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Maria L.'s Photo
Maria L.'s Photo
Maria L.'s Photo

Maria L.

Top Notch Math and Language Tutor

Top Notch Math and Language Tutor

$120/hour

5.0 (172 ratings)

  • 733 hours tutoring

About Maria

Bio

Sometimes you need the best. Whether it’s for you or your kid, I’m here to help you turbocharge your learning. I take great pride in my work and in delivering you nothing but the best results. I do this by structuring engaging, personally tailored lessons that help utilize your strengths to cover from any holes in your knowledge, and in allowing you to reach your full potential. I bring a deep knowledge of the subjects at hand and make the process engaging and, dare I say, even fun!

Back in...

Sometimes you need the best. Whether it’s for you or your kid, I’m here to help you turbocharge your learning. I take great pride in my work and in delivering you nothing but the best results. I do this by structuring engaging, personally tailored lessons that help utilize your strengths to cover from any holes in your knowledge, and in allowing you to reach your full potential. I bring a deep knowledge of the subjects at hand and make the process engaging and, dare I say, even fun!

Back in high school, I helped my peers with nearly every subject (In Russia, copying other people’s work is an unfortunate legacy of communism. I had LONG lines of people wanting to see mine!). But I know what it’s like to struggle to understand something: after finishing high school with straight A+’s (actually!) in a remote corner of Russia, I went to Moscow State University, the best university in the country. There I learned what hard work is: I’m excited to help pass on the study skills I learned that got me the President’s Award for Excellence and enabled me to graduate as valedictorian. I merged my interests in Math, Science, and Language through majoring in Computational Linguistics and minoring in Literature.

I started tutoring in college and became a full-time tutor upon graduation; as it’s my full-time occupation, I am both flexible and reliable. Your emergency is my emergency! I’ve tutored everything from test-prep and geometry to Latin and history (and have even taught yoga as well!) to students from 8 to 58.

I love teaching math in all its forms and levels (elementary mathematics, prealgebra, algebra I, algebra II, pre-calculus, trigonometry, geometry, and even the mathematical parts of physics). Whether it’s acing the homework, preparing for the final exams or taking the standardized tests (SAT, ACT, PSAT). Regrettably, most math teachers are nerds who can’t communicate: I bring it to life, making it interesting, and show you how to boil problems down to their essence and attack the heart of it. The results? Immediate and permanent results.

On the language front, I’ve taught English in settings ranging from the mountains of the Himalayas to the hills of Beverly Hills, from the math department of Moscow State to the LA public library, and everything in between. I’ve taught languages both already living (Russian, English (ESL/ESOL, SAT Reading, SAT Verbal, SAT Grammar & Essay, ACT Reading & English), French, Spanish) and those that need to be brought back from the dead dead (Latin, Ancient Greek, Sanskrit, and Old Church Slavonic). I’ve taught ESL and prepared students for the TOEFL, IELTS, and interviews in English - both one-on-one and in groups - for over 5 years. When I took TOEFL I nailed a 99% and my students consistently show 15+ point improvement on the test. I’ll bring everything you need, from grammar books, reading tasks, essay topics, and tips, vocabulary lists or conversation questions. Learning the language should be fun!

I tailor my tutoring sessions to match each student’s needs, style and pace. I really enjoy working with people with learning differences, from ADHD and dyslexia to motivational issues. My students find my enthusiasm for learning contagious, my feedback helpful, and my teaching methods effective. In so doing, grades and understanding improve in tandem.

Let’s get in touch and start to make magic happen! I can come to you and never charge unless you’re 110% satisfied, so there’s no reason not to start the transformation today!

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Education

Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU)
Linguisitcs

Policies

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Subjects

Corporate Training

ESL/ESOL,

ESL/ESOL

I’ve taught ESL and prepared students for the TOEFL, IELTS, and interviews in English - both one-on-one and in groups - for over four years. So far I’ve tutored students from Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Turkish, Iranian, Nepali, Palestinian, Mexican, and Colombian backgrounds. When I took TOEFL I nailed a 99%. Beyond this, I’ve taught English as a Second Language in the Mathematics Department of Moscow State University and, in order to give back to the community, volunteered at the LA Public Library Singleton Center as an English Teacher.
Grammar,

Grammar

Growing up in Russia, we learned English grammar like the back of our hands, seeing it as the passage to a better life, the chance to interact with the rest of the world. So, while it’s a subject that many revile and see as tedious, I love helping people sort out the intricacies of the language, often leading to them remarking “wow, that really does sound so much better!” when they re-read something that they’d written and then edited. I’m perfectly comfortable helping with anything from the most basic subject-verb agreement to subordinate adverbial clauses and their ilk; whether you need it for ESL, standardized tests (TOEFL, IELTS, SAT, ACT, GRE) or your English class, I can help you out!
Latin,

