Salut! I bring with me a strong background from the University of Chicago and Middlebury College, and over 12 years of teaching in public and private schools, as well as individual tutoring, and most recently, to a class of senior citizens on Chicago's northwest side.
I understand the difficulties many students have in overcoming the obstacles to learn a foreign language, and can reassure you that, altho French has the reputation of being complicated in grammar, spelling, and speech, the language actually has many repeated patterns, and even the exceptions have patterns!
My goal in teaching and tutoring students is to activate the language through a variety of methods, traditional as well as audio-visual, multicultural, and inter-disciplinary. Learning French should be FUN, whether students are at Point Zero or just need refining.
I pride myself on the energy, enthusiasm, and flexibility I bring to every phase of my work. Besides my fluency in French, I have a good knowledge of Spanish, and have studied Russian in the Former Soviet Union. My passion for teaching allows comfort and ease for all students (ages 4 to 84!). I feel strongly about maintaining an informative and professional communication with parents, colleagues, and administrators.
Learning a foreign language opens doors; broadens a person's interest in new fields; and serves as a vehicle to explore new cultures and make new friends. We also understand more about ourselves through the contrasts we find between our native speech and the "new" language.
Further, language is theater: we progress from basic expressions ... to acting out new roles ... and finally, to confirming our own character as we master our new discipline.
By the way, I am NOT bound to tutoring only in downtown Chicago; let's connect!
Amitiés,
Pamela H.
back to top