French In Mind

Omar is beyond amazing. His teaching style is friendly and effective. He doesn’t let the shy sit on the bench and includes everyone in the learning process.
I looked forward to class every week for the 2 quarters I took with Omar. And my writing, speaking and accent is a hell of lot better than it was when I first started.
It’s worth the money. It’s worth the time. Omar has a sense of humor and it keeps class fresh.
Enjoy

After falling in love with Paris during my first visit there last summer, I was determined to learn French. I researched my options: from spending big bucks on self-​learning programs like Rosetta Stone to taking classes at a local community college. One of my girlfriends ended up referring me to her private French tutor, and I took weekly sessions with her for a couple of months. I definitely learned the basics when it came to reading and writing, but I soon felt that my listening comprehension as well as speaking skills weren’t accelerating as quickly as I had hoped. I realized that what I needed were peers to interact with during my lessons, other students learning alongside me who could share my struggles as well as elevate my skills in the process.
I found Omar through Unilocal,though coincidentally, he had previously taught French to one of my other friends who had married a French woman. I am so happy that I did because I can speak more French now than I ever thought I would in such a short period of time. Learning an entirely new language as an adult is never easy, but in just half a year, I’m able to hold a pretty decent conversation in French, albeit slower than native speakers obviously, but one day! And it really is all thanks to Omar’s unique and incredibly effective technique.
It’s hard to describe how he teaches French without you taking a class yourself, but his non-​traditional methods of using illustrations and simple diagrams cut to the core of the often incredibly complex rules of the French language. He gives you the building blocks of true understanding rather than empty memorization, all the while being a patient and easygoing instructor. Although Omar is a native French speaker, his obvious command of English allows him to understand any difficulties you’re having in mentally bridging the gap between the two languages. I really hope to continue his classes for as long as I can!

I finally had the opportunity to take a few classes from Omar. Let me just say ‘SPECTACULAR’. If you are serious about learning to speak the French language fluently Omar’s program is where you need to be.
Omar has developed a well crafted visual avenue of understanding how to put together sentence structures. He takes his job very seriously, but is very patient, fun, kind and has a good heart. In the words of Omar, this is very very very important. When learning to speak French you must learn to think in French. Forget about English.
Thank you Omar for helping me understand French better than I ever have before.

I was part of the Sept 2015 class — I was going to miss my last two lessons and went for a 1-​on-​1 session with Omar and walked away surprised how much I was able to actually speak and compose after 6 classes (he quizzed me for 50 min straight).
As someone who hates lectures, Omars classes is great and I am able to learn without having to take notes.

I started taking classes with Omar to review and improve my French. Because of how he presented class concepts, I was amazed at how quickly and easily it was to learn and remember everything. You won’t find anyone teaching like this, and it works beautifully!
If you’re searching for a French class, search no further! From beginning to advanced 1) you’ll be able to fit these classes in no matter how busy your schedule. Even if you have to take a short break, you’ll find a way to try and fit them back into your schedule, when you see how easily you learn the language! 2) Omar’s unique visual method combined with creative class participation engages all those parts of your brain so that even the most challenging linguistic concepts sink in easily and you find yourself thinking more and more in French.
Not only does Omar provide a solid foundation so that you feel comfortable jumping into the language, but he also provides multiple meetings outside the classroom for all the students to participate and start speaking as soon as they want. It’s the ideal situation for learning, speaking, and comprehension. As others have commented, there is a very strong community feeling! Omar works hard to introduce contemporary culture so you’re learning and speaking both française par l’académie and the latest in French expressions and colloquialisms, at the same time you’re meeting wonderful fun people!
You can only get so far learning a language on your own. If you want to SPEAK and UNDERSTAND French, French in Mind is the place to go.

In this day and age everything is visual. It is a way to make things fun and engaging, and that is exactly what Omar’s curriculum is about. I have only had one other experience with learning a language, which was high school Spanish, and it was text book heavy and not at all fun. With Omar you will learn in a unique way (he has the best drawing skills as you will soon see!). He is so very clearly passionate about what he does and it really shows, which makes for a most wonderful experience for both students and teacher. He teaches you the concept of the French language that you will not get from a language book. It really is not about memorizing phrases or words, but really understanding the fundamentals of the language, and it never gets boring. It’s intricate but intriguing with every new lesson and you will be speaking in French from day 1, with all of the nuances you just cannot gain from reading literature. You will meet great people as well because of the limited class size, and have fun making mistakes and growing together. I find myself constantly looking forward to class each week and am impressed with how much I have learned in a few weeks. I will definitely be continuing with French in Mind and highly recommend anyone to try it, you will not regret it!

