Michael
Hello!
Greetings! My name is Michael. I live in Canada. I was born here, and I have lived here all my life. My family, however, is from Malta. My childhood and early teen years were normal yet enjoyable. In my late teens and early twenties, I made several U-turns in my education journey. However, I ultimately settled on earning an English degree (with a minor in history). I earned a BA and an MA in English Literature. Then I became a tutor, working with university students first, then getting hired at a tutoring organization and working with children in my neighbourhood, and finally opening my own tutoring business. The pandemic hurt my business, so I found tutoring work online. However, I have always had a good eye for errors in writing, so while being a tutor, I also pursued positions with proofreading and editing organizations that hire remote workers. I have been successful in this regard, at one point being on six proofreading platforms. Nevertheless, the proofreading/editing field is changing, largely due to AI. For this reason, I have come to Cambly to revive my tutoring career. I love working with people one on one. I also have superb organizational and time-management skills and the ability to be flexible and resourceful. I help Cambly students with grammar, vocabulary, spelling, fluency, pronunciation, and clarity. I am available for about eight hours each weekday. If you do not see a time in my schedule that works for you, please message me – I may be able to accommodate your specific scheduling request. (Please do not schedule a lesson and then cancel it at the last minute). I look forward to working with you, and I hope you will become one of my regular students!
I love the following things: dogs (cats are nice, too), the outdoors, talking, music, cars, TV, some movies, hockey (NHL), football (NFL), cooking, eating, foreign cultures, and warm, sunny weather.
About
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Teaching Style
I specialize in grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary. I can also help with writing, study/organizational skills, SSAT/SAT preparation, and mathematics. In my lessons, I mix a variety of teaching styles: interactive discussions, facilitation (helping students discover answers themselves), hands-on activities, and very short lectures. Typically, I first get to know students by talking about their lives and interests. Second, I use prompts (emojis, proverbs, words, translation, conversation topics, videos, photos, drawings, exercises, games, news articles, stories, poems, quotations) or Cambly slides so I can hear students speak. I note and save their errors, and we conduct a review during lessons to define, discuss, and correct those errors. If I see a pattern in the errors, I conduct extensive reviews or use a workbook/textbook with students so they can learn about and work on problems. I also assign homework if I believe it will help. I use resources focusing on the following areas: grammar (including verbs, articles, and prepositions), speaking, pronunciation, vocabulary, collocations, idioms, reading, and sentence construction.