Nicoletta

Experience

* GCSE French (OCR, WJEC, AQA, Edexcel, CIE)

* GCSE Italian (OCR, WJEC, AQA, Edexcel, CIE)

* A Level French (OCR, WJEC, AQA, Edexcel, CIE)

* A Level Italian (OCR, WJEC, AQA, Edexcel, CIE)

* IB Literature and Language French

* IB Literature and Language Italian

* IB A Italian literature

* English as a foreign language

* I.E.L.T.S for Undergraduate and Post-Graduate Entry Requirement

* Common entrance French Scholarship Eaton College/Harrow College

* Pre-U Italian preparation Westminster School/Eaton College

I have taught French and Italian to all levels and have worked at Godolphin and Latymer School. I tutored students in Italian and French, preparing them for their GCSE and A Levels. I specialised in helping with grammar, literature, paragraph writing and general essay writing skills. I also conducted assessments and identified gaps in knowledge.

I have designed and developed individualised tutoring strategies for students at the Ecole Bilingue Jeannine Maneul, Paris. I offer voluntary linguistic support to anglophone students settling in at the Ecole Bilingue Jeannine Manuel, Londres. I also hold weekly conversation groups on behalf of Londres Accueil, a French charity for francophones in London.

I have taught students with learning difficulties such as Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Hypermobility, ADHD and disorders such Bi-Polarity and Autism.

I have followed students in GCSE, Pre-U, A levels in the following schools, boarding schools: Godolphin and Latymer, St Paul's Girls' School, Francis Holland Sloane Square, Francis Holland Regent's Park, Westminster School, Putney High School, King's College Wimbledon, Eton College, Harrow School, Saint Paul's Juniors, Stonyhurst College, City of London School, Lycee Charles De Gaulle London, Tasis Lugano Marymount International School London.

I have followed students at the following universities: King's University College , SOAS University of London, U.C.L , Princeton University and Oxford University.

Biography

I was born in Rome but have spoken French and English from a very young age. My background is international and it has allowed me to master four languages: French, English, Italian and Spanish. I graduated from Milan University, Institute of Modern Languages, with a first-class degree in English and French Literature and I then went to obtain a professional diploma in Interpreting and Translation and a first-class diploma in Language and French literature from La Sorbonne, Paris I also studied French literature and language for a year at the Sorbonne in Paris. I have 20 years experience as a trilingual French/English/Italian tutor, working with pupils from a wide range of backgrounds, ages and cultures.

Personal Approach

My rigorous academic studies and my strong skills in literary criticism and analysis have given me an in-depth knowledge of languages and literature, which I combine with a fun, focused, and practical approach, in order to share my passion for languages with my tutees. I am committed to making my on-line lessons interesting, engaging and interactive and I am fully equipped and experienced in all the major on-line platforms (Zoom, Skype, Bramble, etc). I work principally on a one-to-one basis with students but I regularly also work with small groups and I have run many groups workshops on specific themes.

I have a hands-on tutoring approach and I am extremely patient and understanding, while ensuring that my pupils achieve their full academic potential and grades. I particularly enjoy building a strong personal rapport with my tutees and understanding their personal learning style, strengths and development areas so that I can tailor and adapt my teaching methods and program to really help them learn rapidly, with confidence and enjoyment. I am also experienced with students with dyslexia, anxiety issues and ADHD.

I have a varied group of students, ranging from 7 plus to GCSE, A levels , IB Lit French and Italian and Oxbridge candidates to adult learning in French, English and Italian language and literature.

I have prepared students for many leading schools and universities, including: Princeton University ~ King’s College London ~St Martin’s School of Art, London ~Tasis England Lugano ~ Francis Holland Schools London (Sloane Square and Regent's Park) ~ Harrow School~ King's College, Wimbledon ~ Fulham Prep Senior School London ~ St Paul’s Boys School London ~ St Paul’s School for Girls London, Godolphin & Latymer School London ~ Charles de Gaulle Lycée London ~ Wycombe Abbey - Stonyhurst College - Eton King's Scholarship, Eton French and Italian Pre-U - Oxbridge Preparation.

What I do when I am not tutoring

Languages, literature and philosophy are my lifelong passions so I usually relax by discovering new authors, going to the theatre and occasionally attempting to learn the basics of a new language, such as Portuguese or German!

Although I have lived in London for over 20 years, I am still very much an Italian and I love cooking Italian dishes for my family and friends and travelling back to my home country when I have time.

