Hugo老师，Hugo法语培训中心创始人 —— Hugo Coffart, Founder of Hugo French School, Guangzhou
DB: 请问是什么促使了您在中国华南地区建立法语培训中心？ What motivated you to set up a French school in South China?
我2005年来到广州实习和学习中文。之后我开始在我空闲时间教法语，当时是觉得好玩；而且我的教学方法和其他法语老师的不一样。我从法国一间商学院毕业，因此我没有像文学或者语言学毕业的老师那样的习惯。我更注重在语言的实用性和效用上，我也经常和学生一起玩，因此他们很喜欢我这样的教学方式。
I arrived in Guangzhou in 2005 to do an internship and study Chinese ; I started then to teach during my free time, for fun… and I wasn’t doing things the way other French teachers were working. I graduated from a Business School in France, so I do not have the same habits than teachers who studied literature or language sciences at university ! I was much more putting the emphasize on practice & efficiency, and I was having fun with my students… and they really liked it !
久而久之，无论是线上还是线下，开始有了很多关于“Hugo老师”的传说，也越来越多的学生找到我们。
So there was a lot of buzz about « Hugo老师 » online & offline, and more and more students were reaching us.
除此之外，我喜欢用“我的方式”去做事情；我不喜欢别人告诉我应该怎么去教，或者我该用怎样的课本。我想去自己经历、然后走得更远，因此我创立了Hugo法语培训中心。
Besides this, I have always liked doing things « in my way » ; I do not like having someone telling me the way I should teach or what textbook I should use. I wanted to experience things and go further : that’s why I founded our school.
DB: 我们注意到有不少学生是从外省来上您的法语课。请问是什么让Hugo French School比其他法语培训机构更具有吸引力？
We notice that some of your students have come from other provinces to take your class. What are the features that make your school more attractive than other French teaching centers?
我觉得最主要的原因是我们能让学生看到成效！我们帮助学生达到他们的目标：让他们的法语达到B2或者C1的水平，让他们能去法国继续深造学习，或是让他们成功移民去魁北克等等……我们在市场营销方面并不擅长，但是我们的学生很满意我们的课程、我们的服务以及最后他们得到的结果，然后他们推荐给他们的朋友……这是大家口口相传的结果。我也想借此机会感谢所有来过我们学校的学生，感谢他们信任我们而且推荐我们给他们的朋友。每天在培训中心发生的事情都主要谢谢他们！
I believe the main reason is that we deliver results ! We help students reaching their goals : reaching an advanced B2 or C1 French level, pursuing their studies in France, immigrating to Quebec… we are not professional at marketing, but our students are satisfied with our courses, our services and the results they obtain, and talk to their friends. That’s traditional word of mouth… and I would like to thank all the students who come to our school, who trust us and recommend us. Things that happens everyday at school is mainly thanks to them!
另外，我们没有用传统的商业模式去运营我们的学校，我认为这也是我们绝大部分学生都喜欢的一点。我们希望我们的学生、老师、员工在学校里能有家的感觉，让他们更多的感觉是在一个咖啡店而不是在一个传统的学校里，让中心成为一个学生愿意待着的地方。对于我们而言，这不是推销我们自己的说辞，这是我们希望做到的、希望我们每天工作的时候也能同样感受到的。
Moreover, we do not run the school as a traditional business, and I think most of our students like this. We want students, teachers and employees to feel « at home » when they are at school, much more like in a coffee shop than in a traditional school. It’s a place where students wants to be and stay. And for us, that is not a sales argument : this is the way we want to work and feel everyday at work too.
DB: 您能向我们分享更多关于你们自主编写的“ Réussir”系列教材吗？ Can you share more information with us about the textbook series “Réussir” designed by your team?
大约五年前，我们开始设计属于我们自己的教材。直到去年，我才意识到：我无意之中把Réussir的内容结构设计得和我学习中文的时候所用的教材的结构非常相像。我们的教材在内容上更能让中国学生理解和学习，而法国的教材更适合欧洲的学生。
We started developing our own textbook about 5 years ago… and last year, I realized something : I unconsciously designed the book with a similar structure than the textbook I used when I was learning Chinese ! And that is quite important to understand the main power of « Réussir » : it is designed in a way Chinese students are more likely to understand and learn a foreign language, unlike textbooks that are designed in France and that would fit better european students.
