Elizabeth M. - Tutor in Pickerington, OH (43147)

Learning has been a life long love of mine and I look forward to sharing it with others. I have served as a substitute teacher for 5 years in the Central Ohio area. I am working in the Southwest Licking Local School District near Pataskala.

I have a bachelor's degree in journalism in news writing and editing from Ohio University. In addition, I have a master's degree in library science from Indiana University.

I also have experience in tutoring English as a Second Language for adults for both the Columbus Literacy Council and the Fairfield County Literacy Council. A recent past Columbus student of mine passed their U.S. citizenship examination in December.

• phonics

  I am qualified in the area of phonics through my ongoing work as a tutor of students in English as a Second Language. My current one, an adult through the Fairfield County Literacy Council, receives weekly volunteer assistance from me for an hour in this area along with other aspects of basic literacy such as grammar and writing. I have been working with individuals in this arena on a relatively regular basis since March 2007. One of my Columbus Literacy Council students passed their citizenship test in December 2008. We practiced pronunciation regularly as this person rehearsed oral answers for the factual portion of the exam.

• ESL/ESOL

  I have experience in serving as a tutor for English as a Second Language through my one on one volunteer work with the Columbus Literacy Council. I became certified through them in March 2007 and have since had the pleasure of working with three students. My most recent one passed an examination to become a United States citizen in December 2008. Prior to becoming an English as a Second Language tutor, I worked as a Librarian I in the reference department of the Laredo (Texas) Public Library from September 2000 to January 2004. The vast majority of the individuals I served were just beginning to learn English. I learned to communicate simply and directly with them in English as well as give basic directions in Spanish. This background has helped me tremendously in not only being effective as a tutor, but understanding the frustrations of non-native students. I spent a reasonable amount of time being around people who were having conversations exclusively in Spanish while in Laredo. My Spanish speaking ability was very limited, so this was quite challenging as I felt unable to comprehend what was being said as well as be part of the group. This has made it easy for me to empathize with the difficulty individuals would have who didn't speak English in being unable to understand us and feel included.