I have two daughters at university in the UK and of course I love to spend time with them as well as my crazy French dog!

Testimonials

''Nicoletta is one of those great teachers you will always remember. She makes learning French interesting and fun. I look forward to seeing her every week; she is rigorous about pronunciation and grammar but her teaching is warm and empathetic. She explains concepts in a way that is easy to understand and she is endlessly patient. My French has improved so much since having lessons with Nicoletta and I feel very lucky to have found her.''

“I can highly recommend Nicoletta as a tutor in languages. Our daughter has just completed her mock GCSE’s and she scored A’s. Nicoletta is thorough, kind, and a caring teacher who gives you more than her all. Isabella had homework and Nicoletta always sent her updates and new work by e-mail with complete reports for us too, which as parents we appreciated hugely. She spoke in French to Isabella and this helped her enormously during the lessons. Just to have a one to one for over an hour was invaluable. She is a very fine tutor and I recommend you work with her as soon as you can.”

“This is a reference for Nicoletta Alegnini regarding her role as a French tutor for my son who is at a highly academic school. She has taught him for a year, since he was 11 years old. Lessons are conducted either in person or over Skype. They have tended to be weekly during term time. Nicoletta is an exceptional tutor. She has been genuinely interested to understand my son’s personality and my concerns. She has tailored her teaching so that it complements and reinforces the schoolwork; has suggested additional learning resources and set homework when appropriate. She is charming, punctual and responsive. My son says she is friendly, patient and caring; tries to improve his weaknesses and explains things in a way he understands.“

“ Nicoletta is the best!!! Nicoletta has been tutoring my daughter since the beginning of the Upper Sixth. Even though Julia got an A star in her French GCSE, we were looking for that extra knowledge that doesn’t come from the school text books. Nicoletta provides that egregiously: not only because of her extensive knowledge of the French language, literature and society but also because she is extremely well-read and cultured. Nicoletta is also amazing at exam technique and offers to her pupils a very clever approach to each and every paper. She is exactly what is needed to nail a language exam!”

“I was introduced to Nicoletta by a local lady who I have known for a few years. She explained that she was on her way to an Italian lesson with Nicoletta and spoke in glowing terms about how much she felt she was benefitting from her lessons. I had been looking for a French tutor for my son and, upon hearing that Nicoletta also teaches French, I asked for her contact details. After I contacted Nicoletta she replied promptly and courteously and we arranged the first tutorial. This was in mid-November. Since then Nicoletta has taught my son (aged nearly 12) on a Saturday morning for one hour. Alongside these weekly lessons, she has done a few additional lessons to supplement his exam preparations. The context for this reference is as follows. My son is a pupil at a highly selective/academic London school and French is his weakest subject. I do not consider this to be a symptom of the teaching he has received (his school French teacher is excellent); he has just found it harder than other things. I note this because, as you see from the comments below, Nicoletta has been extremely helpful in supplementing that teaching. I think it is also relevant to mention that Nicoletta is not the first tutor I have used – my children have had a few tutors over the years and so I would regard myself as considerably experienced in being able to assess a tutor and the extent to which my child is benefiting from them. In light of the above, I have no hesitation in saying that Nicoletta is an exceptional tutor. From a parent’s perspective, she is wonderful to deal with: she is genuinely interested to understand the character and personality of the child she is teaching; she wants to understand the parent’s concerns and to work with the family accordingly; she assesses the child’s aptitudes and weaknesses and prepares a bespoke teaching plan; she suggests teaching materials and obtains them; she thinks ahead about what needs to be done for future learning and sets homework; she makes herself available when additional teaching is necessary/helpful and – finally - she is unfailingly charming, punctual and helpful. From a child’s perspective (and based on my conversations with my son – much of this is his direct feedback): he says that she is friendly, patient and caring; tries to improve his weaknesses; explains things in a way he understands and often in a way in which his school teacher has not fully explained; has helped improve his vocabulary and (therefore) his confidence and she looks at what he has done in school, builds on that and often goes beyond it (especially in grammar) in a way he finds helpful.“

“Nicoletta Alegnini is helping my daughter Allegra with her French A level preparation since September 2018. I am extremely pleased with her work, not only Allegra has improved in her subject going from a B to an A in her last reports. Nicoletta has also taught her the right method to approach a foreign language, something that unfortunately my daughter didn’t learn at school. Her capacity of teaching Allegra to think ‘out of the box’ is unique together with her ability to establish a friendly yet professional bond with her have also been very important. I cannot recommend Nicoletta’s tutoring enough and I am very thankful for everything Allegra has learned with her.”