“ Réussir”系列教材的特别之处？首先，它针对学生的需要：里面的话题都是与他们生活息息相关的——生活场景是基于广州或者中国的，日常活动包括学习法语、旅游等等。很多学生去法国的时候还会带上我们课本，因为他们知道他们还可以用得上它们！
What makes these textbooks so special ? First of all, they focus on students needs : the topics we talk about are related to their life (in Guangzhou, in China) and their projects (studying in France, traveling…), and many students takes these textbooks when they go to France as they know they will still need them !
“ Réussir”系列教材一直在持续更新：我们会根据学生和老师的反馈，每两个月更新一次教材。
« Réussir » is continuously enhanced : we print a new version of the books every two months and make modification according to students and teachers feedbacks.
我们也尝试预计学生的需求：我们每年都开办超过30个初学者的班级，帮助我们有更丰富的经验，准确了解学生在哪个阶段会遇到怎样的问题，以及应该如何解决。我们把这些都放进课本里，当学生问到一个问题时，我们就能告诉他什么时候答案会出现。这种方式在学生学习的过程中给了他们足够的自信。
We also try to anticipate students needs : we open more than 30 beginners class every year, so we get a lot of experience and exactly know when students will meet what kind of difficulty, and how to solve it. So we put everything in the textbook and whenever a student ask a question, we are able to tell him when the answer is. This gives students confidence during their studies.
还有一点想补充的是：我们的教材和我们的网上平台是紧密相连的。课本的每一页都有一个二维码，学生们可以用微信扫描二维码，获取网上相关内容，方便他们预习以及复习课堂内容，包括发音、录音、练习、语法解释、补充对话等等。线上的内容几乎和线下的内容一样多，而且他们都不是重复的，还可以免费获取！
One more thing : the textbooks are connected to our online platform. There is a QR Code on every page ; students use WeChat to scan the code and get access to online content that enable them to prepare and review their courses : phonetics, records, exercises, grammar explanations, additional dialogues… there is almost as much content online than offline, and both are different and complimentary !
所以在我们中心学习法语不只是局限在课本，更像在一个运转良好的系统里学习，让法语学习变得有趣、简单！
So learning French at our school is not only about using our textbooks : it’s much more like entering in a well-oiled system that makes learning French fun and easy !
DB: 为什么您会觉得法国文化课堂很重要？请问你们有定期的法国文化兴趣课吗？这个课是否受学生欢迎？ Why do you think it is important to have French culture class? Do you have regular French culture class and are they popular among students?
这是个好问题。事实上，一开始我们创办法语学校的时候，我们也没有想过要组织一些活动或者宣传法国文化。我一开始觉得这并不是需要优先考虑的事情，认为推广文化有点浪费时间。
That’s a good question because frankly speaking, when we launched the school, we didn’t intend to promote culture or organize events ! That wasn’t a priority and I considered culture promotion as a waste of (my) time !
但后来我的想法发生了变化，是因为我们决定把法语带到教室外面。我们擅长教授法语知识，这是毫无疑问的。但这并不是关键的。我们不只是想要我们的老师“非常厉害“，我们希望我们的学生也能表现很好，能够自如地使用法语。
But things has changed, for one reason : we decided to take French out of the classroom ! We are very good at teaching French, there is no doubt about this. But this is not the point. We do not only want our teachers to be « very good », we also want to make sure our students perform well and are able to use French !
所以从去年起，我们开始在中心里举行法国文化兴趣活动。这里的活动不是指邀请法国歌手来表演或者观看法语电影；我们不想我们的学生只是被动地“听”或者“看”法语的文化，我们希望他们能活学活用。因此我们会邀请法国籍的专家（包括厨师、戏剧老师、红酒专家等等）来举办一些工作坊，让他们用法语教学生一些专业技能。跟上语言课不同的是，学生可以利用这个机会用到他们所学的法语，这对大家来说都是非常有趣的。所以兴趣课堂也很受大家喜欢，这让他们能够学习法国的文化、生活及传统习俗！
So, since last year, we have been organizing much more cultural activities at school ; it’s not about inviting a French singer or watching a movie : we do not want students to passively « listen » or « watch » French culture. We want them to live it. So we invite French professionals (cooks, theater teachers, wine professionals) to organize workshops during which they use French to teach students professional skills ! This is an opportunity for students to use their French in a different context than during a language class, and that’s extra fun for everyone. And yes, this enables them to learn about French culture, life and traditions !
