The UVA French Peer Tutoring Service was launched in Spring 2019. Peer tutoring brings together students with a wide variety of backgrounds in French. Our volunteer tutors are students in excellent academic standing who have a passion for French Studies and who want to help fellow students learn and succeed. If you have questions, suggestions, or testimonials about our Peer Tutoring Service, please contact:

• The Director of the Undergraduate Program (oversees 3000- and 4000-level courses): Jennifer Tsien (jst8e@virginia.edu)
• The Language Program Director (oversees 1000- and 2000-level courses): Karen James (ksj7c@virginia.edu)

Peer Tutors may...

1. have conversation sessions with students
2. share strategies for studying and learning
3. help students identify and use resources and strategies for specific skills (listening comprehension, pronunciation, reading, etc)  
4. explain grammar points
5. explain problems with homework that has already been graded and turned back (but not for papers that have been turned back to be revised and resubmitted)
6. assist students working on basic online homework assignments in 1010-2020 by showing students where to find the relevant forms or vocabulary in the book, helping them understand directions, etc., but not doing or correcting answers before the student submits them.
7. discuss choice, rationale, and formatting of materials to document learning in the student’s Language Learning ePortfolio in the 1000 and 2000-level class

Peer Tutors may NOT...

1. correct or offer feedback on homework or other course work/graded work  (with exception noted above for assisting FREN 1010-2020 students with completing online homework assignments on the Vista supersite or with selection/formatting input for Language Learning ePortfolios).
2. correct or rephrase another student’s paper
3. tutor using old quizzes, tests, homework
4. help with take-home tests (except to give help with technology–if the tutor happens to be familiar with the technology!)

Questions Peer Tutors May Address in Longer Papers for Advanced Courses

1. Assignment: Does the paper meet the expectations of the assignment? Ideas/thesis: Does the paper have interesting things to say? Does it have a clear and justifiable thesis?
2. Global organization: Does the order of the points support the thesis? Do the introduction and conclusion set up the thesis and end by pulling ideas together and letting the reader see why the topic and questions  matter?
3. Paragraph organization: Is each paragraph unified and sufficiently long to make the point?
4. Evidence: Does the paper contain enough appropriate evidence? Is there more analysis and synthesis rather than summary? Is there enough detail supporting the main points?
5. Style and correctness: Do the sentences have variety, and is the language elegant and clear? Does the writer follow the conventions of spelling, mechanics, and usage?
6. Peer tutors may discuss the ideas in the paper with their tutees and help their tutees brainstorm ideas, but they may not create a subject, a thesis, or any of the paper’s content.
7. Peer tutors may point out and discuss sentences or paragraphs that need work,  but they may not correct or rewrite for the student.

The Honor Code

No one at UVa is exempt from the obligation to understand the honor code, and to abide by it at all times. Consult the Honor Committee website at http://www.virginia.edu/honor/ . All work for French courses is considered to be pledged, whether or not the student has written the pledge on the assignment.

Please note that seeking unauthorized help from friends, family, and other students (unless your instructor has organized collaborative projects or peer revision) are honor violations in French just as they are in any other course. Some forms of assistance from Peer Tutors are appropriate and encouraged, although students should acknowledge that assistance in writing on the submitted assignment.  

If you have any questions about the appropriate use of tutoring, online references, or other sources of information, please check with your instructor.  Please remember that the use of any online translator is counterproductive and constitutes an honor violation.

Please also read carefully: “Writing, Honor, and Community: A Guide for Compositions in French” on the department website.

Undergraduate Peer Tutor List

Samira Sikri (sgx6sk@virginia.edu) 2025 - Specialty: 1000- and 2000- level classes

Samira is majoring in psychology with a minor in French on the pre-physical therapy track. She started studying French in kindergarten. She enjoys listening to French music and loves to exchange song recommendations. She can help with anything from grammar to French writing and is always happy to answer general questions as well.

 

Caroline Aldridge (qen8su@virginia.edu) 2025

Caroline is majoring in French and Media Studies. She enjoys studying French culture and history, listening to French music, and plans to study abroad in France for a semester. Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions! Specialty: 1000 and 2000 levels

Naima Sawaya (nes6h@virginia.edu) 2026

Naima is a prospective Foreign Affairs major with a French minor. I have been studying French since middle school and am most passionate firstly about the food (yum!) and secondly (and more importantly) about Francophone culture and literature. My favorite French author is Aimé Césaire. I specifically loved his play Une Tempête (much better than Shakespeare in my opinion). As someone interested in studying regions affected by colonialism and imperialism, I find the relationship between postcolonial societies and a colonial language - French - especially intriguing (i.e. how the colonial language is both a reminder of a violent past and a tool for resistance of Western hegemony). Specialty: 1000 and 2000 level

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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​​​​​​​Gretel Brown (kbw2vz@virginia.edu) 2026 - Specialty: advanced course papers

Gretel is majoring in English and French. She has been studying French for seven years and is currently living at La Maison Française at UVA. She hopes to spend a semester abroad in Paris. She is passionate about French history and literature (particularly of the nineteenth century). Her favorite French novel is Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, and her favorite French song is “La Question” by Françoise Hardy. She can offer help in grammar as well as in general writing structure and style and is especially qualified to assist with textual analysis.

French tutors for hire

1. Thomas Rapoport, French exchange student from HEC Thomas Rapoport, zeq8qq@virginia.edu, (WhatsApp  +33781616585, Instagram: thorapo)
2. Paul Lameta  mkk5rg@virginia.edu

(click on the names above to be directed to the respective bio page, click on the emails above to get in contact with the respective tutor)