I’m an experienced language tutor specializing in adult learners.

Karen V.

Raised in a diplomatic family, I was immersed from an early age in multicultural and multilingual environments. Growing up in a fully bilingual French–English household, I developed native-level fluency in both languages—an increasingly rare foundation that informs my work as a language educator. In addition to French and English, I acquired several other languages to varying levels of proficiency, deepening my cross-cultural sensitivity and communicative precision.

Since 2008, I have taught adult learners within Special Operations contexts, initially delivering instruction in person on base and, beginning in 2012, transitioning seamlessly to their online teletraining platform. Over this period, I have provided continuous, uninterrupted instruction, demonstrating adaptability, consistency, and reliability in a highly demanding environment. My pedagogy is grounded in the Communicative Approach, supported by targeted grammar and reference materials that I design and produce to meet the specific operational and linguistic needs of my students. In addition to teaching, I have contributed to curriculum development and was entrusted with the role of proofreader and editor for all instructional materials produced by the French Department’s instructor cohort.

Earlier in my career, during the 1990s, I served as an interpreter for the President of Burundi in the aftermath of genocide—an experience that required exceptional accuracy, discretion, and impartiality. I believe I was selected for this role precisely because of those qualities, which continue to underpin my professional ethos.

Teaching, however, has always been my true vocation. Not a single day has passed in which I have questioned that calling. Guiding students toward clarity, confidence, and mastery of language remains deeply fulfilling, and I take lasting pride in supporting their progress and success.