Hello and welcome to American English. I am Carla M. Haskett, a teacher and tutor from Texas in the United States. I currently live in the Hill Country on the Guadalupe River and enjoy everything about the outdoors, especially tubing and swimming. I have two dogs that have fun chasing and barking at all the wildlife while they run around and play; I have trained animals for about 20 years.

Originally a journalist, I have, for about a decade, written a newspaper column about natural and sustainable home gardening, fresh-to-table food and heirloom recipes, and the Southern country lifestyle in the Austin area. With my sister as food stylist and photographer, we highlight the culture and history of our farming family, with seven generations of heritage making a living from the land and enjoying its bounty.

I am taking up golf, although not yet successfully, and am, by nature, a social and talkative person who often meets up with friends at a favorite outdoor restaurant to converse on topics including sports, social media, marksmanship and archery, pets (of course!) and news and popular culture.

My bachelor's degree is in English literature and language from the University of Texas. I have been teaching my whole life, (originally lining up my stuffed animals in rows as a youngster) but officially went into the classroom as a trained, certified schoolteacher in 2009. Over the next six and a half years, I taught ELA (reading and writing/literacy) and journalism to more than a thousand students in 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th grades.

I am certified by the state of Texas to teach the four core subjects – English, mathematics, science and social studies/history – in grades four through eight, being designated as “highly qualified” under NCLB. In addition, I hold a Texas classroom teaching certificate that qualifies me to teach all those grade levels and content areas to students who do not speak English or are acquiring the language. Currently, I am completing my TEFL certificate.

After leaving the classroom full-time in 2016, my focus has been on private tutoring and online teaching. I have experience instructing Chinese learners (without one word of English knowledge) from ages 5-12 in the very basics of the language via the internet. I have also done conversational group classes of up to six random adult English language learners at a time - from all parts of the globe - through a virtual classroom.

In the real world, I have had in-home tutoring clients in all grades from kindergarten through high school. As a private tutor, I have done everything from one-on-one reading instruction to facilitating homeschool families in acquiring conversational Spanish fluency for every child at every level concurrently.

Both the challenges and blessings of working online with students at varying levels, with different needs and individual goals and desires for personal development are important to me. I follow a more Socratic method than the average language instructor may employ, relying heavily on questions to elicit responses and supporting students to come up with answers on their own, rather than supplying information.

It is important to spend time really getting to know the needs and learning styles of the individual right away, so that I may customize techniques, pacing and materials so the student gets the best use of their time and walks away feeling more confident and able to use that skill they learned to meet the needs that brought them to class. My primary goal is that students are able to practically use what they learn to excel in interpersonal and business settings – the fullest reach of their potential and commitment.

I consider myself a dependable and available resource for students and am prepared to be flexible and try different approaches until something “clicks” to help my students achieve their goals and complete language tasks in a meaningful and authentic manner. One benefit of my teaching style is that, in addition to being a native speaker, I am an English teacher for English speakers, meaning that those who aspire to the highest levels of fluency have a place in my classroom, as well as those who want to confidently communicate politely with English-speaking friends or work associates.