Tiffen Boisseau is a French doctor who knew very little about Armenia in 2017, and now, 7 years and a few AGBU AVC courses later, she speaks and understands Armenian and has even been to the country once.

Her history with Armenia started when she met an Armenian in France through whom she started learning about Armenia and its culture. She first came to Armenia with her Armenian husband in February 2020 to meet his family. They communicated mainly in Russian, after which Tifenn made the decision to learn her husband’s mother tongue so she could speak with his family in Armenian as well.

“I tried to learn by myself, as I did with Russian. But I felt I needed a serious program to help me learn and improve my Armenian language. Even though I have family and friends to practice Armenian with, I needed a solid basis to start speaking more fluently. That’s how I found the AVC program by searching on the internet,” she recalls.

Even though Tifenn already knew the alphabet and could speak a little, she decided to take the AVC Beginners’ level course to consolidate her knowledge. “It was a good choice because I learnt many new things on this level,” says Tifenn, “The courses are very well designed to progress on a number of themes and using a variety of methods, both visual and audio. We have all the keys to progress in a fun learning environment.”

What she immediately liked the most about the AGBU AVC program was the opportunity to study at your own pace. “In the end, the course exceeded my expectations and fulfilled my goals.”

“Another thing I appreciate about the AVC program is the opportunity to practice face-to-face with an Armenian teacher. My best memory with AVC is when I spoke with my teacher for the first time and she told me that I had a good Armenian accent. I didn’t expect this compliment and it was encouraging to have a professional's opinion on my language skills.”

AGBU AVC Online Instructor Ovsanna Tshorokhyan describes Tifenn as a hardworking student. “She is a kind soul, showing that dedication and goodness have no limits.”

Having completed the Elementary level of the Eastern Armenian Language course, Tifenn is now planning to continue her studies at AGBU AVC so she can learn to speak Armenian fluently. “As a doctor within the NGO « Santé Arménie », I am specifically interested in learning medical vocabulary so that I can speak with Armenian patients and colleagues when I go to Armenia to help in the health field.”

“I can say that learning at AVC has impacted my personal and social life. My family and friends often tell me that I’m making progress. Then, it is also impacting my professional life when I work with Armenian patients in France or in Armenia.”

Tifenn then concludes, “For all these reasons, I recommend the AVC courses to everyone who wants to learn or improve the Armenian language.”