Latin

As a linguistics major, I dived into the classics, puzzling out Latin (and its rough contemporaries, Old Church Slavonic and Ancient Greek). I’ve been tutoring Latin for over 5 years now and love guiding my students through Latin grammar and tying the roots to our modern Romano-Germanic languages. Latin is both fascinating in and of itself and the key to deciphering heretofore obscure SAT/ACT/GRE/GMAT passages, unlocking a superior verbal score. Whether you need to find ablativus absolutus in the sentence or translate some Plato, I can’t wait to help you resurrect everyone’s favorite “dead” language!
Russian,

Russian

I’m a native Russian speaker and a professional teacher of Russian as a Foreign Language with extensive teaching experience. Having majored in philology at Moscow State (the premier university in the country), I have an unparalleled command of the language. While living in Russia, I had the opportunity to work as a journalist, translator, proofreader and editor.
Spanish

Spanish

Languages have always been my passion, I collect them like mushrooms. I’ve studied nine and taught seven but there’s no doubt that Spanish is my favorite. It actually makes sense! It’s so fun to teach because if you can read it you can say it and vice versa, the grammar actually follows patterns, and here in LA it’s just tremendously useful. My degree is in linguistics and I’ve studied Spanish both here in LA and in Oaxaca, Mexico. I’ve been tutoring languages for over 5 years, and find it incredibly exciting to draw the parallels between different languages and help turn people into polyglots!

Elementary Education

Elementary Math,

Elementary Math

I’ve found Elementary math students require a completely different approach than older kids; I bring games, flashcards and fun math books to our lessons in order to help them learn in fun and engaging ways. Through this, they can shed any fears of K-6th math as it becomes fun and interesting, helping them lay the solid foundation that will help them succeed now and throughout their schooling! I could help your kid with any aspects (basic arithmetic, fractions, geometry, word problems) of any math curriculum (common core, Beast Academy, homeschooling, Singapore math).
Grammar,

Grammar

Growing up in Russia, we learned English grammar like the back of our hands, seeing it as the passage to a better life, the chance to interact with the rest of the world. So, while it’s a subject that many revile and see as tedious, I love helping people sort out the intricacies of the language, often leading to them remarking “wow, that really does sound so much better!” when they re-read something that they’d written and then edited. I’m perfectly comfortable helping with anything from the most basic subject-verb agreement to subordinate adverbial clauses and their ilk; whether you need it for ESL, standardized tests (TOEFL, IELTS, SAT, ACT, GRE) or your English class, I can help you out!
Vocabulary

Vocabulary

It’s amazing what a difference having a plethora of words at your fingertips does for your comfort with the language. With a background in philology and having dived into a half dozen languages, I’ve learned the tips of tricks of how to learn vocabulary: how to keep lass, lassitude, and lassoes straight. From diving into the Greek and Latin roots of words in order to help puzzle out standardized testing to developing a comfort with business or social English, I’ll leave you feeling ready to give an eloquent toast, read James Joyce, or ace that test (be it the ACT, SAT, GRE, TOEFL or IELTS)!

English

ACT English,

ACT English

The ACT English & Reading is all about one thing; moving at the speed of light. 4 long passages with ten questions which means you have to book it through those passages, and I’m here to help you do just that. I’ll help you figure out which questions to go back and check versus which ones you need to just fly through. We’ll help ascertain which definition of “sanction” the passage wants, and I’ll bring my dozen years of studying linguistics to bear on helping you parse the main point of each passage. For the grammar section, it may seem counterintuitive to have a non-native speaker, but in fact, it’s better. Rather than merely appealing to something “sounding good” we’ll teach you the fifteen rules that the test really hits (is it it’s or its?) and teach you how to find dangling modifiers. By the end, you’ll launch in and feel confident you know how best to attack the passages.
ACT Reading,

ACT Reading

Whether your son or daughter is struggling and is trying to nudge their score up, or is already going great and wants to take it to the next level, I’m excited to help. It might be counter-intuitive, but as a non-native speaker, I know the rules of English grammar that the ACT loves to test on far better than most people who just grew up knowing misplaced modifiers because “it doesn’t sound right” - and can help your kid develop the skills to go with the intuition. For the math, I love helping people piece together the tricks of the ACT, ensuring that they go into the test fully equipped with right tools (did you know it’s perfectly legal to write programs for your TI-84?) ready to tackle those dastardly word problems and emerge feel confident! I’ll teach them the tricks of the trade for science, the section that people tend to be the least familiar with and leave them feeling ready for the big day!
ESL/ESOL,

ESL/ESOL

I’ve taught ESL and prepared students for the TOEFL, IELTS, and interviews in English - both one-on-one and in groups - for over four years. So far I’ve tutored students from Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Turkish, Iranian, Nepali, Palestinian, Mexican, and Colombian backgrounds. When I took TOEFL I nailed a 99%. Beyond this, I’ve taught English as a Second Language in the Mathematics Department of Moscow State University and, in order to give back to the community, volunteered at the LA Public Library Singleton Center as an English Teacher.
Grammar,

