We believe that language-learning opens doors and changes lives.
About Cecile
Cecile H. Afable (she/elle) is the founder of Lingua Viva.
As a bilingual language teacher and coach, she is passionate about creating bespoke language learning experiences that are practical, rigorous, and enjoyable.
Cecile is fluent in French, a native speaker of English, and proud to be a member of the bilingual community in Canada.
Originally from the United States, Cecile has nearly a decade of professional experience working in education and language acquisition in both France and Canada.
She began her career as a Teaching Fellow in a Lycée (secondary school) in the Ardèche region of France. While at the Lycée, Cecile also guest lectured for Philosophy classes and taught coursework for Brevet de technicien supérieur students (BTS, equivalent to community college students).
In Canada, Cecile previously served as an Advisor (Community of Educators member) to the British Columbia Office of the Human Rights Commissioner; has worked for a well-known, nationally recognized tutoring franchise; and done instructional design, curriculum development, and group facilitation work in the non-profit sector.
Cecile has been featured as a co-presenter at the NEVR Conference on trauma-informed pedagogy, and her writing on wise practices in education has been published in Teacher Magazine.
Since founding Lingua Viva in 2024, Cecile has worked with 1:1 clients and learners located in France, Québec, British Columbia, and the US states of New York, California, Massachusetts, and Virginia; and facilitated workshops in French and English for the Government of Canada and la Société de développement économique de la Colombie-Britannique.
Cecile studied French Language & Francophone Literature at Brandeis University. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude, and with Highest Honors, and won multiple awards for academic excellence, leadership, and community service, including the Giller-Sagan Prize, the Oliveri Family Prize, and the Richard Kaufman Memorial Prize.
She has also completed coursework at the Université Grenoble Alpes (formerly Université Stendhal)/Centre Universitaire d'Études Françaises, and received a life coaching certification after training with Master Coach Ayisha Amatullah at the Universal Coach Institute.
Cecile holds a DALF C2 (Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française Niveau C2) — the highest achievable credential of French as a foreign language — awarded by the government of France (Ministère de l'Éducation Nationale).
She is a proud member of la Chambre de Commerce Francophone de Vancouver and Réseau-Femmes, and a previous participant of the group mentorship program for French-speaking women entrepreneurs facilitated by la Société de développement économique de la Colombie-Britannique.
Outside of work, Cecile enjoys reading across genres in both English and French, supporting local agriculture and community gardens, and spending time with loved ones.