Meet the team: Pierre-Benoît


My name is Pierre-Benoît Hériaud and I feel very proud, privileged and honoured to say that I have been working with Radio Lingua since the very beginning! ☺

What is your role in Coffee Break?

I have contributed to and helped with creating, producing and recording material for all 4 seasons of Coffee Break French. Our advanced podcasts : 40 episodes of « La Vérité éclate toujours » as well as our first series of 10 episodes of « Il était une fois » have been launched and I am currently working with the team on more exciting material for our new platform  “Coffee Break TV “.

What experience have you had speaking and learning other languages?

I studied English and Spanish at the University of Nantes (France) and moved to Scotland when I was 20 and worked as a French assistant in Ayrshire. I settled in Scotland and for the last 35 years, I have been teaching French & Spanish in a secondary school.

I love teaching and I love learning. Every day is a new experience because every class is different and every single person will leave the class with a little more knowledge of the target language. Being involved in Coffee Break allows me to have a wider audience and there is definitely something gratifying and rewarding to know that people have learned, progressed and felt more confident in the language they study, thanks to all the Coffee Break French material that has been published.

I enjoy meeting our listeners in person at different shows. In the past, we’ve attended The Language Show and The France Show in London and our latest one was Destinations. It is lovely to chat to learners and find out what CBF means to them.

Watch Pierre-Benoît in action at the France Show in this video.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk0rIFDL3B4?start=82]

What are your favourite memories of working with Coffee Break?

PASS! Far too many, but it’s been a good laugh and I have enjoyed every single moment working with the team. I guess the most recent one being on the Coffee Break stand at the Destinations Show in London, winding up my younger colleagues and on a more serious note, getting to meet customers and hear how they’ve enjoyed learning French with CBF.

It’s also good to go back to “one’s humble roots” and I can’t help thinking back to the days when Mark started Coffee Break French and came to Pornic to record in my town and even in my house! I believe many episodes feature the voices of my father, my sisters and even my nieces! I guess I’m part of the Coffee Break family just like Mark is part of the Hériaud family.

Where would your ideal coffee break be, and with whom?

It would have to be while teaching Jennifer Lopez how to speak French! Or perhaps an espresso with Laurent Gerra – you are guaranteed to have a good laugh.. L’espoir fait vivre…

Not quite a coffee break, but I certainly enjoy a “music break”, so here’s a video of Mark and me performing a couple of our favourite songs, Francis Cabrel’s Petite Marie and Billy Joel’s She’s Always a Woman, recorded in a Facebook live session while in London for the France Show.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21wVKQbdH8Q]

What’s your best language-learning tip?

Keep practising – as often as possible and do not get discouraged! I still make mistakes in English, in Spanish –  in French! We all do… Keep going!

Quick-fire round

  • Favourite language: French & English
  • Favourite word/phrase in the language: Pas d’lézard!
  • Favourite film: in English – As Good As It Gets; in French: Le Prénom
  • Favourite destination: anywhere… with nice people.

Any further thoughts?

All the best to all our listeners around the world with their language learning. Keep practising … et surtout, ne vous découragez pas !