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Writer's pictureVirginie Paradis

A massage to improve your French comprehension?


Improving your French comprehension can be done in so many different ways! The most important is to keep it fun and interesting so it never feels like a chore. So today, I’m introducing you (in French with the help of French subtitles) to my dear French friend Emeline, who I’ve known since 2005 when we both worked for the same company in London.

Emeline still lives in London only now she works for herself! She is an amazing, talented, and caring massage therapist with magical hands (and elbows 😉 constantly working to improve her skills, and therefore her patients’ experience at La Très Zen. Right now she is finalizing a reflexology certification, and before that she widened her original skills to hot stones, pregnancy, etc. she never stops learning!

I’m both delighted and proud that Emeline will be part of the French Immersion Courses taking place in London this August. You’ll be able to meet her on the Saturday afternoon, which you’ll spend practicing your French with her, and 2 other wonderful French entrepreneurs.

And now for more practice and for more info about Emeline, read her below interview, en français bien sûr!

  1. Depuis quand vis-tu à Londres?

Je suis arrivée à Londres le 14 février 2003. J’avais 23 ans et ne savais pas encore à quelle sauce Londres allait me manger. J’avais en poche un BTS Actions Commerciales et un bonne pile d’expériences en vente. Mon objectif premier était de trouver un contrat de vendeuse dans une boutique “high street”, puis d’être embauchée par une marque de Luxe. Ma détermination et mon optimisme ont payé: 6 jours après mon arrivée, je travaillais pour Aldo et 6 semaines plus tard, j’étais embauchée par Loewe à Selfridges.

J’ai continué pendant 13 ans dans cette voie: de vendeuse à responsable de bureau et assistante de direction, en passant par assistante marketing, responsable logistique… J’ai installé des bureaux à partir de rien, travaillé sur des projets extraordinaires avec Baccarat, vu des bijoux d’une rare beauté à Asprey et Boodles, et j’en passe! Ces marques fascinantes chargées d’histoire et de savoir-faire comme Loewe, LVMH, Asprey of London, Baccarat Uk, Boodles et Le Chameau Uk ont été des expériences incroyables qui m’ont certainement construite personnellement et professionnellement.

Fin 2016 (mon année terrible), j’ai atteint le moment charnière de ma carrière et j’ai décidé de travailler à mon compte: j’en ai eu assez des politiques internes, des chefs qui vous extirpent toute votre énergie (même celle que vous n’avez plus!!), des collègues et supérieurs qui ne disent jamais merci pour votre bon boulot mais qui sont les premiers à vous tirer dans les pattes dès que vous avez cinq minutes de retard!

Je me suis donc posée la vraie question: “Que veux-tu faire dans ta vie Emeline? Qu’est ce qui te rend heureuse? Une amie, m’a mis la puce à l’oreille un soir en discutant: “Et les massages???” Ça a tout de suite fait résonner quelque chose au plus profond de moi. J’ai fait mes recherches et en mai 2017, j’étais inscrite à un cours. J’ai obtenu mon diplôme en août de la même année et voilà: j’étais sur ma lancée de médecine douce.


  1. Peux-tu nous décrire ton entreprise?

Je l’ai appelée :”La Très Zen – Massage Thérapies”. Je proposes les soins suivants : Swedish, Deep Tissue, Hot Stone, Pregnancy, Chair Massage et très bientôt Réflexologie. Je n’utilise que des huiles bio provenant de Neal’s Yard, des serviettes en coton égyptien, des bougies d’ambiance, et évidemment mes pouvoirs magiques 😉

Ma clientèle est essentiellement constituée de particuliers que je masses à “ The House of Yoga” à Putney où je loue un espace de soin les samedis.

Je travaille également avec une clientèle d’entreprise: Je rends visite à leurs employés une à deux fois par mois. L’idée étant de soulager les maux engendrés par un travail sédentaire: tensions musculaires au niveau du dos, des épaules et de la nuque. Les bienfaits physiques et psychologiques des massages sur chaise au travail sont multiples: augmentation de la concentration et de la productivité, baisse d’absentéisme, motivation au sein des équipes, et parfois pouvoir discuter avec quelqu’un d’extérieur à son environnement professionnel permet de libérer certaines frustrations. Bref employés heureux = employeurs aux anges! Après tout, nous ne sommes pas fait pour être assis huit heures par jours… que dis-je: plus de dix heures par jour!!! Nous sommes à Londres parbleu!


  1. Quand l’as-tu lancée?

J’ai lancé La Très Zen en août 2017, après avoir été diplômée en tant que masseuse thérapeutique.

