Sylouan Poitou

Sylouan comes from Nantes, a region in the Northwest of France.
Passionate about travel, cinema and video games, he graduated with a Bachelor's degree in English language, literature and civilization, as well as a Master's degree in French Teaching as a Foreign Language.
Our globetrotter has now settled down in San Francisco, and is currently overseeing the Educational department of the Alliance. That includes teaching French classes for children and adults, managing and training the Alliance team, as well as handling and administering our online teaching platform, Moodle. 
Sylouan is also in charge of overseeing our TCF exams so you may contact him for any exam-related questions at sylouan@afsf.com.

Contact Sylouan

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What our students say:

"Sylouan is great! SO helpful and I have learned so much. The classes are engaging and fun" - (Beginner 4 student).

"Sylouan is engaging, helpful and adaptable in his style to work with each student in the class. I've enjoyed the content of each course & also the activities aside from the textbook (games, discussions, current topics). The critical feedback to assigned work is constructive, and most of all, has helped to improve my writing in professional situations" - Joshua (Advanced B2.1 ).

"Sylouan is a great teacher. He keeps us engaged with different tasks. He is also funny, which makes the classes more fun. He is very knowledgeable. I really enjoy taking classes with him" - Advanced B2 student.

"Sylouan is an excellent teacher. Although we are beginners, he almost always speaks French. He makes it very easy to learn new things because he is always clear about the focus of the lesson and uses examples to help us recognize patterns. He give us a variety of exercises to do (games, working in pairs, competitions, etc.) so it is never boring in his class and we always get a lot of practice. He is always kind and encouraging" - Elizabeth (Beginner A1-2).

"Sylouan is an excellent instructor. He's enthusiastic, patient, and very respectful of folks in a mixed group. He really goes the extra mile to make connections and draw everyone in while also keeping us on task, highly recommended!" - (Intermediate conversation class student).

"I very much look forward to classes with Sylouan. Were it not for him, I'm not sure I would continue studying French. I don't find studying French on my own particularly exciting, but with Sylouan it's playful, it's interactive, and it's anything but rote. Our class is late in the evening, from 7pm-9pm on a weekday, so I have to imagine that by the time class starts Sylouan probably hasn't eaten dinner, has probably taught multiple classes that day and spent many hours grading or wrestling with Moodle. And yet, every class he's got a smile on his face and an endless amount of patience for correcting us on all of the most infuriating mistakes: "especialment" has never been, and never will be a legitimate French word, and yet almost every class someone says it. Every week we fumble with our words and babble like awkward children. Someone has to call us out though, because otherwise we're never going to learn. And the truth is that we're getting better--particularly those of us who bother to do the homework. Thank you, Sylouan. I'll see you next session" - (Elementary A2 student).

"Sylouan is a really great teacher. He provided good handouts, clear explanations and good feedback" - (Elementary A2 student).

"The class was great, as usual. Sylouan manages to maintain an atmosphere of camaraderie appropriate for a conversation class, while never sacrificing professionalism or the continuing education of his students. It's a winning combination, and no wonder there are so many repeat students!" - Michael (Intermediate Conversation)

"Sylouan is a fun, kind, knowledgeable teacher. He treats everyone with respect and is very positive about everyone's efforts. I enjoy having him as a teacher. He is patient and explains grammar very well."(Advanced B2 student)

"Sylouan is very knowledgeable, nice and patient." -Geruza (Advanced B2-3 student)

"Sylouan is an amazing instructor! He is extremely knowledgable, helpful in his explanations, and has a great ability to keep us on track, despite our efforts, all while having lots of fun." - Ryan (Elementary A2-4)

My teacher Sylouan Poitou is fantastic and it is always a pleasure to attend his classes. He instills grammatical accuracy in all of us and will efficiently correct our linguistic errors. He has a light touch to deal with the range of capabilities in his students and always approaches things with enthusiasm and humor. He is a wonderful ambassador for french language and french culture and a very good reason to keep signing up for classes. (Intermediate 2 Student)

"Sylouan makes learning French fun and engaging. Thank you!"  Elementary 4 Student

It was just a very fun class in a great atmosphere. I wanted to be able to speak more freely in French and I feel like Sylouan nurtured that. Juliana (Intermediate/Advanced Conversation Student)

"Sylouan is a wonderful instructor who uses lots of creative and fun methods to help engage his students. He always has a cheerful attitude in class and is very helpful and quick to answer any extra or additional questions you might have." Christie (Intermediater 2 Student)

"Sylouan is a very experienced teacher who understands your strengths and weaknesses and tailors the learning appropriately." Oz (Elementary 1 Student)

"I've now taken classes with Sylouan for an entire year, and looking back it is shocking to see how far I've progressed in both written, listening, and spoken French! At the beginning of 2023 I had remnants of knowledge from an old French course I took over a decade ago. I could understand a few words here and there, but I could neither form coherent thoughts on paper nor in spoken word. Even describing how my day went was a struggle. Fast forward a year, and I have now 1) read the first three Harry Potter books entirely in French, 2) written short essays (~200 words) on topics such as sustainability, work life balance, and intergenerational differences, and 3) spent 8 days solo traveling throughout Paris being entirely self-sufficient using the French I learned to order food, manage hotel reservations, and carry out basic conversations with locals. In the moments throughout the year when I felt like my French was stalling, or when my excitement was waning as I attended another night class running until 9pm, Sylouan was always there with a bright and cheery attitude to encourage us. His focus an attention on students is incredible -- I don't know how he can go around the room simultaneously listening to multiple conversations from students and offer feedback, but he somehow does. I look forward to taking more classes with Sylouan in the new year and becoming even more proficient in French." Eric (Intermediate 3 Student)

Sylouan is an outstanding instructor. He brings energy and humor to every class while covering the material thoroughly. (David, Intermediate 3)