DB: 根据您的经验，学习法语的中国学生最常遇到怎样的问题或者挑战？对此您有什么建议可以给他们？ Based on your experience, what common problems or challenges do Chinese students tend to encounter during their French study? Any suggestions for them?
我主要想提醒两点：
I would notice two main things :
第一，我发现一些学生，尤其是高中生和大学生，对待法语课像对待他们的数学课或者历史课一样：他们来这里就是听老师上课，给他们解释规则。同时他们抱着“这个学习过程一定很艰难”的想法（因为他们觉得这是在上学）。当他们这样想的时候，他们会错失掉学习语言最有趣的两个点：交流和好玩。他们不应该太担心考试，在听语法知识的时候也理应放松，因为这不是他们的目标，这只是语言学习过程中的一部分。我建议学生要放松心情，把注意力集中在和老师、同学的交流上。我让他们停止背单词（有些学生会设立目标，比如说在4个月内学习7000个单词，这是没有用的，除非他们知道怎么用那些单词造句）和读记关于语法规则的特殊例子——事情都需要一步步来的。首先要学会用法语沟通！
First of all, I feel that some students (especially high-schoolers and university students) see their French class in the same way than maths or History class : they are here to listen to the teacher that will explain them rules. And they believe this process has to be difficult (because « they are at school »). When they think in that way, they are missing the 2 most interesting things about learning a foreign language : communicating & having fun ! They shouldn’t be too anxious about exams and relax when listening to grammar rules because these are not goals : it’s just part of the process to learn a language ! I advise students to relax and focus on communicating with teachers and their classmates ! I tell them to stop reciting words (some students set goals and want to learn 7 000 words in 4 months : this is useless as long as they do not know how to make a proper sentence) or reading all exception about grammar rules : these things come step by step ! Try to communicate in French first !
第二点应该是关于学生缺乏学习方法。这不是特指中国的学生，我估计大部分的成人学生，无论他来自哪里，可能在学习一门新语言的时候都缺乏好的学习习惯。所以我们中心在这方面下了很大的功夫：我们尝试去理解学生的学习习惯和存在的问题，告诉他们应该如何去复习，如何去完成他们的作业，如何去预习。这些方法适用于学习所有的外语。当这些方法能被转化成个人的方法时，那就能发挥它的最大效用。
The second thing may be students’ lack of learning methods. But this does not only apply to Chinese students, I guess a large part of adults students, wherever in the world, may not have good habits when learning a new language. So this is something we work a lot on : we try to understand students’ habits and problems and show them how they should review their lessons, how they should do their homeworks, how they should prepare class. This is all about methodology for foreign languages ! And it’s very helpful when it’s personalized !
DB: 您能分享关于Hugo法语培训中心未来的一些计划吗？ Would you mind sharing your future plans for Hugo French School with us?
我们目前正在和中国法国工商会合作，教中国学生一些实用的法语商业用语。我们预计这个项目能帮助到那些法语毕业、准备就职于在中国的法国公司的中国学生，或者是想要去法国深造商科的学生。
We are currently working on a joint program with the China French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIFC) to train Chinese students to Business French. We initiated this program that will enable Chinese students who graduate in French major to be ready to work in French companies in China, or to prepare to pursue their business studies in France !
我们也有一些计划，想要扩展我们的活动到中国其他城市，但我们不着急搞扩展。目前我们更愿意集中精力，在广州这座美丽的城市里，为我们的学生提供更多样化的服务！
We also have had several propositions to expand our activities in other Chinese cities, but we are not in a rush to make a decision on expansion ! We would rather focus our energy on developing a larger range of services to our students in our beautiful city of Guangzhou!