Grammar

Growing up in Russia, we learned English grammar like the back of our hands, seeing it as the passage to a better life, the chance to interact with the rest of the world. So, while it’s a subject that many revile and see as tedious, I love helping people sort out the intricacies of the language, often leading to them remarking “wow, that really does sound so much better!” when they re-read something that they’d written and then edited. I’m perfectly comfortable helping with anything from the most basic subject-verb agreement to subordinate adverbial clauses and their ilk; whether you need it for ESL, standardized tests (TOEFL, IELTS, SAT, ACT, GRE) or your English class, I can help you out!
IELTS,

IELTS

I’ve taught ESL and prepared students for the TOEFL, IELTS and interviews in English - both one-on-one and in groups - for over 4 years. When I took TOEFL I nailed a 99%. Beyond this, I’ve taught English in the Mathematics Department of Moscow State University and, in order to give back to the community, currently volunteer at the LA Public Library Singleton Center as an English Teacher.
Linguistics,

Linguistics

I have a BA in Computational Linguistics from Moscow State University, home to renowned Linguists and Literary Critics, from Bakhtin, Dostoevsky, and Vinogradov to Jacobson, Propp, and Shakhmatov. Whatever aspect of Linguistics you need some help with, whether it’s phonetics, syntax, morphology or semantics, I’m excited to shed light on it. I’ve been tutoring people in Linguistics and Languages for over 5 years (and before that was the go-to person for helping my peers pass all the Linguistics classes I’ve ever taken - ranging from comparative, mathematical, physolinguisics, forensics, rhetorics, corpus linguistics, discourse analysis, to multiple language classes). I graduated the top student in my program, and will help you achieve that level of distinction in yours!
TOEFL,

TOEFL

I’ve taught ESL and prepared students for the TOEFL, IELTS and interviews in English - both one-on-one and in groups - for over 4 years. When I took TOEFL I nailed a 99%. Beyond this, I’ve taught English in the Mathematics Department of Moscow State University and, in order to give back to the community, currently volunteer at the LA Public Library Singleton Center as an English Teacher.
Vocabulary

Vocabulary

It’s amazing what a difference having a plethora of words at your fingertips does for your comfort with the language. With a background in philology and having dived into a half dozen languages, I’ve learned the tips of tricks of how to learn vocabulary: how to keep lass, lassitude, and lassoes straight. From diving into the Greek and Latin roots of words in order to help puzzle out standardized testing to developing a comfort with business or social English, I’ll leave you feeling ready to give an eloquent toast, read James Joyce, or ace that test (be it the ACT, SAT, GRE, TOEFL or IELTS)!

Homeschool

Algebra 1,

Algebra 1

My dad challenged me with mental math problems starting in elementary school. In high school, I was the only girl to attend the after-school advanced math club (that sometimes ran until midnight) to ace the most advanced math problems. I loved being good at algebra, and I loved explaining fast and easy solutions to the most complex problems to my peers. I studied computational linguistics in college, the stepchild of math, computer science, and linguistics, which taught me both math and the ways to explain it. I’ll help you conquer the worst demons of algebra 1 (be it common core, integrated math or homeschool), from incredibly useful factoring techniques like the “big star” method to fractional exponents or breaking down those dreaded word problems, and will leave you a pro!
Algebra 2,

Algebra 2

Over the last 5 years I tutored all the levels of math to elementary, middle, high school and college students (including people from Mathematics Department at Moscow State University). Algebra 2 presents all sorts of new challenges that people struggle with, from factoring gnarly expressions (which can be brilliantly solved by my “big star” method!) to understanding conic sections from hyperbolas to ellipses. You’ll experience exponential growth in your understanding of exponential growth, and when you solve equations, you’ll end up with a solution for “grade” that equals “A”!
ESL/ESOL,

ESL/ESOL

I’ve taught ESL and prepared students for the TOEFL, IELTS, and interviews in English - both one-on-one and in groups - for over four years. So far I’ve tutored students from Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Turkish, Iranian, Nepali, Palestinian, Mexican, and Colombian backgrounds. When I took TOEFL I nailed a 99%. Beyond this, I’ve taught English as a Second Language in the Mathematics Department of Moscow State University and, in order to give back to the community, volunteered at the LA Public Library Singleton Center as an English Teacher.
Geometry,

Geometry

I’ve tutored Geometry to all levels of students for the last 5 years, starting with elementary school geometry and finishing with HS honors geometry. As an excellent illustrator, I help your student make great progress in terms of creating diagrams that will aid their understanding, understanding the trigonometry that will recur in algebra 2, and addressing the bane of nearly every geometry student: the infamous two-column proof. I delight in watching how my students come to understand the organization and flow that lead to success on these proofs. It’s particularly fun to tutor, since a number of people who struggled with algebra can really bloom in geometry, and the visual awareness and logical thinking that are so crucial to understanding, and succeeding, in geometry will serve them well for years to come.
Prealgebra,

