Lisa Lohman, French Language Specialist

Lisa Lohman is an experienced French educator with 26 years of teaching experience and a passion for making language learning engaging, meaningful, and fun. Throughout her career, she has worked with students across a wide range of ages and proficiency levels—from true beginners encountering French for the first time to fluent speakers studying academic content entirely in French. Known for her warmth, humor, and approachable teaching style, Lisa has a particular ability to put students at ease and create an environment where they feel comfortable taking risks and making mistakes.

Lisa holds a Bachelor’s degree in French and Education from Kent State University and a Master’s degree in Reading and Literacy from Benedictine University. She also spent a year studying at the Université de Nantes in Nantes, France, where she earned the Diplôme de Français Langue Étrangère. Her year of immersion in France, combined with more than two decades of classroom experience, has shaped an approach to language instruction that emphasizes authentic communication, cultural understanding, and meaningful connection.

During her career, Lisa has taught French at the middle and high school levels, including approximately six years within the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB MYP). She helped launch and implement the MYP program in Oak Park, Illinois, completed specialized IB training, and taught French Levels 1–3. At the International School of Denver, she taught intermediate and fluent French students and expanded her role beyond language instruction by teaching Individuals and Societies entirely in French.

Lisa’s experience also includes curriculum development and educational leadership. She has served as a French Department Chair and elective team leader, helped develop an advanced Level 4 French course, and successfully adapted instruction to a variety of educational settings and student needs. Her individualized work has ranged from tutoring middle and high school students to adult conversation instruction, DELF B1 preparation, and creating a customized French program for a family of five preparing to move to France—each family member beginning with a different level of proficiency.

At the heart of Lisa’s teaching is the belief that students learn best when they feel seen, safe, and appropriately challenged. She takes time to understand each student as an individual, learning about their interests, personality, strengths, goals, and areas of need before tailoring instruction accordingly. Sessions may emphasize speaking, listening, reading, writing, grammar, or an integrated combination of skills, depending on the goals and needs of the student and family. Lisa encourages students to view mistakes not as failures, but as a normal and necessary part of becoming a more confident communicator.

At LJC Learning, Lisa brings extensive classroom experience together with highly personalized 1:1 instruction. Her goal is not simply to help students improve their French, but to help them enjoy the process of learning it. By combining high expectations with humor, encouragement, authentic communication, and genuine interest in her students, Lisa creates an environment where students feel comfortable, capable, and excited to grow—building both their language skills and their confidence in connecting with the world around them develop the skills and mindset needed for long-term academic success.