About LKL

Bonjour ! I’m Laura K Lawless, creator, writer, editor, and CLO (Chief Lawless Officer) of this free online French learning site. If this is your first visit, take a look at Welcome to Lawless French.

Life Story

Born and raised in Illinois, I happily escaped to California at the age of 20. I spent 2½ years going to school and working in Monterey and another 3½ working, going to school, and goofing off in San José. I lived in Morocco for two and a half years, then spent four years in Pennsylvania, nine months in Costa Rica, and five years in the South of France, before finally settling in Guadeloupe.

Interests

Language is the great love of my life, and computers are in my blood, so the two together are a match made in heaven. I also love traveling, trying new restaurants, cooking, and especially reading. I’m not a big sports person, but I enjoy kayaking, snorkeling, swimming, biking, and dancing.

Education

I started studying French in 1987 and Spanish two years later. After graduating from high school, I started attending Knox College, but transferred to Monterey Institute of International Studies after two years, where I received a BA in International Studies, and then completed the first year of MIIS’ translation and interpretation MA program. I studied French in Rouen for 6 weeks, and later spent a year studying French linguistics and literature at San José State University. I also spent a month at the Alliance française in Toulouse.

Professional Experience

I worked as a freelance translator for several years and taught French and Spanish at an adult education center for over a year. I’ve been a virtual French teacher since 1999 and have authored six French books, including French Workbook for Dummies and French Essentials for Dummies.

Skills

I speak fluent French, conversational Spanish and Italian, survival Greek, and a smattering of Darija (Moroccan Arabic). I’m an eagle-eyed proofreader (except when it comes to my own work) and have a knack for transforming complicated concepts into accessible articles.

Other Information

I love language, and I love being able to share it via this wonderful tool: the internet. I’m truly delighted to have the opportunity to share my knowledge of and love for the French language with you. My only goal is to create a comprehensive French language resource for students and teachers, and one of the ways I do this is by partnering with extraordinary sites.

I Guided the French language site at About from 1999 until 2014, when I decided to strike out on my own and started writing new and better French lessons than ever before here at Lawless French. I also do some freelance work as a translator (French –» English and Spanish –» English), proofreader, and webmaster, and write about other topics as well:

Lawless English
Lawless Italian
Lawless Spanish
The Veggie Table (vegetarian recipes and info).

If you’re a Romance language lover, follow Lawless Languages on Whatsapp to find out about the latest features on Lawless French, Spanish, and Italian every day.

And check out Lawless Languages on Substack where I compare and contrast these three languages.

The vast majority of this site is free – the only exception is the Mot du jour. You are welcome to use Lawless French for free indefinitely, but I’d be very grateful if you would consider supporting this site. Or you can buy me a coffee:

Questions?

Please post your questions about French on the Progress with Lawless French Q+A Forum.

Contact Me

I’m available for interviews, guest articles, and quotations related to language learning in general and French in particular, as well as the ups and downs of a freelancing expatriate life: Interviews with LKL

I love meeting my readers IRL, so if you’re coming to Guadeloupe, drop me a line and we can grab a real coffee! 🙂