Understanding a language means understanding a culture
English and French as a foreign language training, online, for those who want to stand out.
Dr Séverine Williams, PhD, Harvard University · Agrégée d'anglais · Twenty years of teaching and cultural programming in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Morocco
L’approche
A language is a complex mode of communication that allows several messages to be expressed simultaneously, like a palimpsest. Beyond content and syntax, conventions, register, humour and idiom determine how you are perceived.
Start from your situation
Why this language, who you want to address, what you need to achieve, and by when.
Go deeper into the culture
Understanding the culture behind the language is what takes you from correct English to the right English.
Attention to detail
Rhythm, intonation, allusion, double meaning. Everything left unsaid that makes the difference between a very good level and a native one.
Programmes
All sessions take place online, individually or in very small groups, in French or English depending on the objective.
For entrepreneurs and executives, professionals, academics and researchers, grandes écoles candidates and students. Frequently asked questions
Excellence
Excellence level. For senior executives, experts and diplomats: language is a working tool, and mastering it is a factor of credibility.
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Executive Speaking & Leadership
Prise de parole en public, conduite de réunion, gestion des objections en conseil d’administration, art du pitch. On travaille la construction de l’argument autant que la voix qui le porte.
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Negotiation and diplomacy
Maîtrise de l’euphémisme (understatement), décodage du second degré des natifs, techniques d’influence, et l’art d’exprimer un désaccord ferme sans rompre la relation.
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Strategic writing
Une langue écrite sans la moindre scorie, dans le registre exact attendu par le destinataire.
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Réduction d’accent et posture
Intonation, rythme, débit, accentuation, pauses, et l’aisance culturelle qui fait disparaître la barrière avant même le premier mot de fond.
Method and fees
Everything begins with a thirty-minute diagnostic interview, free of charge and without commitment.
Diagnosis
Objectif, échéance, interlocuteurs, niveau de départ à l’oral et à l’écrit.
Programme and quote
Content, pace, format and duration. Written proposal before the first session.
Séances et points d’étape
Travail actif en visioconférence, évaluation régulière et ajustement jusqu’à l’échéance.
Fees are set on a bespoke basis, according to the format chosen, the frequency of sessions and the total volume. No commitment before the quote is accepted.
Read the frequently asked questionsBackground
Séverine Williams holds a PhD from Harvard University and the French agrégation in English. After twenty years of teaching and cultural programming at Harvard, Boston College, Tufts, Bryn Mawr College, the Institut français in London, the Sorbonne, the Lycée Louis-le-Grand and the French international school in Marrakech, and at the bilingual bookshop Booklore, she created her own language and cultural coaching programme in French and English. It is from this movement between five countries that her approach to teaching languages is born.
- PhD in Romance Languages and Literatures, Harvard University, 2012. Dissertation available in full. DASH Harvard
- Agrégation externe spéciale d’anglais, 2019 et CAPES externe d’anglais la même année. Arrêtés d’admission publiés au Journal officiel.
- Co-organiser of the annual Harvard Humanities Center conference, 2008, under the direction of Homi K. Bhabha. Covered by the Harvard Gazette, which names her. Harvard Gazette
- Prix de l’enseignement de Harvard, 2007, et Donald J. White Teaching Award de Boston College, 2002.
- Professeure agrégée en disponibilité de l’Éducation nationale. Anciens postes : lycée Louis-le-Grand, lycée Marcelin Berthelot, examinatrice à l’ESCP.
- Has lived and worked in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Morocco.
Interviews et rencontres littéraires
As part of the bilingual cultural programming at Booklore bookshop in Marrakech, Séverine Williams prepared and hosted encounters with public figures, in French and English.
Interviewees
- Jane Green — British author of international bestsellers
- Johann Chapoutot — historian, professor at the Sorbonne, specialist in Nazism
- Marie-Christine Barrault — French actress, César award and international nominations
- Géraldine Dalban-Moreynas — author and journalist
- Mhani Alaoui — Moroccan anglophone author
- Margaux Cassan — French philosopher
- Valérie Pérez — journalist and TV presenter
Detailed background
Qualifications
- 2019 Agrégation externe spéciale d’anglais, 2019Arrêté d’admission publié au Journal officiel.
