Brian O’Connell

Principal O’Connell Legal Consulting

Philip Swadling

Technical Director of Avionics - Thales Australia

Michael O'Leary

Specialist in intensive care medecine

Linda Thomas

REtired lawyer

I was a student of Karima Mezoughem for four years during the time I worked at Thales Australia as a legal counsel. Karima is an outstanding French language teacher and an excellent mentor for anyone wishing to understand the nuances of French life and culture. Her commitment and enthusiasm made learning French a joyful and rewarding experience and my proficiency today is largely due to her.

My experience from attending Karima’s classes was that I was simultaneously learning and living the French language. Her approach is to tailor the learning to “you”, the individual, with regard to your occupation and interests. Through my in-class learning, I progressed from being able to write emails in French, to the ability to interact face-to-face with my French colleagues exclusively in the language.

Karima’s teaching also expanded my awareness of the “francophone” world as we discussed news from France, Canada (Quebec) New Caledonia, Haiti and Algeria. She encouraged her students to listen to French radio and watch French movies. This provided us with a gateway to the world of French language literature.

Through my own experience, I have no hesitation in saying that anyone seeking to learn French either for business purposes or in preparation for a diplomatic posting, would be very fortunate to have Karima as their teacher.

I also recommend Karima as a person of conviction and integrity.

I am writing this reference for Karima in my personal capacity of a former student. I was a student of Karima’s French at Work lessons at Thales for a period of approximately four years, ending in 2020 when Thales ceased offering in person language courses to employees. I started the classes at a beginner level, and progressed to intermediate to advanced level during this time.

Karima worked hard to made the classes relevant and enjoyable to students of a range of backgrounds and abilities. As well as presenting formal lessons, she regularly provided supplementary material relating to current affairs or culture in the French world to bring the lessons to life. Karima focused on each student as an individual and went out of her way to ensure each member of the class was able to participate and gain from attendance even when classes included people with different competencies in the French language.

In addition to the formal classes, Karima frequently arranged French related cultural events from time to time, bringing together students from across her portfolio of classes.

In my view, Karima is an excellent French teacher, able to explain the intricacies of French grammar and syntax as well as building confidence and capability in her students using a range of different teaching techniques.

I am writing to offer my wholehearted recommendation for Karima Mezoughem as a French teacher. I have had the pleasure of Karima’s skill as a conversation coach since 2021 during which time I have been consistently impressed by her professionalism, linguistic expertise, and engaging teaching style.

I specifically recommend Karima to anyone seeking to improve their French conversational skills. Karima’s lessons are always very enjoyable. She has an encyclopaedic knowledge of French cinema which provides a very fertile ground for stimulating conversation.

One of Karima’s greatest strengths is her ability to tailor lessons to the learner’s goals, whether for travel, professional use, or academic improvement. For example, for my field, medicine, Karima has a very good knowledge of medical French. My lessons with Karima have helped me grow in confidence in my own spoken French but more importantly for me in my ability to understand French conversation in real-life contexts. As a result of my learning with Karima I have recently attended a French medical conference with sufficient ability to understand the academic presentations.

I am confident to recommend Karima without reservation.

Karima‘s dedication to the instruction of the French language in a meaningful, relevant and practical way has contributed to my commitment and enjoyment of the French language instruction over a number of years.

A kind and patient instructor, Karima goes to great lengths to ensure that we are comfortable with the instruction that we are given. The instruction is geared towards our level of proficiency and specifically addresses any difficulties or issues we may encounter along the way.

Having a legal background, I am alert to the need for detail and clarity in language. Karima’s instruction fosters the acquisition of the French language with that clarity as well as confidence and reliability.