Native Speaker (American accent)

Educated, Interested, Passionate and Committed Teacher

A native of Southern California, I have also lived in Nashville, Tennessee and spent a year in Asturias, Spain teaching English to children. I know what it feels like to live in a foreign country and also what it’s like to struggle with learning a new language. I hope to offer engaging English conversation (or lessons to beginners), and friendly, positive feedback in a casual setting. 

I live in the Pasadena area where I enjoy cooking, films, hiking, trying new foods, listening to public radio, and looking at the night sky through the telescope.

TESL/TEFL Certificate — UCLA-Extension, Los Angeles

B.A. English Literature — Occidental College, Los Angeles

Caltech (California Institute of Technology), Pasadena, California

Volunteer ESL Tutor

MAY 2016 - PRESENT

Teach a weekly non-credit class to English language learner members of the JPL and Caltech International Spouses community. Tutor individual students in one-on-one advanced conversation (pronunciation and comprehension) and language fundamentals to beginners.

The American Centre, Spain — EFL Teacher

SEPTEMBER 1991 - JUNE 1992

Taught English as a foreign language to students ages five to seventeen in a Spanish after-school academy. Was invited to return for another year of employment.

Patient, warm, and friendly approach to language teaching. A language is best learned when the conditions for learning feel like real life—not a classroom. When a student feels safe and comfortable he or she is able to acquire language most naturally. An understanding of culture is valuable but it's also important to know the student as an individual, to find out what they're interested in.

I invite students to tell me what they want to learn. I develop lessons around their interests and their goals for learning English.