STEVE URSINO

International Management Consultant at UN/UNDP

I have known Françoise Maitte for over 25 years starting with my mission with FAO in Rome. She has assisted me on a number of occasions exhibiting her supreme command of the French language. She maintains the highest standards in both her capacities as interpreter and translator. She produces high quality results and is a professional of the highest caliber – dedication and competence in her work and knowledgeable in bringing the added French cultural dimension to her mission. Top notch and highly recommended.

ROBERTO RINALDI

Director General for Currency Circulation and Accounting, Banca d’Italia

I think Françoise is a patient teacher because she has the ability to repeat the corrections with a smile. I also think she enjoys her job and does it in a very professional way. Françoise's students want to stay in touch over time because of her teaching method is not "mechanical” and stimulates one to discover and appreciate French.

SALVATORE CONTÙ

Director Antennas at Thales Alenia Space

Close to sixty, I needed to learn French for work. Not having any knowledge of this language, Françoise, surprisingly, in just a short time, piloted me to being able to understand spoken French. What is striking about her is the culture, the curiosity and her genteel way of teaching together with her capacity to explain French grammar simply and make it easy to retain. Her lessons were never boring and, even now, I use her method when writing in French.

Thank you, Françoise!

LUISA SCORCIARINI COPPOLA

Italian Antitrust Authority

I had the fortune to follow for three years the French courses that Françoise held at AGCM. I had forgotten the French I had studied at high school and then at university, and picking it up again in the stimulating atmosphere she created was wonderful and very simple.

I was amazed at how, after a short while, I was able to use the language with great ease. Studying with Françoise is pleasant and easy. Dedicating my lunchtime to her French course was never a chore, but a moment we all looked forward to. Thanks to her articles, her films and her elucidations she made us all want to acquire the skills to understand and express ourselves as might a native French speaker.

I would encourage all who love this language to experience a lesson with Françoise.

MARIA PIA CESARINI

Banca d'Italia

In 2002, Françoise was assigned by the Italian Foreign Exchange Office (as a member of the Competition Commission) to select a sightless candidate who could function in French as a switchboard operator.

Beyond the high competence and professionalism, we remained impressed by her profound humanity and the natural elegance that emanated from her person. Consequently, we assigned her to teach individual French courses to executives and group courses for our staff.

For five years, up to our merge with the Bank of Italy, Françoise continued to hold individual and group courses at the Foreign Exchange office. Precise, patient and very demanding her lectures— always stimulating, interesting and creative — were held in a very productive atmosphere. The approval rating was always high both for the general courses and for those targeted on business and finance. Participants of the courses especially appreciated the progress made and the desire to continue studying French also outside the classroom.

MICHEL FIAT

Special Advisor to the CEO Thales Alenia Space

After years of working with our Italian colleagues of Thales Alenia Space, I decided that "Buongiorno" and "Arriverderci" were no longer enough to have a meaningful relationship beyond the basic English that we are using as a common language.

I had the chance to be directed to Françoise’s company and, after a test which made evident the language gap needed to be filled, I entered a week of full immersion in Rome, followed by weekly sessions on Skype. Not only was this a very fast way to kickstart my Italian language venture, but the content presented was extremely rich, as Françoise payed extreme attention to bring material (text, videos, press releases) which were either of my personal interest or connected with my field of activity.

So we went through a lot of conversations about Space, either because of a spectacular event or an immediate announcement about Thales Alenia Space's achievement; or the news of iconic people like Elon Musk. However, over and above this content, Françoise — with her high level of professionalism, and her competences that go well beyond the field of language, her interest in a broad range of topics (including complex structure of large holding companies) — was not only teaching me Italian but was piloting me to somehow reflect and step back and think about the working situation we were simulating. All of this was presented in a very friendly, easy atmosphere but with a professional and demanding work schedule.

  Françoise brings much more than simple language education, mastering the deciphering of the Italian/French relations, pointing out the wrong short cuts that we were taking, induced by our feeling of being so close whereas there are big cultural gaps to be reckoned with. And this is the most valuable part of her mentoring because it brings a lot more added value in the learning of the language itself. The net result of her teaching is that not only am I now able to handle the intercultural understanding in my professional life, but confident and capable to give a speech (written) to an audience of mother tongue Italians who could understand me perfectly well, even though I must still work on my French accent.

  I do encourage all those who want to learn, in a different and efficient way, to experience lessons with Françoise. 

LUCIA LANNOCCA

Legal Affairs ENEL Spa

A highly cultured, scrupulous, and decidedly engaging teacher and coach. I loved French and thanks to Françoise I had the opportunity to experience the language in depth and use it to efficiently target my work as a lawyer. Every lesson with her represents moments of continuous enrichment both personal and professional.

