Experienced German and ESL/EFL Teacher of All Ages

Dana S.

Hi, I’m Dana! I graduated magna cum laude with B.A. in German (major) and completed my M.A. in German at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. It was there I first discovered my passion for teaching and was honored by being added to the List of Teachers Ranked by Students as Excellent. I went on to teach English (EFL) as a lecturer at the Universität Regensburg in Germany. Since moving back to the U.S., I have worked in editing and translation, and taught ESL in the public school system (K-12 and Adult Ed.) and German at the University of Louisville and Indiana University Southeast. Over my 20 years of teaching, I have taught a wide area of subjects and broad range of students from as young as three to those in their 60s.

One of the most important things to me, is to instill a sense of confidence in my students. I believe learning a language doesn’t have to be intimidating and I love seeing students grow in their language skills as they gain confidence. I also think, though, that it’s important to have fun in the classroom and so I strive to create a relaxed atmosphere with engaging activities – where it’s ok to make mistakes and laugh.

When I teach foreign languages, my goal is for us to speak the target language the majority of the time, since I believe in the immersive experience. While I find the communicative approach useful to language learning, I can and do offer explicit grammar instruction. I adapt to the goals of my students and am open to hear what they like or would like to do differently in our lessons. I’m happy to integrate suggestions and materials that students would like to bring into class. I create lesson plans based on the goals of my students and generally assign work after each lesson to reinforce learning. I can also tailor this homework to the individual student’s needs and schedule. If you have any questions or would like to schedule a lesson, feel free to contact me! Looking forward to meeting you!