Prealgebra

From early middle school, I was always one of the top three students in math of my year - which meant that I spent most of my days helping friends and acquaintances grapple with how to understand math. I’ve tutored pre-algebra for over 5 years now and developed multiple methods of building the foundation that will stay with your son or daughter for years to come, ensuring that algebra and trig don’t present problems down the line. I help your kid to stay motivated, focused and enjoy and understand math (even if it’s not their favorite subject). I adapt my teaching methods based on the student’s needs and pace, and on the school program (whether it’s common core, homeschool, Singapore math, the Art of Problem Solving, or anything else!).
Precalculus,

Precalculus

Welcome to Algebra II Version 2! Here we get a chance to deepen your understanding of what you learned last year, and fill in whatever holes were left behind. Maybe your hyperbolas look more like ellipses or there is an ellipsis in your understanding of factoring terms with nasty leading coefficients? No problem! The “big star” method of factoring will help rescue you, while my beautiful drawings will help you make short work of limits, preparing you for calculus next year! Over the last 5 years, I've tutored all the levels of math to elementary math, middle school, high school and college students (including people from Mathematics Department at Moscow State University) and found precalculus to be one of my favorites to teach since you can apply everything you’ve learned over the years of math!
SAT Math,

SAT Math

Everyone’s favorite part of high school: the SAT! Whether your son or daughter is struggling and trying to nudge their score up or is already doing great and wants to take the test-prep to the next level, I’m excited to help. I crushed the SAT when I took it and love helping people piece together the tricks of the SAT math section, ensuring that they go into the test fully equipped with right tools (did you know it’s perfectly legal to write programs for your TI-84?) ready to tackle those dastardly word problems and emerge feeling confident!
Spanish,

Spanish

Languages have always been my passion, I collect them like mushrooms. I’ve studied nine and taught seven but there’s no doubt that Spanish is my favorite. It actually makes sense! It’s so fun to teach because if you can read it you can say it and vice versa, the grammar actually follows patterns, and here in LA it’s just tremendously useful. My degree is in linguistics and I’ve studied Spanish both here in LA and in Oaxaca, Mexico. I’ve been tutoring languages for over 5 years, and find it incredibly exciting to draw the parallels between different languages and help turn people into polyglots!
Chemistry, Physics

Language

ESL/ESOL,

ESL/ESOL

I’ve taught ESL and prepared students for the TOEFL, IELTS, and interviews in English - both one-on-one and in groups - for over four years. So far I’ve tutored students from Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Turkish, Iranian, Nepali, Palestinian, Mexican, and Colombian backgrounds. When I took TOEFL I nailed a 99%. Beyond this, I’ve taught English as a Second Language in the Mathematics Department of Moscow State University and, in order to give back to the community, volunteered at the LA Public Library Singleton Center as an English Teacher.
IELTS,

IELTS

I’ve taught ESL and prepared students for the TOEFL, IELTS and interviews in English - both one-on-one and in groups - for over 4 years. When I took TOEFL I nailed a 99%. Beyond this, I’ve taught English in the Mathematics Department of Moscow State University and, in order to give back to the community, currently volunteer at the LA Public Library Singleton Center as an English Teacher.
Latin,

Latin

As a linguistics major, I dived into the classics, puzzling out Latin (and its rough contemporaries, Old Church Slavonic and Ancient Greek). I’ve been tutoring Latin for over 5 years now and love guiding my students through Latin grammar and tying the roots to our modern Romano-Germanic languages. Latin is both fascinating in and of itself and the key to deciphering heretofore obscure SAT/ACT/GRE/GMAT passages, unlocking a superior verbal score. Whether you need to find ablativus absolutus in the sentence or translate some Plato, I can’t wait to help you resurrect everyone’s favorite “dead” language!
Russian,

Russian

I’m a native Russian speaker and a professional teacher of Russian as a Foreign Language with extensive teaching experience. Having majored in philology at Moscow State (the premier university in the country), I have an unparalleled command of the language. While living in Russia, I had the opportunity to work as a journalist, translator, proofreader and editor.
Spanish,

Spanish

Languages have always been my passion, I collect them like mushrooms. I’ve studied nine and taught seven but there’s no doubt that Spanish is my favorite. It actually makes sense! It’s so fun to teach because if you can read it you can say it and vice versa, the grammar actually follows patterns, and here in LA it’s just tremendously useful. My degree is in linguistics and I’ve studied Spanish both here in LA and in Oaxaca, Mexico. I’ve been tutoring languages for over 5 years, and find it incredibly exciting to draw the parallels between different languages and help turn people into polyglots!
TOEFL

TOEFL

I’ve taught ESL and prepared students for the TOEFL, IELTS and interviews in English - both one-on-one and in groups - for over 4 years. When I took TOEFL I nailed a 99%. Beyond this, I’ve taught English in the Mathematics Department of Moscow State University and, in order to give back to the community, currently volunteer at the LA Public Library Singleton Center as an English Teacher.

