A New Step for Excuse My French: The French Confidence Pathway for Conversational Learners

At Excuse My French, where I teach French lessons in Harrogate and online, conversation has always been at the heart of what I do.

My goal as a tutor has never been to recreate a traditional classroom environment or to work through heavy textbooks. Instead, my focus is on helping students speak French more naturally, through real conversations, interesting themes, and a relaxed learning environment.

All of my 1:1 students follow one of my conversational programmes, depending on their goals and level. Some are working through the beginner conversation programme, others follow the intermediate and advanced conversation programme, and some join my holiday French programme when preparing for trips to France.

These programmes are designed to encourage discussion, curiosity, and real-life use of the language.

Over time, this conversational approach has worked extremely well. Students become more comfortable expressing themselves, discussing a wide range of topics, and using French in a much more natural way.

However, while teaching in this way, I started to notice something.

Sometimes students would hesitate — not because they didn’t have the vocabulary or ideas, but because of a small grammatical doubt. A rule half remembered from school, a structure that had never been fully explained, or a small difference between two words could suddenly create a little blockage in the middle of a conversation.

These moments are completely normal when learning a language, but they can interrupt the natural flow of speaking.

That’s how the idea for the French Confidence Pathway came about.

Where Structure Meets Conversation

The French Confidence Pathway is not a traditional grammar course, and it certainly isn’t about replacing conversation with textbooks.

Instead, it’s a series of short, focused modules that run alongside my usual conversational programmes. Each module explores one specific topic that often causes confusion for learners, helping to clarify it in a simple and practical way.

The aim is not to overwhelm students with rules, but to provide just enough structure to remove some of the small obstacles that can affect confidence when speaking.

Some of the topics include pronunciation and liaison, sentence structure and negation, key verb patterns, the difference between tu and vous, how French speakers use on, common word confusions such as connaître vs savoir, and understanding the past and future tenses.

Each topic is approached in a bite-size way, always linked back to conversation and real-life communication.

Flexible by Design

One of the most important aspects of the pathway is that it is flexible.

For beginners or newer students, it can act as a gentle structure to support their learning. For intermediate or advanced students, it works more as a pick-and-choose system, allowing us to revisit specific areas when they become relevant during conversation.

The programme itself will also continue to evolve. Some modules may change slightly over time, others may be added as new ideas develop or as I notice recurring questions from students.

Conversation Still Comes First

What will never change is the main philosophy behind Excuse My French.

Conversation comes first.

The aim is always to help students feel comfortable expressing themselves, discussing interesting topics, and enjoying the process of learning French. The French Confidence Pathway simply provides a bit of extra guidance when needed — a place where structure meets flexibility.

Because in the end, language learning should not feel rigid or intimidating. It should feel engaging, supportive, and above all, enjoyable.

And often, a small moment of clarity is all it takes to unlock the next level of confidence in speaking French.

Learning French at Excuse My French

For anyone considering learning French, my approach is always centred on conversation, curiosity, and building real confidence with the language.

Through my beginner and intermediate conversational programmes, students in Harrogate and online are encouraged to speak, explore topics that interest them, and gradually develop their fluency in a supportive environment.

The French Confidence Pathway simply adds another layer of guidance alongside this, helping learners better understand certain aspects of the language while continuing to enjoy the process of speaking and discovering French.