THE FOUNDERS' LEDGER
Many FSL enthusiasts. One shared horizon.
French To Go was built at the intersection of method and community — where rigorous neurolinguistic science meets a genuine understanding of BC's French Immersion students.
Valérie
After years in the BC French school system, Valérie would run into former students in everyday life. They understood her perfectly—but after a quick “Bonjour,” many switched straight back to English.
In 2019, French To Go grew from one simple question: What if children had a regular space to use their French, taking them from a school foundation to true conversational confidence?
Valérie brings deep roots in British Columbia's Francophone School District and 20+ years of youth work. She understands BC's French students from the inside — the family and school dynamics, the challenges, the motivations, the pressures, and the aspirations. Her expertise lives in French phonetics, cultural facilitation, international cooperation, youth work, and the Neurolinguistic Approach (NLA) curriculum design and teaching techniques — a framework that prioritizes authentic, low-anxiety conversation as the engine of fluency, mirroring how a child acquires their first language.
She is the educational program designer and trains each educator to meet students exactly where they are, turning hesitant speakers into confident communicators.
Mialy
Mialy is a true sunshine — warm, expressive, and naturally joyful. As a young mother herself, she understands how important it is for children to feel comfortable, listened to, and free to be themselves. She also has a natural understanding of the world they grow up in today, from their humor and interests to the trends and references they love.
With her warm, big-sister energy, Mialy quickly creates an easy connection with children. She loves to laugh, play, ask questions, and simply enjoy the moment with them. She takes the time to get to know each child and what makes them curious, making French feel less like a lesson and more like something they naturally want to be part of.
Mialy is fully trained in the official French To Go method and has a strong understanding of its teaching principles and techniques. She follows the method’s progression carefully while bringing her own warmth, energy, and personality into every session. Through oral interaction, play, and meaningful conversation, she helps children develop their French naturally and with confidence.
Children are naturally drawn to Mialy because they feel at ease with her. Her encouragement helps them move from learning new words to actually using them, speaking more freely and becoming more confident in French. For her, the best sessions are the ones where children leave having learned something new — and having had a genuinely good time.
Marine
Marine is a proud mother of three. Bright, calm, and deeply dedicated, Marine brings a motivating presence to FI students, helping students unlock their full potential.
Her personality is defined by an incredible ability to guide young learners by skillfully introducing varied speech paces and rich vocabulary. Her sessions are engaging and empowering, designed for students who are ready to stretch their abilities and achieve remarkable progress.
As an educator fully trained in Valérie’s core pedagogy, Marine delivers the 30-unit French To Go curriculum with absolute precision. She expertly adapts the Neurolinguistic Approach (NLA) to keep students stimulated and focused, ensuring that classroom knowledge is seamlessly transformed into advanced, real-life oral fluency.
Children appreciate Marine for her ability to inspire growth and her knack for helping children surpass their own expectations. She creates an empowering space where students don't just practice French—they learn to challenge themselves, master a richer vocabulary, and build bulletproof conversational confidence.
Olivier Massé
Olivier Massé is an expert in language didactics, specializing in the teaching of French as a Foreign Language (FLE). As a teacher, researcher, and trainer of trainers, he combines solid field experience working with diverse audiences with deep expertise in linguistic learning processes.
After graduating in Philosophy in France, Olivier moved to Japan in 2001, where he began his career as a French as a Foreign Language (FLE) teacher. Rapidly promoted to pedagogical coordinator and later to head of training engineering at the Institut Français du Japon, he developed an in-depth expertise in classroom practices. There, he initiated innovative collaborative systems and contributed to the development of university degrees for French language teaching. Later, he served as a consultant for the quality department of the Institut Français de Paris, working on the standardization of teaching within the French cultural network abroad.
Co-author of the Interactions teaching method (Clé International), Olivier became passionate about the convergence between the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and cognitive neurosciences. Today, he is one of the few experts authorized by the creators of the Neurolinguistic Approach (NLA) to teach, train teachers, and organize trainer-of-trainers programs according to this innovative methodology.
In June 2021, he founded La Ferme Linguistique in Normandy. This pioneering training center is dedicated not only to teaching languages according to NLA principles (where oral communication systematically precedes and supports written language), but has also established itself as a benchmark hub for training trainers, supporting teachers as they evolve their practices toward approaches aligned with the recommendations of cognitive sciences and neuroeducation.
Beyond oral communication, Olivier Massé places literacy at the center of language learning. Notably, he is the creator of the "Prix des Camemberts du FLE" (the first literary prize dedicated to French pedagogical books) and is currently developing projects around reading-based pedagogy and the creation of educational resources specifically dedicated to second language acquisition
Our part is small and specific: giving students more opportunities to hear their own second voice out loud so they can benefit from the edge of speaking confidence and spontaneity.
Our mission couldn't be complete without the parents and teachers who, day after day, prepare the next generation of bilingual Canadian citizens.
— Valérie, Founder and Director