Math

ACT Math,

ACT Math

The ACT math, unlike the SAT, isn’t really that tricky - it’s just that it’s a lot more time pressured as you have to make it through 60 questions. In the 5 years that I’ve been tutoring for the ACT, I’ve determined that the key is to blow through the first 20 (which rarely feature tricks) so that you have time for those last 10 that get pretty sticky. We’ll hit all the details you need (remember Alternate Interior Angles from geometry? They’re about to make a cameo here!) while not wasting our time on things that don’t show up. We’ll learn the black arts of picking numbers (an incredibly useful technique, and the exact opposite of what you’ve been taught in every math class) and you’ll go in feeling prepared!
Algebra 1,

Algebra 1

My dad challenged me with mental math problems starting in elementary school. In high school, I was the only girl to attend the after-school advanced math club (that sometimes ran until midnight) to ace the most advanced math problems. I loved being good at algebra, and I loved explaining fast and easy solutions to the most complex problems to my peers. I studied computational linguistics in college, the stepchild of math, computer science, and linguistics, which taught me both math and the ways to explain it. I’ll help you conquer the worst demons of algebra 1 (be it common core, integrated math or homeschool), from incredibly useful factoring techniques like the “big star” method to fractional exponents or breaking down those dreaded word problems, and will leave you a pro!
Algebra 2,

Algebra 2

Over the last 5 years I tutored all the levels of math to elementary, middle, high school and college students (including people from Mathematics Department at Moscow State University). Algebra 2 presents all sorts of new challenges that people struggle with, from factoring gnarly expressions (which can be brilliantly solved by my “big star” method!) to understanding conic sections from hyperbolas to ellipses. You’ll experience exponential growth in your understanding of exponential growth, and when you solve equations, you’ll end up with a solution for “grade” that equals “A”!
Geometry,

Geometry

I’ve tutored Geometry to all levels of students for the last 5 years, starting with elementary school geometry and finishing with HS honors geometry. As an excellent illustrator, I help your student make great progress in terms of creating diagrams that will aid their understanding, understanding the trigonometry that will recur in algebra 2, and addressing the bane of nearly every geometry student: the infamous two-column proof. I delight in watching how my students come to understand the organization and flow that lead to success on these proofs. It’s particularly fun to tutor, since a number of people who struggled with algebra can really bloom in geometry, and the visual awareness and logical thinking that are so crucial to understanding, and succeeding, in geometry will serve them well for years to come.
Prealgebra,

Prealgebra

From early middle school, I was always one of the top three students in math of my year - which meant that I spent most of my days helping friends and acquaintances grapple with how to understand math. I’ve tutored pre-algebra for over 5 years now and developed multiple methods of building the foundation that will stay with your son or daughter for years to come, ensuring that algebra and trig don’t present problems down the line. I help your kid to stay motivated, focused and enjoy and understand math (even if it’s not their favorite subject). I adapt my teaching methods based on the student’s needs and pace, and on the school program (whether it’s common core, homeschool, Singapore math, the Art of Problem Solving, or anything else!).
Precalculus,

Precalculus

Welcome to Algebra II Version 2! Here we get a chance to deepen your understanding of what you learned last year, and fill in whatever holes were left behind. Maybe your hyperbolas look more like ellipses or there is an ellipsis in your understanding of factoring terms with nasty leading coefficients? No problem! The “big star” method of factoring will help rescue you, while my beautiful drawings will help you make short work of limits, preparing you for calculus next year! Over the last 5 years, I've tutored all the levels of math to elementary math, middle school, high school and college students (including people from Mathematics Department at Moscow State University) and found precalculus to be one of my favorites to teach since you can apply everything you’ve learned over the years of math!
SAT Math,

SAT Math

Everyone’s favorite part of high school: the SAT! Whether your son or daughter is struggling and trying to nudge their score up or is already doing great and wants to take the test-prep to the next level, I’m excited to help. I crushed the SAT when I took it and love helping people piece together the tricks of the SAT math section, ensuring that they go into the test fully equipped with right tools (did you know it’s perfectly legal to write programs for your TI-84?) ready to tackle those dastardly word problems and emerge feeling confident!
Physics

Most Popular

Algebra 1,

Algebra 1

My dad challenged me with mental math problems starting in elementary school. In high school, I was the only girl to attend the after-school advanced math club (that sometimes ran until midnight) to ace the most advanced math problems. I loved being good at algebra, and I loved explaining fast and easy solutions to the most complex problems to my peers. I studied computational linguistics in college, the stepchild of math, computer science, and linguistics, which taught me both math and the ways to explain it. I’ll help you conquer the worst demons of algebra 1 (be it common core, integrated math or homeschool), from incredibly useful factoring techniques like the “big star” method to fractional exponents or breaking down those dreaded word problems, and will leave you a pro!
Algebra 2,