  1. Quel a été le plus gros défi à surmonter lors de la création de ton entreprise?

Payer les factures!!! Je n’avais pas un sous de côté donc j’ ai utilisé ma carte de crédit pour financer mes études. Mon travail à temps partiel m’a uniquement permis de payer ma part du loyer et les factures. Pour le reste comme les courses, mon homme à géré pendant presque un an. Ce changement de carrière est une des meilleures décisions que j’ai prise mais elle n’ a pas été sans sacrifices: oublions les plaisirs simples d’un petit resto avec son chéri ou même une paire de chaussures!

  1. Être femme entrepreneuse : un obstacle ou une facilité?

Je ne considère pas qu’être une femme soit un obstacle (entrepreneur ou pas): ça le devient si on le laisse mais ça n’est pas une fatalité! Un bon état d’esprit et une bonne attitude seront vos meilleurs armes … avec bien sûr, une bonne dose de personnalité, beaucoup d’humour, de la détermination et des facilités de communication.

– Le conseil qu’on t’a donné mais que tu n’as pas suivi :

Ah et bien c’est un conseil que ma maman m’a donné à l’adolescence : « Mets de l’argent de côté Emeline, au lieu de tout dépenser en fringues… ». Je l’aurai suivi ce conseil précieux, ça m’aurait évité bien des tracas !!! METTEZ DE L’ARGENT DE CÔTÉ !!!

– Des erreurs que tu regrettes dans la création de ta boite ?

Non aucune… mes erreurs passées sont mes forces et mes leçons du présent et du futur!

– Un grand bonheur ?

Oui oui et oui! Je suis fière d’avoir tenu bon « contre vents et marées » comme on dit chez moi en Bretagne. Ça n’a pas été simple: j’ ai beaucoup pleuré, quelques fois douté, souvent mal dormi, et ça a failli coûter cher à mon couple.

Mais je suis sortie victorieuse, plus forte et déterminée, et surtout beaucoup plus heureuse. La bataille n’est jamais terminée, alors j’utilise ma créativité, mon intuition et mon grand sourire pour apprécier tous les jours ce don que j’ai à aider mes clients à se sentir mieux dans leurs corps et dans leurs têtes.


I’m both delighted and proud that Emeline will be part of the French Immersion Courses taking place in London this August. You’ll be able to meet her on the Saturday afternoon, which you’ll spend practicing your French with her, and 2 other wonderful French entrepreneurs.

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FRENCH IMMERSION COURSE – WEEKEND IN LONDON AUGUST 2019


Our July French Immersion Course in France is sold out so why don’t you join us in London this August? Above is a short testimonial video by Richard to give you an idea of what to expect!

FRENCH IMMERSION COURSE – WEEKEND IN SEATTLE MARCH 2020


Join us in Seattle in March 2020! Demi attended a French immersion Weekend Course in Seattle this year and she’s sharing her experience with you on this short video!

100% French Experience

What inspired me to create this French Immersion Course? C’est très simple: how best to improve your French conversation skills than by being in France, surrounded with French culture and French people who will ONLY speak French to you? Yet so many times I have heard visitors express their disappointment at not really being given the chance to practice their French. Why? Because more & more French people, especially in big cities, speak English fairly well and are just so excited to practice their new skills with you! This ends up being nice and comfortable for you but not so satisfying or helpful for improving your French speaking ability! So to fix this and make sure you have the most enjoyable, and at the same time profitable, French learning experience, I decided to create the perfect environment for you by organizing this hands-on French Immersion Course.

FRANCE 2019 July 8 to 14: SOLD OUT

LONDON UK 2019 August 3 & 4: This French Immersion Course is designed for intermediate level students. 2019 August 1 & 4:11This French Immersion Course is designed for beginner level students.

SEATTLE US 2020 March 7 & 8: This French Immersion Course is designed for intermediate level students. 2020 March 14 & 15: This French Immersion Course is designed for beginner level students.

If you’re unsure about your level, contact me to schedule a free Skype call

Daily French Classes & Activities

This is the reason why I have created this 7 DAY FULL FRENCH IMMERSION COURSE for you, filled with daily classes & enriching adventures with French people who will only speak French with you. No English! It’s amazing how much you can learn and retain in such a conducive atmosphere in as little as 7 days. Mornings will be dedicated to French language classes and afternoons will be filled with interesting activities such as: visiting local artists or entrepreneurs workshops, meeting with local wine makers and farmers, guided hike in nature, cooking class, painting class, cinema, & museum… all in French!