« Hi Nicoletta - H. did very well across the board and is very pleased with her results! We are very proud of her too!! She got a 9 in her French which she is thrilled about and we really appreciate all your help and guidance to get her to that level as well as giving her so much enthusiasm and joy in the French language!! »

« Hi Nicoletta, thank you so much for your message I really appreciate it. I just wanted to thank you hugely for your teaching this year. Your patience and guidance has helped me grow in skill and confidence in Italian . I looked forward to our lessons and thoroughly enjoyed learning the language. You helped me so much, thank you!! O.

IB Italian Literature and Language feedback. ''We are very pleased to recommend Nicoletta as an Italian tutor. Having had several tutors for different subjects and from different companies over the course of the time, and having been very demanding with all of them, we are in the position to strongly recommend Nicoletta.

Not only has she a deep knowledge of Italian language and literature, but she is also extremely prepared and she is always flexible and available to meet the student's needs (even when they come up as a last minute request due to unexpected school duties/deadlines).

She knows very well not only all the academic contents but also the exam techniques that are meant to help the students maximise their results.

We have greatly appreciated also the empathy she is has been able to establish with our son, along with her ability to boost his motivation, self-confidence and energy over the course of the journey. In a few words, she has been able to make our son fulfil his full potential, in a quite short period of time.

As parents, we have also greatly benefited from her ability to setting clear objectives and provide us with insights, advise, progress update and further plans”.

''Nicoletta is a wonderful teacher who has taught me French for 2 years, over the course of my gap year and first year at university. As well as having a clear and thorough teaching style, she’s enthusiastic, exciting and engaging to learn with, always teaching in a clear and methodical way. Nicoletta has helped me develop a love for language learning and also an interest in French culture, which she’s very knowledegable in! I highly recommend taking up lessons with her as it has been an incredibly rewarding experience. I look forward to every lesson and the sense of progress that’s achieved. Lessons with Nicoletta are both efficient, encouraging and inspiring, allowing me to make great progress in my French while also greatly enjoying the process and learning about France and other Francophone countries. A brilliant teacher! Emily'' - keystone student .

'' M. had a wonderful French lesson with Nicoletta. M. was very happy to hear Nicoletta's feedback. I wish Nicoletta saw M's big sparkly eyes with happiness when she heard the last sentence on the comments'' M. French Keystone student.

''Nicoletta is one of those great teachers you will always remember. She makes learning French interesting and fun. I look forward to seeing her every week; she is rigorous about prononciation and grammar but her teaching is warm and empathetic. She explains concepts in a way that is easy to understand and she is endlessly patient. My French has improved so much since having lessons with Nicoletta and I feel very lucky to have found her'' J. Keystone student.

''Thank you so so much for all your time, patience and great teaching this past year. I don’t know what we would have done without you. I’m sure I. is well prepared, and hopefully will make you proud.

Phew! I still cannot believe you have both done this in less than a year!'' I. Italian IB Keystone parent.

''Thank you so much for being my teacher! I really enjoyed all my classes and am so grateful to you!'' IB Keystone student.

''French was good! it felt like one of the best writings I had done. The reading was also good, and the practice we did on Sunday proved to be very useful.

Thank you for all the lessons and help that you have given me over the last few months, I would not have gotten to this point without you!'' French IB Student French B SL.

''S. has now taken her French GCSE exam and we no longer need lessons. It was a pleasure working with Nicoletta and S. made significant improvements thanks to her lessons with her tutor.'' French mother tongue Keystone student

''In French I scored just a 7, which was crucial as I needed 38 points to get into university !

Thank you very for all the work you have done to improve my french, particularly in speaking, as every mark counted and I am over the moon with how french went!'' M. French B SL Keystone tutor student.

'' that french mark went from a 5 in his mocks to a 7... and as M. said in his message.. EVERY mark counted. And that 2 mark improvement was the difference between him making it to university or having no offer! So thank you so much''. M's keystone parent.

“Nicoletta is a brilliant teacher who managed to help me massively up-level my Italian. She is extremely proactive and thorough in her lesson preparation which makes for interesting, fun and varied learning. I enjoyed all my lessons and was able to dramatically improve my Italian grades in my Pre-U A level. I highly recommend her to other students.” L. Eton College Italian Pre-U.