Annie Gentil-Kraatz

Founder / Director / French Teacher

Initially trained as a French Teacher, Teaching Advisor, and Teacher Trainer at the University of Mont Saint Aignan, France, and the Teacher Training Center CFEB of Port Vila, Vanuatu, South Pacific (BA and MA in Linguistics and French - With Honours), I moved to London in 2001 and worked in Banks and big companies as a freelance French Trainer and Assessor and then as a Client Manager in a major UK Language Agency.

In 2008, I completed a Cambridge CELTA (TEFL) course with International House Barcelona, and in 2009, got a Postgraduate Certificate in Education French and Spanish from the University of Exeter, UK.

In 2009 and 2010, I worked as a French and English Teacher in an International School in Bucharest, Romania, preparing students for the French International GCSE, AS, and A Level Cambridge Exams.

I am now qualified and experienced to teach French, English, and Spanish and have chosen to focus on French, my native language.  

In 2012, I created my first website LondonFrenchLessons.com and became fully independent. In 2018, I created FrenchWorldOnline.com and merged my two websites in 2019. In 2021, I created Athena Languages (Athena-Languages.com) to offer a wider range of languages and options. In 2022, Athena Languages got bought by AKCM Services, and I became a Director and a Shareholder in the company. Operating under AKCM Services, I reverted to the brand name French World Online to focus on a more personal approach. I still teach most of the courses myself.

In my spare time, I am a photographer and an artist. I do use these skills to develop my teaching material and website. (I have taken almost all the pictures on this website).

I completed an MA in photography (with Merit) with the University of Falmouth in the UK in 2022, and my art and photography website is AnnieGentilKraatz.com.

I have many hobbies. I love opera so much that I am now part of an opera chorus. Our last production was Cavalleria Rusticana at Blackheath Halls in September 2024, singing alongside some incredible opera singers like Catherine Broderick and Oliver Johnston.

I love cinema and, in particular, independent cinema. It would be difficult to select some favourite films (there would be too many). However, I follow some movie directors, like Jacques Audiard, Ruben Östlund, and Wim Wenders.

Regarding sports, it depends on where I am and what is available. I scuba-dived in the South Pacific, sailed in the Solent, and practised Salsa and Boxfit in Bucharest… I am currently part of two gyms, focusing on core activities like pilates and conditioning. In summer, I enjoy open-air swimming at the local Lido and open-air yoga on the heath.

I love learning new things and just completed some qualifications in wine and spirit understanding (WSET Level 2 in Wine and WSET Level 1 in Spirit).

You can find out more about me on Instagram: @annieGentilKraatz

Or Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anniegentilkraatz

So far in London, I have worked in so many companies I cannot remember them all:

Bloomberg, Amerada Hess, BP, Shell, Stasco, International Power, GDF Suez, Cofely, Engie, JP Morgan, HSBC, West LB, Lloyds, Morgan Stanley, ABN Amro, Shroders, Barclays Capital, Barclays Global, Barclays Bank, Barclaycard, Societe Generale, Credit Agricole, Royal Bank of Canada, Mitsubishi Trust, AKO Capital, Royal Festival Hall, Moody's, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, Universal, Warner Music, Linklaters, Taylor Wessing, Norton Rose, Cameron McKenna, Wedlake Bell LLP, Kartesia, Electronic Arts, Shroders, Glaxo Smith Kline, Danone, Four Seasons Hotel, L'Occitane, L'Oreal, Starr Companies, JLT, FullSix, JWT, Debevoise & Plimpton, Watford Football Club, PWC, The Costa Rican Embassy, Sedgwick, Deter, Moran & Arnold LLP, Katz Art Dealers, Kartesia, Sienna, Open Society Foundations, Amazon, Google, Segovia, TapTapSend, Cloudmade, EBRD...

I have also taught housewives, people on gardening leave, pensioners, secondary school students from Harrow school, Westminster school, Putney High School, Benenden boarding school for girls (…) and primary school children.

André Gentil-Kraatz

Founder & Director

André is my husband, and he is German. Without him, I am not sure this website would exist today. He is a Financial Consultant and still finds the time to help me with my many projects, no matter how big or small they might be. He is the Founder and co-Director of AKCM Services Ltd. He is also my favourite photography model.