Algebra 2

Over the last 5 years I tutored all the levels of math to elementary, middle, high school and college students (including people from Mathematics Department at Moscow State University). Algebra 2 presents all sorts of new challenges that people struggle with, from factoring gnarly expressions (which can be brilliantly solved by my “big star” method!) to understanding conic sections from hyperbolas to ellipses. You’ll experience exponential growth in your understanding of exponential growth, and when you solve equations, you’ll end up with a solution for “grade” that equals “A”!
ESL/ESOL,

ESL/ESOL

I’ve taught ESL and prepared students for the TOEFL, IELTS, and interviews in English - both one-on-one and in groups - for over four years. So far I’ve tutored students from Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Turkish, Iranian, Nepali, Palestinian, Mexican, and Colombian backgrounds. When I took TOEFL I nailed a 99%. Beyond this, I’ve taught English as a Second Language in the Mathematics Department of Moscow State University and, in order to give back to the community, volunteered at the LA Public Library Singleton Center as an English Teacher.
Geometry,

Geometry

I’ve tutored Geometry to all levels of students for the last 5 years, starting with elementary school geometry and finishing with HS honors geometry. As an excellent illustrator, I help your student make great progress in terms of creating diagrams that will aid their understanding, understanding the trigonometry that will recur in algebra 2, and addressing the bane of nearly every geometry student: the infamous two-column proof. I delight in watching how my students come to understand the organization and flow that lead to success on these proofs. It’s particularly fun to tutor, since a number of people who struggled with algebra can really bloom in geometry, and the visual awareness and logical thinking that are so crucial to understanding, and succeeding, in geometry will serve them well for years to come.
Prealgebra,

Prealgebra

From early middle school, I was always one of the top three students in math of my year - which meant that I spent most of my days helping friends and acquaintances grapple with how to understand math. I’ve tutored pre-algebra for over 5 years now and developed multiple methods of building the foundation that will stay with your son or daughter for years to come, ensuring that algebra and trig don’t present problems down the line. I help your kid to stay motivated, focused and enjoy and understand math (even if it’s not their favorite subject). I adapt my teaching methods based on the student’s needs and pace, and on the school program (whether it’s common core, homeschool, Singapore math, the Art of Problem Solving, or anything else!).
Precalculus,

Precalculus

Welcome to Algebra II Version 2! Here we get a chance to deepen your understanding of what you learned last year, and fill in whatever holes were left behind. Maybe your hyperbolas look more like ellipses or there is an ellipsis in your understanding of factoring terms with nasty leading coefficients? No problem! The “big star” method of factoring will help rescue you, while my beautiful drawings will help you make short work of limits, preparing you for calculus next year! Over the last 5 years, I've tutored all the levels of math to elementary math, middle school, high school and college students (including people from Mathematics Department at Moscow State University) and found precalculus to be one of my favorites to teach since you can apply everything you’ve learned over the years of math!
Spanish,

Spanish

Languages have always been my passion, I collect them like mushrooms. I’ve studied nine and taught seven but there’s no doubt that Spanish is my favorite. It actually makes sense! It’s so fun to teach because if you can read it you can say it and vice versa, the grammar actually follows patterns, and here in LA it’s just tremendously useful. My degree is in linguistics and I’ve studied Spanish both here in LA and in Oaxaca, Mexico. I’ve been tutoring languages for over 5 years, and find it incredibly exciting to draw the parallels between different languages and help turn people into polyglots!
Chemistry, Physics

Other

ESL/ESOL

ESL/ESOL

I’ve taught ESL and prepared students for the TOEFL, IELTS, and interviews in English - both one-on-one and in groups - for over four years. So far I’ve tutored students from Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Turkish, Iranian, Nepali, Palestinian, Mexican, and Colombian backgrounds. When I took TOEFL I nailed a 99%. Beyond this, I’ve taught English as a Second Language in the Mathematics Department of Moscow State University and, in order to give back to the community, volunteered at the LA Public Library Singleton Center as an English Teacher.

Science

Chemistry, Physics

Summer

Algebra 1,

Algebra 1

My dad challenged me with mental math problems starting in elementary school. In high school, I was the only girl to attend the after-school advanced math club (that sometimes ran until midnight) to ace the most advanced math problems. I loved being good at algebra, and I loved explaining fast and easy solutions to the most complex problems to my peers. I studied computational linguistics in college, the stepchild of math, computer science, and linguistics, which taught me both math and the ways to explain it. I’ll help you conquer the worst demons of algebra 1 (be it common core, integrated math or homeschool), from incredibly useful factoring techniques like the “big star” method to fractional exponents or breaking down those dreaded word problems, and will leave you a pro!
Algebra 2,

Algebra 2

Over the last 5 years I tutored all the levels of math to elementary, middle, high school and college students (including people from Mathematics Department at Moscow State University). Algebra 2 presents all sorts of new challenges that people struggle with, from factoring gnarly expressions (which can be brilliantly solved by my “big star” method!) to understanding conic sections from hyperbolas to ellipses. You’ll experience exponential growth in your understanding of exponential growth, and when you solve equations, you’ll end up with a solution for “grade” that equals “A”!
ESL/ESOL,

