Hear the pattern
Meet a complete French structure inside a meaningful, real-life situation.
Book Your Free French DiagnosticNeuroscience-informed French coaching for adults
You did not fail at French.The method failed you.
Learn French through reusable speaking patterns—not vocabulary lists and grammar rules stored separately in your head. From the first lesson, you hear complete structures, make them personal and use them in real conversation.
Patterns before rules. Speaking from the beginning.
Preply recognitionTop 10% of French tutors2,876 lessons taughtNative French speakerFluent in 6 languages57 public reviews
“
I follow my student's pace—because their success becomes my success.
Jean-Paul Riby · Founder & French coachThe free five-day challenge
Break the freeze.
Five days. One short email each day. Start thinking in French instead of translating everything in your head.
Start the free challenge No cost. Leave whenever you like.
A practical first step
Start speaking before making a bigger commitment.
Pattern-to-Speech Starter is a four-week self-study programme for adults who want structured speaking practice without beginning with private coaching.
French Unlocked™$49 one-time
Pattern-to-Speech Starter
A Four-Week Self-Study French Programme
- A complete four-week self-study workbook
- 20 focused daily audio lessons
- 4 weekly review tracks and 1 final review
- Practical speaking, retrieval and recording exercises
- Six months of course access
Request Starter accessPayment and enrolment are confirmed personally by Jean-Paul.
Continue within 60 days and your full $49 is credited toward the $497 Individual or $997 Professional Programme.
01
The familiar cycle
Why traditional lessons leave you unable to speak.
Most courses teach vocabulary and grammar as separate pieces of information. You may know hundreds of words and understand the rules, but when someone speaks to you, your mind still has to search, translate and assemble a sentence one piece at a time.
That is why capable adults can complete years of exercises and still freeze in a real conversation.
The problem is not your memory or ability. It is the order in which you were taught.
TraditionalWords + rules + translationSpeaking later
French UnlockedMeaning + patterns + retrievalSpeaking from the beginning
The French Unlocked method
The Pattern-to-Speech Method
French Unlocked follows a natural processing sequence: meaningful input, pattern recognition, active retrieval, spoken use, feedback and repeated application.
Make it personal
Adapt the structure to your own life, goals and conversations.
Retrieve and speak
Produce it aloud, record it, compare it and correct it.
Expand with grammar
Use grammar to clarify and extend language you can already communicate.
Hear itUnderstand itMake it yoursRetrieve · speak · expand
Grammar is not removed. It arrives in a more useful order—after you have heard, understood and attempted the pattern—so it explains and expands something you can already use.
The French Unlocked flagship course
From complete beginner to a real conversation.
Each week adds a new family of reusable patterns. You move from introductions into pronunciation, everyday situations, grammar, professional French, reading and full conversation—building language you can retrieve and use, not information you merely recognise.
8modules
33lessons
8guided weeks
Learn it. Practise it. Use it.
- Concise video lessons and PDF worksheets
- Audio and shadowing drills where they matter
- Written exercises, live practice and grammar clinics
- Role-plays, simulations and a personal 90-day plan
Brain Science & Habits
Understand how to learn and build a ten-minute daily routine.
Greetings & Numbers
Introduce yourself, connect with people and use essential numbers.
Pronunciation Mechanics
Train the mouth movements and sound patterns that make French clearer.
Everyday Situations
Practise cafés, directions, shopping and a day-in-French simulation.
Essential Grammar
Learn the practical grammar toolkit needed to build your own sentences.
Professional French
Handle workplace conversations, meetings and professional emails.
Reading & Writing
Develop a strategy for decoding texts and writing with confidence.
Simulation & 90-Day Plan
Complete a real conversation and leave with a plan for independence.
The daily speaking engine
How ten minutes becomes real speech.
Each day, you turn useful patterns into language that belongs to you. The short cycle moves you from recognition to retrieval—and from retrieval to increasingly automatic speech.
