About Ijeoma
French Coach for Francophone Immigration. PhD Candidate. Non-native speaker who reached fluency — and now helps others do the same.
10+ Students
Passed TCF → Canada PR
The Beginning
My Story Starts in Nigeria
Long before I ever thought about Canada, I fell in love with languages. Growing up in Nigeria, I was surrounded by French-speaking neighbours — Togo, Benin, Cameroon, Senegal — and one thought kept catching me: if I could speak French, I could go anywhere across this continent. So when I got to university, I chose French. And German. And graduated with First-Class Honours in both.
What started as curiosity became something deeper. I wanted to speak French like a French person — not like a textbook student. There were no YouTube tutorials back then, so I bought CDs and DVDs and listened to them on repeat. I read French books over and over, looked up every word I didn't know, and forced myself to think in the language. I made a personal rule: anytime I was on school grounds, I'd speak only French — even when my classmates answered me in English.
Speaking was the hardest part. I lived in an English-speaking country, and the language I was learning didn't exist around me outside the classroom. But that small daily discipline — speak French anyway, even when no one else is — changed everything. With time, the confidence came. Then the fluency. Then a master's degree from the Université Lumière Lyon 2, France — and years of teaching experience inside the French education system itself, in secondary schools across France and later at the university level.
I'm not a native French speaker. I learned French the way my students learn French — deliberately, against the odds, in an environment that wasn't built to support it. That's exactly why I can teach it.
The Immigration Journey
Why I Came to Canada — And What French Made Possible
When I made the decision to immigrate to Canada, I knew French would be my secret weapon. I had already passed the DELF and TEF exams myself. I leveraged my French to qualify for the Francophone immigration pathway, which made my PR application dramatically smoother than it would have been otherwise.
And when I arrived in Canada, my French opened doors immediately — I had a professional job almost as soon as I landed, with multiple offers to choose from, simply because I was bilingual.
That's not a marketing pitch. That's my actual immigration story.
I know what it feels like to sit for a French proficiency exam with your future on the line. I know what it feels like to walk into a Canadian interview and have the hiring manager light up because you can switch into French mid-sentence. I know what it feels like to be the parent who can finally help her kids with their French homework — because my two children are being raised bilingual, in French immersion schools, by intentional design.
French didn't just bring me to Canada. It built the life I have here.
The Origin
How Siloam Expressions Started
The first students I ever taught weren't immigrants. They were children. Other Nigerian parents in Canada saw that my kids were doing well in French school and started asking me to help theirs. I said yes — first to friends' children, then to strangers' children. Word spread. Soon I had more parents asking for help than I could handle, and they were asking me a new question: "Do you also teach adults?"
I said yes to that, too.
Then came the question that started everything: "My sister is in Nigeria. She wants to come to Canada. Can you help her pass the TCF?"
That's how Siloam Expressions was born — not from a business plan, but from a real need. African immigrants and aspiring immigrants who needed someone who understood both worlds: the rigour of French exam preparation for both the TCF and TEF, and the realities of doing this from Lagos, Accra, London, or Calgary while working, raising kids, and managing a thousand other things.
Today, we're a structured program that has helped multiple students pass the TCF and TEF and reach CLB 7 — built for one specific outcome: the score your immigration file demands, on the timeline your life requires.
Qualifications
My Credentials
Bachelor's Degree, First-Class Honours
French and German Languages
Master's Degree
Université Lumière Lyon 2, France
PhD Candidate in Education
French Education focus — Simon Fraser University, Canada
Instructional Designer
Curriculum designer with a research-informed approach to language acquisition
Published Children's Author
Writing French and African-heritage stories for young readers
Passed DELF & TEF Exams
Personal experience with the exact exams students prepare for
Years of Teaching in France
Secondary schools across France and university-level instruction
A Team of Qualified Educators
Most holding bachelor's, master's, or PhD degrees in French — and specialized TCF/TEF preparation experts
Philosophy
My Approach
What makes the work I do different:
I've walked the road.
I'm not teaching from theory — I'm teaching from lived experience. I passed the TEF. I used French to qualify for Canadian immigration. I taught inside the French education system, in secondary schools across France. I'm raising bilingual kids in Canada. When I tell my students it can be done, I'm telling them because I did it.
I'm a non-native speaker who reached fluency.
This is more useful to my students than being born French. I know exactly which sounds are hardest for Anglophone learners. I know which grammar structures trip up African-English speakers specifically. I know the mental tricks that finally make subjunctive click for someone who didn't grow up with it — because I had to figure them out for myself.
Immersion, delivered to you.
As an instructional designer, I've spent years researching how language acquisition actually works — and I designed our curriculum to solve one specific problem: how do you create true French immersion for someone who can't move to Quebec or France? My answer is built into every part of this program. Daily live classes, structured speaking practice, environment-rich materials, and a learning system engineered to surround you with French even when your environment won't. You don't have to relocate to learn the language. We bring the immersion to you.
Outcomes, not enrollments.
I'd rather graduate a student than just enrol them. Our Pass Guarantee, free level repeats, and 75% benchmark assessments exist because reaching CLB 7 is the goal — anything that doesn't serve that goal doesn't belong in our program.
Honesty over hype.
I'll tell you if you're ready for the exam. I'll tell you if you're not. I'll tell you if a different program is a better fit for you than mine. My job isn't to sell you — it's to get you to CLB 7 on the timeline your life depends on.
The Full Picture
Beyond the Classroom
When I'm not teaching, I'm raising two bilingual kids, working on my PhD research in Education at Simon Fraser University, and probably explaining to one of my children — en français — that no, they cannot have ice cream for breakfast.
I'm also a children's writer. I publish books rooted in African heritage and create YouTube videos that share African culture and stories with kids in both English and French. Teaching adults to pass the TCF is one part of my work; raising the next generation of bilingual, culturally-grounded children is another.
Both come from the same belief: language is power, and culture is the soul that carries it.
French isn't just my profession. It's my home life. It's the language my family lives in. It's the language that brought me to the country I love and the career I built here. When I teach French, I'm not teaching a subject — I'm sharing a tool that I know, from the inside, can change a person's entire trajectory.
That's why I take this work seriously. Because I know exactly what's on the line for the students who come to me.
Let's Work Together
If you're preparing for the TCF or TEF and serious about reaching CLB 7, I'd love to talk. Three ways to start:
Standard French Cohort
12-month structured group program
$1,500 USD
Premium French Program
Small-group coaching with personalized support
$3,000 USD
Private 1-on-1 Coaching
The fastest, most personalized path to CLB 7
Apply →