French should feel less like a threat and more like part of the adventure.

Imagine arriving in France feeling ready

Imagine walking into a bakery and ordering without panic.

Imagine checking into your campsite and understanding the basics.

Imagine asking where something is in the supermarket.

Imagine saying, calmly:

“Je suis désolé, je parle un peu français. Vous pouvez répéter plus lentement, s’il vous plaît ?”

That one sentence can change everything.

It means:

“I’m sorry, I speak a little French. Could you repeat more slowly, please?”

It gives you breathing space.

It shows politeness.

It keeps the conversation going.

And most French people will appreciate that you are trying.

You do not need perfect French to have a better holiday.

You need useful French, practised out loud, with so

The first step is simple.

Complete the Holiday French Confidence Scorecard and find out your French holiday confidence level.

You may be:

A Bonjour Beginner
A Phrasebook Traveller
An Almost-There Speaker
Or a Confident Holiday Communicator who just needs a little polish

Once you know your result, you can take the next step and book the right 6-week virtual group with Caroline.

Ready to feel more confident before your holiday in France?

Take the Holiday French Confidence Scorecard, discover your French freeze points, and join Caroline for a fun, friendly and practical 6-week virtual programme.

Because your holiday should be full of memories.

Not just memories of standing in a supermarket aisle, holding a packet of cheese, whispering, “Why didn’t I learn this before?”

The lessons are for adults who want practical French for holidays in France or other French-speaking places.

They are ideal if you:

Are going to France soon
Know a little French but feel rusty
Learnt French at school but have forgotten most of it
Feel nervous speaking French out loud
Rely on Google Translate but want to feel more independent
Want to order food, ask for help and manage everyday holiday situations
Would prefer a small, friendly online group rather than a large class

You do not need to be fluent before joining.

You simply need to be willing to have a go.

For a holiday in France, you do not need to know every French word.

You need a small set of useful phrases that help you start conversations, ask for help, order food, travel, shop and recover when you do not understand.

Some of the most useful holiday French phrases include:

Bonjour - Hello
Merci beaucoup - Thank you very much
Je parle un peu français - I speak a little French
Je voudrais… - I would like…
Où est…? - Where is…?
C’est combien? - How much is it?
L’addition, s’il vous plaît - The bill, please
Vous pouvez répéter, s’il vous plaît? - Could you repeat, please?
Vous pouvez parler plus lentement, s’il vous plaît? - Could you speak more slowly, please?
J’ai besoin d’aide - I need help

These phrases are simple, but they can make a big difference when you are on holiday.