- 2019 CAPES externe d’anglais, admiseArrêté d’admission publié au Journal officiel. Préparation à Paris-Sorbonne.
- 2012 PhD, langues et littératures romanes, Harvard UniversityDissertation: "Que reste-t-il de Proust ? À la Recherche du temps perdu comme laboratoire de la modernité littéraire", available in full. DASH Harvard HOLLIS
- 2009–2011 Visiting researcher, Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London
- 2008–2009 Traveling scholar, BerlinResearch stay in Germany.
- 2005–2006 Doctoral exchange, École normale supérieure, Paris
- 2001 MA in Romance Languages and Literatures, Bryn Mawr College, USABourse d’étude complète.
- 2000 Maîtrise in English Studies, Université Paris-Sorbonne, with distinction
Teaching
- 2023–2026 Bilingual academic coach, Séverine Williams CoachingAcademic and professional guidance, preparation for exams, competitive tests and applications.
- 2025–2026 Head of cultural programming, Booklore bookshop, MarrakechConférences, ateliers et clubs de lecture bilingues ; partenariats avec l’Institut français, le lycée français et l’école américaine. booklore.ma
- 2023–2025 Professeure d’anglais, lycée français international Victor Hugo, Marrakech
- 2021–2023 Examinatrice d’anglais, ESCP Business School, ParisEt professeure d’anglais au lycée Marcelin Berthelot, Pantin.
- 2020–2021 Professeure d’anglais, lycée Louis-le-Grand, Paris
- 2017 Chargée de cours, UFR d’anglais, université Paris-SorbonneAmerican civilisation and literary translation.
- 2017–2018 International mobility officer, Campus France, ParisProgrammes de bourses du ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires étrangères, suivi des étudiants internationaux.
- 2010–2011 Teacher of French as a foreign language, Institut français, LondonAdult and professional learners, elementary to advanced; French culture and literature courses.
- 2006–2015 Harvard University and Harvard Summer School, Cambridge, USALectrice aux départements de langues romanes et des humanités ; direction de mémoires ; création de deux programmes d’été consacrés à la culture française au travers du cinéma.
- 2001–2003 French lecturer, Boston College, USA
- 2000–2001 French lecturer, Bryn Mawr College, USACréation d’un cours de linguistique pour le programme d’été de Bryn Mawr en Avignon.
Awards and scholarly work
- 2008 Co-organiser of the annual Harvard Humanities Center conference« Instability and Decomposition : 19th and 20th Century Moments in Art, Literature, Philosophy and Technoscience », selected by competitive bid, under the direction of Homi K. Bhabha. Covered by the Harvard Gazette. Harvard Gazette
- 2007 Harvard Certificate of Distinction in TeachingPrix de l’enseignement, Harvard University.
- 2002 Donald J. White Teaching Award, Boston CollegePrix de l’enseignement.
- 2001–2010 International conference papersHarvard, Princeton, Yale, Boston College, NEMLA, University of London, National University of Ireland.
- 1999–2008 Research fellowshipsBourse doctorale complète de Harvard, bourse d’échange de l’ENS, bourse complète de Bryn Mawr, bourse d’échange Paris-Sorbonne / Tufts, Winkler Fund, Harvard Humanities Center.
Public sources
- Doctoral dissertation, Harvard DASH repository: Que reste-t-il de Proust? dash.harvard.edu
- Dissertation record in the Harvard Library HOLLIS catalogue hollis.harvard.edu
- Harvard Gazette, 2008, report on the Harvard Humanities Center conference co-organised by Séverine Meunier news.harvard.edu
- Harvard Gazette, 2012, Commencement, doctoral class news.harvard.edu
- Colloquy, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences magazine gsas.harvard.edu
- Booklore bookshop, Marrakech, team and cultural programming booklore.ma
- Literary event hosted at Booklore bookshop, Marrakech facebook.com
- Bilingual cultural event, Marrakech instagram.com
Test your level
8 questions to identify your profile and the right programme.
Frequently asked questions
Levels, fees, method and Séverine Williams's background.
Start with a conversation
Tell us in a few lines what your goals and deadlines are. The thirty-minute diagnostic interview is free of charge and without commitment.