ESL/ESOL

I’ve taught ESL and prepared students for the TOEFL, IELTS, and interviews in English - both one-on-one and in groups - for over four years. So far I’ve tutored students from Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Turkish, Iranian, Nepali, Palestinian, Mexican, and Colombian backgrounds. When I took TOEFL I nailed a 99%. Beyond this, I’ve taught English as a Second Language in the Mathematics Department of Moscow State University and, in order to give back to the community, volunteered at the LA Public Library Singleton Center as an English Teacher.
GED,

GED

Maybe you’ve decided that you want to leave high school to follow your acting dreams. Maybe you never quite got around to it the first time. Whatever the circumstances are, I want to make sure that when you go into the GED, that you feel prepared to take the test and walk out confidently, knowing that you’re going to to have the GED in your hand. I’ll help with all the sections, filling in any math holes, tuning up your reading and grammar, and generally ensuring that you feel good about the test!
Geometry,

Geometry

I’ve tutored Geometry to all levels of students for the last 5 years, starting with elementary school geometry and finishing with HS honors geometry. As an excellent illustrator, I help your student make great progress in terms of creating diagrams that will aid their understanding, understanding the trigonometry that will recur in algebra 2, and addressing the bane of nearly every geometry student: the infamous two-column proof. I delight in watching how my students come to understand the organization and flow that lead to success on these proofs. It’s particularly fun to tutor, since a number of people who struggled with algebra can really bloom in geometry, and the visual awareness and logical thinking that are so crucial to understanding, and succeeding, in geometry will serve them well for years to come.
Russian,

Russian

I’m a native Russian speaker and a professional teacher of Russian as a Foreign Language with extensive teaching experience. Having majored in philology at Moscow State (the premier university in the country), I have an unparalleled command of the language. While living in Russia, I had the opportunity to work as a journalist, translator, proofreader and editor.
SAT Math,

SAT Math

Everyone’s favorite part of high school: the SAT! Whether your son or daughter is struggling and trying to nudge their score up or is already doing great and wants to take the test-prep to the next level, I’m excited to help. I crushed the SAT when I took it and love helping people piece together the tricks of the SAT math section, ensuring that they go into the test fully equipped with right tools (did you know it’s perfectly legal to write programs for your TI-84?) ready to tackle those dastardly word problems and emerge feeling confident!
Spanish,

Spanish

Languages have always been my passion, I collect them like mushrooms. I’ve studied nine and taught seven but there’s no doubt that Spanish is my favorite. It actually makes sense! It’s so fun to teach because if you can read it you can say it and vice versa, the grammar actually follows patterns, and here in LA it’s just tremendously useful. My degree is in linguistics and I’ve studied Spanish both here in LA and in Oaxaca, Mexico. I’ve been tutoring languages for over 5 years, and find it incredibly exciting to draw the parallels between different languages and help turn people into polyglots!
Chemistry, Physics

Test Preparation

ACT English,

ACT English

The ACT English & Reading is all about one thing; moving at the speed of light. 4 long passages with ten questions which means you have to book it through those passages, and I’m here to help you do just that. I’ll help you figure out which questions to go back and check versus which ones you need to just fly through. We’ll help ascertain which definition of “sanction” the passage wants, and I’ll bring my dozen years of studying linguistics to bear on helping you parse the main point of each passage. For the grammar section, it may seem counterintuitive to have a non-native speaker, but in fact, it’s better. Rather than merely appealing to something “sounding good” we’ll teach you the fifteen rules that the test really hits (is it it’s or its?) and teach you how to find dangling modifiers. By the end, you’ll launch in and feel confident you know how best to attack the passages.
ACT Math,

ACT Math

The ACT math, unlike the SAT, isn’t really that tricky - it’s just that it’s a lot more time pressured as you have to make it through 60 questions. In the 5 years that I’ve been tutoring for the ACT, I’ve determined that the key is to blow through the first 20 (which rarely feature tricks) so that you have time for those last 10 that get pretty sticky. We’ll hit all the details you need (remember Alternate Interior Angles from geometry? They’re about to make a cameo here!) while not wasting our time on things that don’t show up. We’ll learn the black arts of picking numbers (an incredibly useful technique, and the exact opposite of what you’ve been taught in every math class) and you’ll go in feeling prepared!
ACT Reading,

ACT Reading

Whether your son or daughter is struggling and is trying to nudge their score up, or is already going great and wants to take it to the next level, I’m excited to help. It might be counter-intuitive, but as a non-native speaker, I know the rules of English grammar that the ACT loves to test on far better than most people who just grew up knowing misplaced modifiers because “it doesn’t sound right” - and can help your kid develop the skills to go with the intuition. For the math, I love helping people piece together the tricks of the ACT, ensuring that they go into the test fully equipped with right tools (did you know it’s perfectly legal to write programs for your TI-84?) ready to tackle those dastardly word problems and emerge feel confident! I’ll teach them the tricks of the trade for science, the section that people tend to be the least familiar with and leave them feeling ready for the big day!
GED,