GIOVANNI PITRUZZELLA

President of Italian Antitrust Authority

I am delighted to have had the opportunity to follow Françoise ‘s lessons that for me were precious. She has a very efficient method to teach to speak fluently. Beyond that, she has the ability to make Italians understand the differences between their language and French. A very useful approach to avoid many frequent errors. And finally, her broad cultural knowledge makes each lesson very stimulating and the lesson goes by quickly.!

CATERINA INGROSSO

BNL-BNP Paribas

I had the opportunity to learn French at a very difficult time in my professional life: indeed, it was necessary to manage daily reports with new colleagues, and I had the need to quickly acquire sufficient knowledge to understand and communicate quickly. I did not have much time to study, but Françoise's lessons are really beautiful, as they say!

With the optimal combination of readings, conversations and practical work; during each lesson, students have the opportunity to improve knowledge of grammar rules and the ability to express themselves. Françoise is very capable of making her lessons fun with her experience, her kindness and her culture in the various business sectors; she has the ability to motivate and motivate everyone to do the best they can! I advise to all the lessons of Françoise and "La Langue Magnifique."

DOMENICO CARRA

Formerly ENEL Spa Deputy Foreign Minister, Deputy Central Director of Communications, Director of Sales and Distribution

At the start of my career my scarce knowledge of French had always been an element of weakness. To have had the fortune to be mentored by Françoise allowed me — in just a short time and with no embarrassment — to master situations where French was essential, as was the case with many of my fellow directors and executives who followed her courses.

Beyond my own experience, and that of the entire Enel structure — from the Presidency to the various departments — Françoise was a point of reference to us all. She is reputed to be highly professional and reliable not only in teaching French but in a multitude of functions that range from holding individual and full immersion courses, to her role of interpretor in delicate negotiations and translator of sensitive documents of considerable technical and legal complexity; and she has often assisted the senior management of our companies in Italy and abroad.

Françoise’s teaching method is winning because, while never neglecting the basic elements of the language, she shows you the way to quickly understand the spoken language and provides you with the ability and confidence to hold key negotiations.

ROBERTO QUINALE

Head Industrial Relations BNL-BNP Paribas

I met Françoise when my company merged with the BNP Paribas group. I brushed up my rusty scholastic French with her and thanks to her great professionalism and patience I was able to better use my French for my work where technical and judicial terminologies are not always easy to spot.

Thanks to her capacity to rapidly detect her student’s needs, she managed to find the right method to apply so that in a short time I was capable of closing my initial linguistic gap. Françoise customized a language course tailor fit for my needs which is an added value to her undoubtedly strong skills as a teacher.

ANTONIETTA DE PASQUALE

Italian Antitrust Authority

I met Françoise when she organized the language training courses for the Antitrust Authority. Since then, she has always been my French teacher. I’ve been very lucky to know her.

She’s an excellent coach: competent, experienced, patient and a true professional whether you are studying French for business, pleasure or simply to pass an exam. She is able to immediately seize the student’s needs and, in addition to the classic texts, she integrates her lessons with added material (newspaper articles and audio-visuals) that provide a more complete and varied understanding of the language. Method and perfect preparation combined with kindness and class. She is also highly cultured and able to teach in various fields (legal, economic, cultural, scientific, topical). Bravissima!

MASSIMILIANO SCOGNA

Responsible of Reporting Methods and Complaints Control BNL-BNP Paribas

Following the acquisition of BNL by the BNL Paribas Group, I needed to learn French to interface with my new colleagues in Paris and beyond. Thanks to Françoise's lessons, within a few months, I was able to deal with telephone conversations (more complex than face-to-face ones) and write my first e-mails in the language. In addition to her unquestionable teaching skills, I greatly appreciated the character and pleasantness of the lessons.

SANDRO CINI

IT and inspection services Expert The Italian Competition Authority

Françoise was my French language coach for three courses. I started from scratch and am now delighted with how I manage to handle all the situations where I need to use French. In a world where language teaching is usually improvised, Françoise offers years of teaching experience, is a true professional and an excellent mentor. Accepting to sacrifice my lunch break and staying focused on learning was possible only thanks to her ability to have me absorb techniques and work patterns in a demanding but fluid and light context. I never write reviews; this is perhaps my first, but I would highly recommend Françoise to all those who need to know the French language, especially those who are immersed in work, under pressure, and have little time available (managers or very busy people). I think she is one of the few teachers who can transmit a lot in a short time without adding stress.