Learning French has always been on my bucket list and Omar is the best teacher I could have ever hoped for. His classes are small, the way he teaches is fun, and you’ll be speaking sentences faster than you can say «Petite Robert!» (inside joke!) After one semester of classes, I was putting together SENTENCES! I took 5+ years of Spanish between high school and college and about all I can remember is «Donde esta el bano?»
Omar not only teaches you how to speak French, he teaches you how to think French, which helps you understand French culture and how the French think (spoiler alert: it’s very different in a great way!) Omar hosts a ton of events, which I haven’t been able to go to, but they look like a ton of fun and he encourages his students to meet his fellow Frenchie friends.
I can’t wait for my schedule to open up a little bit so I can return to classes. Merci for all the fun, Omar!

If only they adapted Omar’s approach to language learning in schools, a lot more of us would be bilingual! He makes learning french less intimidating; speaking it becomes something within reach. With small class sizes, you get more practice and support.
The impression that adults can’t learn a new language is a huge misconception; all you need is the right approach and I’m confident you will find it at French In Mind.

I wholeheartedly agree with the gist of the numerous positive reviews; Omar, at French in Mind creates an engaging, challenging, and comfortable learning environment to nurture aspiring French speakers towards their individual goals.
One of the many things French in Mind has that Alliance Française, or other larger écoles, does not is the sense of community and bonding. Omar has grown a community of french speakers of levels from novice to fluent who have become very close friends. I have been given the opportunity to socialize with my peers (many on the same speaking level as me) in informal settings such as dinners or outings to french locations and have made great friends throughout the process.
Finally, French in Mind has a higher «french speaking hours /​$ spent» ratio — i.e. it is has more value. When choosing a program to ameliorate my french, I calculated this for the various programs around the area. Including the dinners, the meetings, and the class time, French in Mind has the most bang for you buck!

My friend came across French In Mind online and encouraged me to check it out. He knew how much I wanted to take a French class and thought this would be a good fit for me. He was right! I can’t recommend French In Mind enough!
Omar is an exceptional teacher. He is passionate about his native language and enthusiastic about teaching it. He keeps his classes small to give his students the attention they need. In fact, there are only 6 students per class. I loved my classmates and Omar created an atmosphere that encouraged us to help one another and work together so that we were all on the same page. His approach to teaching is unique because he uses animation to explain how it all works and make sense of such a complex, yet beautiful language.
As part of the curriculum, French in Mind also incorporates social outings to learn about the French culture alongside learning the language.
This school is wonderful! I highly and enthusiastically recommend it!

Omar is great. He is friendly, helpful, attentive and engaging during his classes. Omar’s teaching style has allowed me to learn and retain a lot of French without any self studying on my part. My goal is to return to Paris speaking French and I think Omar will help me reach that goal.

I have been taking French for years, but I have never had a teacher quite like Omar. While some teachers will drill you and chastise you if you make a mistake, Omar is extremely patient, kind, and motivated. I believe, however, that his biggest secret is in his method of teaching that is extremely unique. He teaches culture and he wants you to learn real spoken french without the inversions that make you «sound like a drill sergeant.» He also teaches you the logic of the language in a way a child could remember it; it will be learned, not memorized. From a very left-​brained guy who enjoys logic but not being bored, try it, I think you will like it.

Prior to Omar’s French in Mind classes, foreign languages left me befuddled. Sure, I had tried learning them before. The high school Spanish teacher in my small, midwestern town was uninspired. The week of French classes I had in college seemed okay but was soon dropped because of their eight am start. Rosetta Stone French was attempted but abandoned because of its tiresome repetition. My desire to learn a foreign language was all but gone when a friend pointed me at Omar’s Unilocal reviews and I thought, «Why not? I’ll give it one more shot.»
And I am so glad I did.
The glowing Unilocal reviews for Omar’s method are no joke. Omar has figured out a way to take apart the French language and convert all the theoretic building blocks into something visual and easy to understand. He uses his iPad and draws pictures that perfectly explain how a French sentence works. I’ve even seen a student with many years of French under his belt say, «So that’s why they do that. They only made me memorize, but until now I never really understood how things really worked.»
The classes are small and limited to six students, which means Omar is very focused on each and everyone one of us. He is also attuned to each person and will give you extra attention if he sees you are a little behind. And the classes are fun. There have been a couple of times where, after a long day at work, I wanted to skip class and just chill. But after the first ten minutes, Omar’s energy has given me a second wind and I am ready to go. I’ve said on more than one occasion, «I’m glad I didn’t skip class tonight. It was so much fun.»
Omar is also very accommodating. I have had to miss a couple of classes because I was out of town and Omar made it easy to make up the classes. Omar will either let you sit in with another section or meet with you on the weekend. Omar doesn’t want anyone to fall behind and does whatever he can to ensure you do not miss a thing.
If you want to learn how to speak and truly understand French, the best way to do that is to take classes with Omar at French in Mind. After sixteen weeks, I am no longer befuddled and know so much more French and French culture than I did when I started. French in Mind has put French in my mind.

