A saintdise developed his own method

SAccording to the Education First 2022 report on English proficiency out of 111 countries, France is ranked 34th.^e location; or 26^eAt 35, across Europe. For his part, Dominique Bourgeois is passionate about “helping kids learn English.” So, he created his micro-business – English with Chester…

SAccording to the Education First 2022 report on English proficiency out of 111 countries, France is ranked 34th.^e location; or 26^e At 35, across Europe. For his part, Dominique Bourgeois is passionate about “helping kids learn English.” So, she created her micro-enterprise – English with Chester – to improve English learning for children aged 7 and above. It was quite a challenge for this 56-year-old teacher.

After studying and working in finance, the young woman from Beirne decided to become a teacher like her husband. With one condition: teach abroad. The couple went to live in Tripoli, Libya, followed by a brief return to the Gironde, before crossing the Channel to Culham, a small town near Oxford. “I got a position at a European school with elementary school students,” says the fifty-year-old, sitting behind his desk at the Saints Innovation Center, which was incorporated in March 2023.

A four-year stay in Brussels from 2014 to 2018 was also very inspiring. “I wanted to make it easier to learn English, an easier language than French, to make it possible to study in English,” he explains.

Beautiful voices

In the early 2020s, he imagined “English with Chester” to support learning books with audio file (QR code) “My First Sentences” and “My First Stories”. The first consists of thematic paintings of daily life: weather, food, life on the farm… The second, with more difficulty, tackles stories like “Dupaya and Cook’s Expedition” or “Frankenstein”.

Cute voices with baby all over the pages – “it can be parenting too”. In this version, “kids” learn without a screen. “I tried my prototype with my middle school students in Cermignac and it worked well,” says the teacher.

Family plan

However, her husband Jean-Pierre believes this is not enough because “it doesn’t include the little ones”. Thus was born the book “My First Words” (Animals, Clothes, Food, etc.) aimed at children aged 7 and up. This first part allows you to understand the prosody of English (the rhythm of the language, its pronunciation, its pronunciation). Each book (€13 or €14.90) is beautifully illustrated and played by Chester – “the best sounding name” – a Scottish terrier. Dominik Bourgeois has also designed a sports book (10.50 or 12 €).

In this company, the fifty-year-old is not alone. Her husband composed music for the songs accompanying the books. Their daughter, Liz, added her voice to it. Today, Dominique Bourgeois wants to continue developing an app and games (dominoes, 7 families, etc.), but lack of funds is holding him back. However, his ideas are overflowing.

Website: www.english-with-chester.fr.

operating system

On Saturday, October 21, from 2:30 pm to 6:30 pm, Dominique Bourgeois will present “English with Chester” at the cultural space of the Leclerc les Cotoux shopping center in Saintes.