Licensee Testimonials
"It's changed my life! I have been a licensee for five years and can certainly recommend it.
Teaching French to young children has been extremely rewarding. The fun that the children - and myself - have in singing the songs and learning the rhymes/stories is wonderful. It has been hard work but the support from La Jolie Ronde and the excellent materials makes it all worthwhile. It has given me more confidence and certainly a lot of independence in how and when I work. In addition I have also gained a lot of respect from teachers within the schools.
A most worthwhile career." Carol Merrett, Licensee in West Sussex
"I first decided to become a La Jolie Ronde Licensee in 2004... And since then, have never looked back!
For 10 years I was employed as a Customs Officer in Dover and as I approached 30 felt that I needed a career change. I decided to return to study French and Italian at University, as languages had always been my passion having studied French and German at school and also having worked in France for a year. I am happy to say I graduated in 2004.. And it was at this point on my journey that I became a licensee!
To begin with I started teaching 2 sessions for 5, 6 and 7 year olds in my local Community Centre in Folkestone. This allowed me to become familiar with the La Jolie Ronde methodology and allowed me to closely follow the children’s progress. Two years later I have opened a couple of other centres in schools in the Dover and Folkestone area covering the whole range of nursery through to primary school ages.
Being a licensee has been the best thing I have ever done…. I have even had a baby this year and after 6 weeks was able to return to my classes!
I think the best thing has been seeing the children progress so well in speaking French and also having fun and playing our games without feeling inhibited or restricted.
Being your own boss allows you the flexibility to work when it suits you and is therefore perfect if you have your own family commitments." Christine Gammons, Licensee in Kent
"You know how sometimes something happens and you know it's right for you? Well, the day a friend asked me if I had ever thought of teaching children French with La Jolie Ronde was one of those times. Even though it took me a while to pluck up courage to ring up about it, I was really glad when I did. I have been a licensee now for over 7 years and love my work. Seeing the children having so much fun and knowing that they are learning so much at the same time makes being a La Jolie Ronde licensee very satisfying indeed." Jill Simpson, Licensee and Area Co-ordinator, Inverbervie, Scotland.
"La Jolie Ronde has been invaluable in helping me establish myself as teacher of French. Although I learnt to speak French fluently whilst living and working in Brittany, I had no background in teaching the language to children. La Jolie Ronde’s materials, training and advice have been really important in enabling me to begin this brilliant new career.
The materials, in the form of CDs and books, get an excellent response from children – they love the opportunities for saying rhymes, singing and movement. Learning French has been made great fun.
Becoming a licensee enables you to use your imagination and your French on a daily basis. The possibilities are endless and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is thinking about it. For me personally it has been a life changing experience, one that I am thoroughly enjoying. Bonne chance!" Julie Whaley, Licensee in Nottinghamshire.
What's it like as a La Jolie Ronde licensee ? – A Male Perspective
"Firstly by joining La Jolie Ronde you will find yourself in the male minority both amongst all the other lady licensees and amongst teaching and support staff in primary schools and nurseries where you organise your teaching.
Even though more male teachers are coming through at primary level education there are still far more ladies around and so you need to be comfortable with that and as with all jobs be open and available to the help and support and feedback they can bring you on a day to day basis. I personally find this day to day interaction with all the staff at schools and nurseries that I meet very rich and rewarding as we all have the best interests of the children's education at heart. The level of sharing and mutual support is very high and can be a real source of inspiration and ideas on how to develop your teaching. All teachers learn and adapt from each other and you need to be open to this way of working.
I'm a career change teacher after spending 25 years in industry and commerce and have found that during those important first few months of transition into the teaching world the help and support from La Jolie Ronde was invaluable. I was able to go along and observe as many different types of lessons as I wanted given by different licensees and tutors to children of all ages. I found this exposure to what teaching young children is really like crucial to helping me make my decision to join La Jolie Ronde as a licensee. The support from other licensees and the time that they gave me to answer my questions and concerns was excellent.
There are many advantages to being a male teacher and licensee and you will find that the children respond very positively to having a strong male role model to learn from. This is particularly important if you have many boys in your French classes as they often present you with more challenges to maintain their interest so that you can keep the lessons moving and interesting and fun for all the children. The wide range of top quality teaching resources you get as a La Jolie Ronde licensee definitely help this process and you can keep children of all ages actively engaged in learning French in a fun way." Steve Cort, Licensee and Area Co-ordinator, Hertfordshire.