GED

Maybe you’ve decided that you want to leave high school to follow your acting dreams. Maybe you never quite got around to it the first time. Whatever the circumstances are, I want to make sure that when you go into the GED, that you feel prepared to take the test and walk out confidently, knowing that you’re going to to have the GED in your hand. I’ll help with all the sections, filling in any math holes, tuning up your reading and grammar, and generally ensuring that you feel good about the test!
IELTS,

IELTS

I’ve taught ESL and prepared students for the TOEFL, IELTS and interviews in English - both one-on-one and in groups - for over 4 years. When I took TOEFL I nailed a 99%. Beyond this, I’ve taught English in the Mathematics Department of Moscow State University and, in order to give back to the community, currently volunteer at the LA Public Library Singleton Center as an English Teacher.
SAT Math,

SAT Math

Everyone’s favorite part of high school: the SAT! Whether your son or daughter is struggling and trying to nudge their score up or is already doing great and wants to take the test-prep to the next level, I’m excited to help. I crushed the SAT when I took it and love helping people piece together the tricks of the SAT math section, ensuring that they go into the test fully equipped with right tools (did you know it’s perfectly legal to write programs for your TI-84?) ready to tackle those dastardly word problems and emerge feeling confident!
TOEFL

TOEFL

I’ve taught ESL and prepared students for the TOEFL, IELTS and interviews in English - both one-on-one and in groups - for over 4 years. When I took TOEFL I nailed a 99%. Beyond this, I’ve taught English in the Mathematics Department of Moscow State University and, in order to give back to the community, currently volunteer at the LA Public Library Singleton Center as an English Teacher.

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Featured review

Excellent tutor! Grades are improving

I feel so fortunate to work with Maria for over a year now! She is the best tutor I’ve ever had! English is not my native language, and so writing essays for my ESL and English 1 classes was just a complete disaster for me. Maria helped me tremendously: she is very knowledgeable, and pushed me to find interesting arguments for my essays and made sure grammar and sentence structure were perfect. Apart from writing essays we worked a lot on speaking, vocabulary, and grammar. She makes the conversation flow, so that it’s really interesting to talk to her - I don’t have a language barrier anymore and really feel how my English improved. She is very patient, fun, and clearly enjoys teaching. She is always really well-prepared, brings various texts, games, and vocabulary lists with her, and gives you a lot of homework if you want to work on your English at home. I’m amazed how good her English is for a non-native speaker - she is a great example that learning a new language can be fun, fast, and productive!

Anna, 9 lessons with Maria

Knowledgeable and patient instructor.

Maria was very helpful and easy to work with on scheduling and billing. She was knowledgeable in the material (Algebra II and Trig). Maria is very patient and willing to go over the problems as many times as necessary.

Marcia, 2 lessons with Maria

Amazing

If you are in LING 285 at USC there is no tutor more knowledgeable than Maria. She makes difficult easy to understand and quite literally is the reason I did not fail the class. Highly recommend!

Will, 8 lessons with Maria

Knowledgeable and patient tutor.

If you're currently a USC student who's taking LING-285: Human Language and Technology, then this is the tutor for you. She helped me immensely with my final project and gave great strategies for my upcoming final.

Mica, 1 lesson with Maria

Knowledgable and patient tutor

She helped my son with math word problems and ratios. I heard some light bulbs going off while they were working together. I also heard him say "wow, you are really good at math!" When I asked him if he would like to work with her again he said yes!

REBECCA, 1 lesson with Maria

Joyful and smart

My daughter looks forward to Maria's visits - yes, to do homework. I can't tell you how much that contrasts with doing homework all the years prior to Maria.

Peter, 24 lessons with Maria

very knowledgeable tutor

Maria is a great teacher, understanding her material very well and teaching it to her student. she is a wonderful person to work with. Maria is easy to schedule with and always helpful.

Ella, 17 lessons with Maria

Effective and engaging tutor

My daughter (USC junior) met with Maria to review Linguistics. My daughter was relieved that a challenging subject could be explained in understandable terms. This has enhanced her sense of confidence as she moves forward.

Gillian, 4 lessons with Maria

Patient and smart

So sweet and patient. Knows how to put my daughter at ease and enjoy learning. Very accommodating with our hectic schedule. I highly recommend her as a high school tutor.

Samantha, 36 lessons with Maria

Very knowledgeable and patient

Excellent tutor and very patient and professional. My daughter was able to understand everything. They reviewed and if my daughter didn't grasp it at that moment Maria explained in a simple way so she could get it. We are very pleased with Maria. I would recommend her in a heartbeat.

Luisa, 3 lessons with Maria
Contact Maria

Response time: 23 minutes

$120/hour

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Maria L.

$120/hour

  • No subscriptions or upfront payments

  • Only pay for the time you need

  • Find the right fit, or your first hour is free

Contact Maria

Response time: 23 minutes