- 01Choose three useful patterns
- 02Make them true about your life
- 03Say each one aloud
- 04Repeat until the sound feels smoother
- 05Record, compare and adjust
- 06Retrieve them again later
Recognition is not the finish line.You must retrieve the pattern, produce it aloud, receive feedback and use it again.
What changes when the method changes
Do not take my word for it.
Students consistently describe patient guidance, clear explanations, meaningful progress and lessons shaped around the individual.
57public student
reviews
reviews
★★★★★
“This is my third time trying to learn French, but this time, it feels completely different. Jean-Paul puts a lot of emphasis on pronunciation and explains the psychology behind learning languages. The process feels natural and motivating.”
M
MartinaReturning French learner
★★★★★
“He is helping me in a concrete and practical way with Business French, fully adapting the lessons to my professional context as a Business Analyst. We focus on calls, presentations and day-to-day corporate interactions.”
S
SaraBusiness Analyst
★★★★★
“Jean-Paul uses the key components of the mind to help you learn and retain usable communication skills better than any online platform, class or app I have ever used.”
W
WilliamAdult French learner
★★★★★
“He is extremely patient and creates a supportive learning environment. His strong focus on pronunciation—and the care he takes to correct and explain sounds—has really improved my spoken French.”
N
NataliaFrench conversation learner
35years in international
luxury hospitality
luxury hospitality
The person behind French Unlocked
French opened the world to me.
I am Jean-Paul Riby—a native French speaker, fluent in six languages, Cornell-educated, and a former international hospitality executive.
For 35 years, I lived and worked across Asia and Europe, progressing from the hotel floor to chief executive and serving with respected names including COMO Hotels & Resorts and Six Senses.
Language was never merely something I spoke. It was the passport to countries, cultures and opportunities. I later studied how memory and learning work to understand why so many capable adults struggle to retain French—and rebuilt my teaching around what I discovered.
“French opened the world to me. My purpose is to hand that same key to people standing at a door they cannot yet unlock.”
Native FrenchCornell-educatedFormer CEOTop 10% on Preply2,876 lessons taught
Your first step
Your French should start with a diagnosis, not another lesson.
Before we decide what you need to learn, we need to understand what is stopping you.
- 01
Where you areYour level, pronunciation and present communication habits.
- 02
What has not workedYour past experience and the cycle you want to leave behind.
- 03
Where you need to goYour goal, timeframe and the most realistic path between the two.
A few useful answers
Before we speak.
Is French Unlocked suitable for complete beginners?
Yes. The eight-week course begins with learning habits, pronunciation and core structures, without assuming any previous French.
I have studied French before. Will I need to start again?
Usually not. The strategy session identifies what you already understand, what remains passive and where your habits are creating friction. The goal is to activate and reorganise knowledge—not discard it.
Can coaching be adapted to my profession?
Yes. Professional coaching can centre on the vocabulary, meetings, presentations, conversations and cultural situations relevant to your role or market.
What is included in Pattern-to-Speech Starter?
It is a four-week self-study programme with a complete workbook, 20 daily audio lessons, four weekly reviews, one final review and six months of access. It costs $49 as a one-time payment. If you join the Individual or Professional Programme within 60 days, the full $49 is credited toward that programme.
Does French Unlocked teach grammar?
Yes—but in a different order. You first encounter a useful pattern in a meaningful situation, speak it and adapt it. Grammar then explains how the structure works and shows you how to expand it. You learn enough grammar to build accurate sentences without waiting to master every rule before you begin speaking.
Is the approach scientifically guaranteed?
No responsible teacher can guarantee fluency. French Unlocked is informed by principles of memory, retention and multimodal learning, then personalised through observation, practice and feedback.
Speak French. For real.
Your first French win can begin today.
Five days. No pressure.
Break the translation habit with one focused email each day, then decide whether the full course is right for you.
Start Break the Freeze