Laura
Hello!
I want to thank my students for my Super Tutor status; your votes of confidence mean the world to me! I currently accept professional adult Cambly Pro students: check my calendar to reserve a class to discuss your goals and together we can create a customized learning plan for you! I'm a native English speaker and published columnist who has lived throughout the U.S. & in Latin America; traveled a bit through Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, and the U.K. I currently teach English & Spanish. I love to meet new people, learn local culture and customs, and I'd love to hear about yours from you! I earned my TEFL diploma in Leeds, England and have taught in multiple countries in various settings, including in-person and online. My past students have ranged from pre-school to post-grad, but these days I help professional adult students with everything from IELTS to interview prep... I believe I understand my adult students so well because I'm not only a language teacher - I'm also a language learner! As a Spanish-speaker who became proficient as an adult, I enjoy studying other languages in my spare time and believe the best time to learn a new language is whatever age you are right now! To continually improve myself as an educator, I attend professional development classes, conferences, trainings and workshops throughout the years. I am a member of the Oxford Teachers Club; attended the Oxford University Press ELTOC (English Language Teachers Online Conference), the ScIC (Science is Cool) Unconference Professional Development Training for Teachers; and the Helbling English Teacher Training for Mexico and Central America. I look forward to meeting you and guiding you on your language-learning journey!
I'll share a bit about myself ... then I'd love to hear about you! I grew up in New England and have fond memories of ice-skating on frozen ponds, playing in the woods with our golden retrievers, growing enormous vegetable gardens, and helping my dad collect tree sap to make sweet maple syrup over a wood-burning stove! In preparatory (high school), I performed in plays and musicals, sang in a traveling choral group, served on the yearbook staff, held offices or membership positions in several clubs such as Art, Drama, French, and Science; played on the school basketball and tennis teams; and competed in track. At university, I played intramural tennis, participated in the International Club, and studied International Business, Communications, and Theatre. I was greatly appreciative when I was named International President of the Year for our Academic Society and was placed in the State Hall of Honor. When I started working as a summer camp director, I was motivated to study child psychology, camp management, first aid, emergency management and a slew of other courses that would help keep camp safe, fun, and educational for our 150 youth campers and 15 young adult counselors. A few years after, as I was a columnist for a multi-state newspaper, I was assigned weekly deadlines to cover Arts, Business, Education, Health, and more. Interviewing, learning, and presenting different viewpoints gave me unique insight into the community and how a topic could be explored and presented. I would later go on to work in an art museum. Learning about the artists, caring for the collections, and experiencing the exhibits was a true joy. From there, I moved into performing arts management with a local symphony orchestra, our youth symphony, and our resident string quartets. Being able to apply my knowledge of local interests, children's activities, arts, and writing allowed me to move into marketing, fund-raising, public relations, and community events management for the organization. These days, when I'm not learning, studying, traveling, or teaching ... I like to read, listen to podcasts, chill with my cat, and cycle or hike in nature with my foster dogs! Most important to me is work-life balance, so I have time to spend seeing family and friends, listening to live concerts, visiting museums, camping, and attending cultural events. What about you? Let's chat about your interests and let me know what you'd like to accomplish in your life!
About
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Teaching Style
Mistakes are welcome - that's how we learn! If you're not making mistakes, you're probably not pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone. In class, I generally employ the Communicative Approach, which means encouraging students to speak as much as possible, but I try to match my teaching style to your needs and goals. What works with my advanced learners or business students would not apply to all others, but no matter what level I work with, I have a genuine passion for teaching and strive to keep things fun and engaging. It's important to me to be attentive, kind, helpful and patient. I also try to be mindful of culturally relevant practices to keep the class socially comfortable, yet academically challenging. I have experience teaching students in summer camp, International Baccalaureate, public school, community college ESL (English as a Second Language) classes, and private schools for adult learners, such as English Today, Instituto de Inglés, and Big Learning business school programs. Let me know your goals, and I'll use my experiences to find the right approach for you!