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WANT TO TAKE YOUR FRENCH TO THE NEXT LEVEL?

RECEIVE VIRGINIE’S FREE COURSE to Help You Become a little bit French in 3 Steps.

Learn French Online with Virginie via the French Truly Online School

Learn French with Virginie via her French Immersion Courses in France, in London UK, and in Seattle US.

Watch Testimonials from Virginie’s Happy Students!

Learn French online with Virginie

Join French Truly’s online school, either by buying the French online course(s) of your choice or by becoming a monthly member. See more details about the membership at the bottom of this page

Each French online course is packed with video & audio files along with written material, to make it as fun, easy, and user friendly as possible for you! Come and learn French online with me!


In this course, you will find 15 videos (+ 10 bonus ones) to help & accompany you every step of the way through the course + for each word, each sentence, each expression, each conjugated verb, I have created an audio file of my voice, slow and slightly faster speed. Your French language learning experience has never been so easy, fun, and fruitful. You can learn French online and benefit from the flexibility working at your own pace offers, while having me with you the whole time.

Did you know…

You can converse (speak + understand) in French with only 600 WORDS?

The average French person only uses between 300 & 3,000 WORDS?

This means that if you can master a relatively short list of words, you’ll be able to express yourself like the average French person! Plus you’re much more likely to understand the French when they talk back to you!

This course will teach you…

1- How to speak French

2- How to pronounce French

3- How to make French sentences

4- How to conjugate all the most common French verbs

5- How to polish your results

6- How to self evaluate your French

More info HERE

  1. It should take you about 30 hours to complete this course, which is made up of 10 lessons

  2. This course is designed for a beginner / intermediate level. If you are intermediate but feel like you could really reinforce your foundations, you will love it.

  3. You can join whenever, either by buying the course or by becoming a monthly member giving you access to my French online courses from $10 / month. See more details about the membership at the bottom of this page


In this course you will find 11 videos + 150 audio files + 92 pages PDF format to help & accompany you every step of the way throughout the course. In some parts of the videos, my face will appear close up and profile so you can easily see how I make these sounds with my mouth. The 150 audio files are composed of the 100 most popular French words and the 50 most common French phrases. They are recordings of my voice, speaking slowly enough so you can easily grasp every syllable. Your French language learning experience has never been so easy, fun, and fruitful. You can learn French online and benefit from the flexibility working at your own pace offers, while having me with you the whole time.

NB: if you are the proud owner of my previous French online course 600 WORDS, don’t worry, this is not a repeat as we are now exploring 1 letter words and up, whereas in 600 WORDS we began at 4 letter words and up.

Combine knowledge with confidence…

For you to be able to have a pleasant and efficient conversation with a French person, one thing is key… can you guess what it is? Confidence! How well do you think you will communicate in French if you don’t feel confident about your accent? If you are scared that people won’t understand you? Or even worse if you think someone might make fun of you? Without a minimum of confidence there is no room for communication. Yet if you feel confident, you can afford to make a few mistakes here and there because people will still understand you. What prevents a conversation from happening isn’t just a lack of knowledge, it’s also a lack of confidence. You need to have both to make it work, not to mention, to make it fun!

This course will teach you…

1- How to pronounce every letter of the alphabet

2- How to pronounce every digraph & trigraph

3- How to make every French sentence flow

4- How to pronounce the 100 most popular French words

5- How to pronounce the 50 most popular French phrases

6- How to avoid the pronunciation mistakes everyone makes

More info HERE

  1. It should take you about 20 to 2 hours to complete this course, which is made up of 11 lessons

  2. This course is designed for a beginner level. If you are intermediate but lack confidence when it comes to talking and feel like you could really benefit from focusing on pronunciation, you will love it.

  3. You can join whenever, either by buying the course or by becoming a monthly member giving you access to my French online courses from $10 / month. See more details about the membership below 

Become a monthly member!

My goal is to transform your French language learning experience. This is why I’ve decided to offer you a new way to learn French online and gain access to the French Truly Online School! Actually, more than 1 new way, you’ll have 3 plans to choose from so come and learn French online with me!

Whichever you pick, FOCUS at $10, HORIZON at $15, or IMMERSION at $99, you will always be free to either upgrade or downgrade, stay or leave.

Not a membership kind of person? Don’t worry! Every course can still be bought separately at the normal price and be yours for ever. Whichever format you choose, your French language learning experience has never been so easy, fun, and fruitful. You can learn French online and benefit from the flexibility working at your own pace offers, while having me with you the whole time.


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