• Undergrad:

  U. N. Carolina - Gre

• Grad 1:

  Coursework, U. of Utah

• Tutors Out Of:

  Seattle, WA

• Travel Radius:

  30 miles

• Tutoring Certifications:

  elementary (k-6th) - English - ESL/ESOL - grammar - proofreading - reading - Spanish - study skills - writing

• Tutor's Fee Per Hour:

  $36.00 * with a 10% discount after purchasing $360

I love working with students of all ages in the many facets of language acquisition. I have a B.A. in English Literature from the U. of N. Carolina at Greensboro, have worked as a freelance writer, and my poetry and fiction have been published in academic journals. I have taken courses in ESL instruction at the TESOL school, (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) in Seattle and have taught ESL in Oaxaca, Mexico, and in Seattle at SEAMAR latino social service agency, at Consejo, at ELS and at American Cultural Exchange. My adult ESL classes have included students from Nicaragua, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, Spain, Mexico, and Korea. I also enjoy working with young people. I have been a bi-lingual aide in the Seattle School District, serving 3 elementary schools as their tutor for Latino students and their translator between the Spanish-speaking families and the school. And having learned my second language relatively late in life, I enjoy helping beginning and intermediate Spanish-language students.
When tutoring, I employ specific lesson plans towards a specific goal, but I do so in a relaxed way. My goal is to have fun with the student, regardless of their age. Because I have performed and taught modern dance, I tend to be very kinaesthetic in my teaching style. If I sense a student is losing focus, we will immediately walk around the table, stand, quicky run through flash cards, sing a song, clap hands, anything to awaken the physical system and, therefore, the mind. I like to work in a focused but lively way.

Email this tutor in Seattle, WA!

• elementary (k-6th)

  I have worked as a tutor and bi-ligual aide in the Seattle School District in 3 elementary schools, dealing with students from K-6th grade. In 2001-2002, I worked in one-on-one sessions and with small groups of students, all latinos, to tutor them in their native language when they needed it, and in English, as well. I also worked with elementary school reading groups, 6-8 students at a time, of varying ethnicities. I have also recently tutored two elementary school boys, one in math and one in reading. I enjoy children of this age group, and believe that my background as a dancer allows me to be very kinaesthetic with them in order to keep the learning fun and focused.

• ESL/ESOL

  I have taken courses for ESL certification at the TESOL school in Seattle and have taught ESL in Oaxaca, Mexico and in Seattle at American Cultural Exchange, ELS, SEAMAR and Consejo. I love working with people from other countries and cultures and have connected strongly with my students in the past - from countries as widely-ranging as Mexico, Central America, Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, Korea, and Spain. Because I speak a second language and learned it late in life, I feel I am particularly aware of the challenges of language acquisition. I have an animated teaching style which helps to keep the subject matter alive.

• grammar

  Grammar is one of my passions. I have a degree in literature and spent much of my college years writing often, at great length, and with great attention to correct grammar. I have written for most of my adult life and had my work published as a freelance journalist in the Seattle Weekly, and as a poet and fiction writer in academic journals such as The Wisconsin Review, Sanskrit, Eureka Literary Magazine, Phoebe, and The Carquinez Poetry Review. I have produced p.r. for non-profit organizations, and I have taught English grammar as part of teaching ESL. (See ESL subject request for the various schools and/or agencies where I've taught.) In addition, my studies in Spanish have made me even more mindful of the nuances of the grammar of our own language. I am the kind of grammar maniac who finds the misplaced modifiers and the erroneous apostrophes that no one else finds.

• proofreading

  I have proofread copy for brochures, public relations materials , and press releases for arts organizations and other non-profits. In my capacity as a teacher of ESL, I have proofread essays and grammar exercises for students. And I have proofread my own freelance writing for years, both prior to submitting it for publication, and as a part of the writer-editor correspondence.

• study skills

  In my capacity as a bi-lingual aide for the Seattle School District in 2001-2002, I tutored elementary school students and helped them often with study skills. We focused on organizing their physical materials to get ready to study, setting aside a consistent time and place where homework would be done, and arranging access to an adult to help them with homework when they got stuck. We also addressed how best to focus while in the classroom. Recently I addressed study skills again with two elementary school boys in Tacoma and Gig Harbor whom I helped with reading and math. My major study skills message to students who are having trouble in school is: no multi-tasking - period. When they study, there should be no t.v., no computer, no video game going on.