Lola

Experience

• 13+ French

• (I)GCSE French (AQA, CIE, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC)

• (I)GCSE History (AQA, CIE, Edexcel, OCR and WJEC)

• A-Level French (AQA, CIE, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC)

• Oxford/Cambridge Music Applications

• Oxbridge Preparation

I have been a tutor for the Music Faculty in Oxford in 2018 and 2020, teaching French baroque opera (C17th and C18th) to first and second years undergraduates. Before that, I have regularly given private courses to individuals who sought to strengthen specific disciplines (French language, French literature, history, and philosophy in particular) when I was myself an undergraduate students (2013-2016).

In general, I have worked with people around the age of 11-13, 14-16, and 18-19 years old, but I am keen to teach pupils from all age ranges.

Biography

I am a third year DPhil student in Music at the University of Oxford with a full funding from the AHRC. My thesis engages with issues related to cultural power, creativity, and opera performance during the C17th and C18th in France and Europe. Before my DPhil, I have been a student at the École Normale Supérieure, which granted me the status of civil servant with a salary (2013-2018). I graduated with two Master Degrees, one in Music and Musicology, and another in Philosophy (in partnership with La Sorbonne).

For my undergraduate, I followed a formation of three years, called ‘classe préparatoire’ (CPGE), during which students follow intensive classes in all Humanities subjects (including literature, modern and ancient languages, philosophy, history, geography, music). In high school, my formation was also centered around the liberal arts.

Among the different awards I have received over the course of my education, I am particularly proud of my selection as Lauréate ‘Women4Climate’ (C40 Network). I have also received a ‘Young Scholar Prize’ for a scientific paper delivered in August 2018 in Utrecht for the STIMU Symposium.

My understanding of art and history is deeply grounded in practice. During my middle and high school, I have been a professional singer for Radio France. I have curated various exhibitions in Paris between 2016 and 2018. Since 2016, I work as an art critic for a French newspaper (I/O Gazette), which has led me to roam through European artistic and production networks.

Personal Approach

Engagement: learning is like engaging in a relationship with knowledge. The more you spend exploring a topic, with patience and method, the more you are likely to fall in love with it. Often, students struggle because they do not relate with the skills or disciplines that they are confronted with, and do not see the point in studying them. Showing them how those can interlock with their interests, aspirations, and general sense of curiosity is an essential leverage for building confidence and motivation.

Method: my work is always tailored to the needs, difficulties, and strengths of the student. Depending on those, I plan my lessons with clear short- and long-term goals, adapting the exercises to the progress made and the requirements that arise during the year (e.g. exams). I am very patient, especially with young students, and I am happy to figure out personalized techniques to enhance the student's process of learning and memorization. I always give extra material (some sort of ‘toolbox’ of historical dates or grammatical points, for example) to the student in order for them to strengthen what we worked on during the tutorial and to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the topics discussed.

What I do when I am not tutoring

I am currently finishing my DPhil whilst working for a think-tank on Lifelong Learning policies. I write scientific articles and for various newspapers, generally about arts, culture, and education. On the long term, I aim to articulate an activity of teaching (full time if possible) with additional academic and consultancy activities.

Testimonials

“Mia has been very happy so far and I think the approach is very positive and encouraging in Lola’s lessons, which was what Mia was hoping for.” (Mother of A-Level student in French)

“Excellent class [...]. The discussion, with illuminating musical illustrations particularly incisive and even, dare one say, inspired.”

(Student in my Keystone Inspires seminar on the History of Western Music)