Hello, my name is Jackie Smith and I'm 66 years old and currently living in Greece. I am a native English speaker and teach Greek. I have been an online Greek teacher with Verbalplanet since March 2008.
I can speak the following languages fluently: English, Greek.
I am currently offering a discounted initial trial lesson at 50% off my normal lesson price for new students.
Latest Reviews
23 May 2022
KatrinaJane
Jackie is a great teacher, she makes learning Greek enjoyable and is very clear and supportive. I feel there is progress and her sense of humour really helps to make light of a difficult language. I appreciate she is patient and doesn't make me feel silly with any question that I have. She is quick to pick up errors with my pronunciation and try's to work out why I might be making errors. Thank you Jackie!
28 Apr 2022
MargaretBird
My lessons are always interesting and enjoyable and with Jackie's patience and guidance I am making real progress in learning Greek.
01 Mar 2022
DavidHopkins
Excellent with Jackie as ever. Delightful.
21 Jan 2022
Aitchbea
First lesson went well, I felt Jackie understood the problems & obstacles I have had learning to speak Greek. I am hoping with her help I can progress & overcome the obstacles .
22 Nov 2021
MargaretBird
I always look forward to my lessons with Jackie.
I have learned so much from her and she makes the lessons fun and interesting.
She is very patient and never tires of explaining things to me until she is sure I understand them.
Margaret Bird
30 Nov 2020
MargaretBird
Another good lesson from Jackie. Learning a lot already and she is so patient and explains things so well
Yia sas, my name is Jackie and I was born in London. I have been living in Kefalonia, one of the Ionian Islands, since 1997 and have two grown up daughters who both now live in North America. I came to Greece to learn Greek and fell in love with the language and the culture. At that time there was no one teaching Greek so with book in hand and sheer determination my Greek grew and blossomed.
Qualifications & Experience
As a qualified TEFL teacher I was teaching English to Greek children then around 2005 I started teaching Greek to English people here and a couple of years later progressed to teaching on the internet using Skype.
Teaching Approach
Teaching private lessons allows me to work with my students at their own pace. As a native English speaker who has learned Greek, I believe my approach to teaching and the material I use for my lessons is unique as it has been inspired by my own journey to fluency. I’m only too well aware of which aspects of the language my students are likely to find difficult because I too have been there.
For those who want a comprehensive understanding of how the Greek language works I use my own material alongside a conventional textbook as it gives me the opportunity to explain some of the more difficult to grasp points of Greek grammar. Because I had to make sense of all this for myself, I strive to put the points across in a way that is more understandable and easier to study. I believe it is important to learn to read and write as well as speak and listen and so I teach all the four skills.
For those who are not excited by Greek grammar and just want to learn conversational Greek, I have developed a compilation of lessons, designed specifically for you. Through dialogue and speech the lessons enable you to build ever more complex sentence structures and covers all the grammar necessary to be able to create your own conversations.
Most importantly of all I like to make my lessons fun and interesting. I incorporate information about the Greek way of life and customs into my lessons and work hard to make the lessons enjoyable. I know that the biggest barrier to learning a new language is the loss of motivation so I want my students to look forward to each lesson and to feel motivated to continue to learn the language that I love.
So, whether you want to be able to chat to locals whilst on holiday, have relatives in Greece you want to connect to or you simply love the challenge of learning a new language, I believe I will have something to offer you.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you would like to find out more about how I teach Greek.
