I am an experienced communicator of academic and cultural information across national, linguistic, and socioeconomic boundaries. I provide training in discipline-specific English-language vocabulary, structure, oral presentation and accent reduction. I have worked with students and professionals from all over the world as a teacher, tutor, advisor, and cultural interpreter. I currently provide consulting services to high-level professionals who require assistance with cross-cultural communication. My eclectic academic background enables me to relate my English language instruction to every professional field and academic subject area.

I hold a bachelor of arts degree from American University in Washington, DC, with an interdisciplinary combined major in communications, law, economics and government, and am a certificated Teacher of English as a Second or Other Language (TESOL).

I began my teaching career in high school, where I tutored algebra, calculus, Latin, physics, chemistry, and American history. In college, I continued tutoring and began editing and proofreading papers for fellow students - both American and international - in literature, economics, political science, philosophy, anthropology, and European history.

I began teaching English as a Second Language at the Language Education & Technology Center in Washington. I spent a semester at the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, where I taught remedial English and mathematics, as well as geometry, sociology, physics & U.S. history. I edited and revised a Russian ESL curriculum and lent my voice as a model speaker for the audio CD-ROM component.

My ESL clients have included lawyers, doctors, scientists, financiers, engineers, academics and other professionals who required in-depth, discipline-specific ESL assistance to work effectively within the American cultural environment.

Rather than use a one-size-fits-all approach, I have developed a range of innovative task-based learning methods (incorporating online media and digital presentation technology), designed to address clients' specific requirements. For example, some trainees are looking to prepare for specific presentations and professional communication, some may be students who need to pass the TOEFL, and others may be interested in general conversation and social interaction.

My services are highly individualized, centered on the client's existing skill level, his/her particular goals and interests, and scheduling requirements. I have found that my clients progress more quickly once they have a basic overview of how the English language developed, and I also call upon their own knowledge base (including their native language backgrounds, and any special fields of interest or expertise) as a means of helping them acquire a deeper understanding of, and facility with, the English language.