Thanks to Unilocal,I found a great way to learn French! I took a couple of semesters with Omar to prepare for an upcoming trip to Paris. I learned so much in a short of amount of time.
For those of you who have tried the typical classroom and textbook approach, Omar’s method of teaching is completely different. His style is very engaging with active learning instead of solely memorizing and doing boring workbook exercises. He encourages speaking (and thinking) in French from Day 1. Highly recommended!

You know what’s finally in my mind? Well it’s French! At first it just sounded like a cool name to me. However, I have come to realize that it is more than a catchy name. It is a way of life. Omar isn’t just teaching french. He’s teaching culture. He’s a witty intellectual who immerses his students into french poetry, film, and music. We use those materials along with our structured lectures to have real conversations. On top of that, we learn slang, go over current events, and somehow always have a great laugh! I love his class so much! It’s absolutely brilliant, and french culture is simply beautiful.
Thank you Omar for your generosity in sharing your intellect, insights, and charming personality. I can’t believe how far I have come. My measly french that I knew beforehand has strengthen tremendously. And although my journey to fluency continues, I am more than thankful that you taught me how to have french in mind. Merci mon ami!
–Amanda
P.S.
Not too long ago, I was looking for an extraordinary french class and saw the impressive reviews. THANK YOU fellow Unilocalers for introducing me to French in Mind!

Omar is very passionate about teaching. His unique method makes you think more than memorize and is very visual through illustrations. He reviews material more than once so you obtain good comprehension before moving on. He is genuinely invested in his students success and makes himself available to keep you up to date if you should miss a class, or fall behind.
Classes are small and there is plenty of personal attention given. Great location in hip creative community office building, easy parking and plenty of restaurants to grab coffee/​dinner before or after class if you are coming from work.
Omar is a lovely person, charming, witty and a sharp dresser. Perhaps not relevant to teaching but certainly worth a mere mention. ;)
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

It’s always really great when you can «buy the hype» and suggest to do so because of your own wonderful experiences a well. This would be one of those. My personal story is actually that I couldn’t continue much past Foundations One ONLY (I stress «only») because of my own less-​than ideal multi-​tasking abilities and capacities in general. ;) But, I received enough at Omar’s French in Mind to that point to be able to say a.) that not a day goes by (this was recent) that I don’t feel a little bit of sadness that I needed to make that decision to leave at that time and b.) to strongly and with confidence state the following:
Omar simply is as good as you’re gonna get it. That’s right — I don’t even need to go out to experience any others; he is a gem. His methodology is pretty amazing and his philosophy on how to teach the language (maybe language in general?) I feel is right on the money. Add to that, very small classes, meaningful materials passed out and emailed to us, classes at a very nice and cool learning facility in the heart of Culver City… easy and cheap parking (if under 2 hours I think free?) in close lots, he also offers monthly get-​togethers at a nice club/​restaurant to meet other lovers of the language as well as real Frenchies, as he refers to them, and makes himself available at a café on Sundays to his students to sit and speak in French, have a late, take in the SoCal sun… NICE.
This experience in all, with fun and supportive fellow lovers of the language in class along with Omar’s genuine love and enthusiasm for teaching French, with a great sense of humor and humanity… I knew in my very first class that I had found where to go to really learn the language — and oh, did I say how much class fun I had? I plan on returning in the future when I’ve perhaps somehow grown into a person who is a better multi-​tasker. ;) YAY, OMAR AND FRENCH IN MIND! And a shout-​out to my adorable classmates, Karen, Tania and John — miss ya’ll!
P. S. Readers, I could say more positive things, but you’ll think I was paid to do it. ;)

Omar is the greatest. His method is brilliant with illustrations, associations, and pronunciation. He should be selling it for big money, but he’s teaching small classes to really get that personal experience.
He couldn’t be recommended higher.

I’ve taken a bajillion language classes and Omar is the best instructor I’ve ever had!
Consider yourself lucky if he allows you into his class. C’est tout.

After many years of wishing I spoke french, I decided to start taking a class. I researched many schools in LA, both private and classes offered through the colleges. I came across French In Mind and saw the previous positive reviews on Unilocal,the flexible schedule and the philosophy of small class groups. I decided to try FIM and have not looked back since.
Omar, the teacher, is very patient, but he also approaches the complex French language in a way that makes what is so very intimidating not intimidating at all. After only 9 weeks, I have learned how to read and pronounce most Fremch words, how to form sentences, how to conjugate 40% of all verbs, how to ask a question, and how to already converse some. Omar’s teaching style, warm personality and overall passion and excitement about his French culture is contagious and makes the one and a half hour class fly by too quickly.
I can’t wait to start the second level of his class. Thank you, Omar and French in Mind, for the joy and new challenge you have brought to my life. J’aime l’ecole French In Mind e le professeur Omar!!!