Effective ESL Instructor and Accent Reduction Coach for Adults

Maggie H.

My Best Tutor Ever!

If you are looking for a tutor who will exceed your expectations, Maggie is that person. Her vibrant outgoing personality makes tutoring sessions fun and engaging, while her incredible teaching skills, extensive experience, and tailored approach help you perfect your English with ease. My story is as follows: I had a pressing need to improve my writing. My level of English is something between “pretty-good-for-a-foreigner” and “but-you-are-still-a-foreigner.” It took me more than three frustrating months to find a tutor who could actually help me. My first tutor could not identify my issues and said here was nothing to work on. When I told my second tutor that I had issues with articles, he wasted my time explaining the difference between the articles “A” and “An.” Never mind that I had sent him a six-page legal memorandum to give him a sense of my English. He simply ignored it and came unprepared, but had no qualms about charging a fee. My third tutor had no system whatsoever. I could go on with a number of other ridiculous situations I encountered during my search. However, the point is that I wasted too much time. Luckily for me, my tutor search brought me to Maggie. By the end of our first session, I told myself, “Well, now you are in good hands!” In contrast to prior tutors, Maggie quickly evaluated my level and identified the areas which needed improvement. What I loved most was that she developed a system specifically tailored to my needs; I did not have to think about what to do next. Maggie does more than I ever expected. She sends multiple grammar references and exercises. Be prepared, at a certain point you may be inundated with information! She often reviews my writing samples before we meet and follows up afterwards with materials on issues encountered during the session. On top of everything, Maggie is a very talented teacher who has a unique ability to break down some of the most confusing English grammar rules. Maggie has armed me with all of the necessary tools, and I have had no choice other than to improve my writing. In fact, my writing has significantly improved. Maggie has converted me into a fan of online tutoring sessions. I had mistakenly believed that in-person sessions were superior in quality to online sessions. Thus, for first six months I had only in-person sessions with Maggie. I cannot believe how much time I wasted on commuting. Aware of my long commute (about 45 minutes each way), Maggie suggested trying online sessions several times. However, being a creature of habit, I kept resisting until one day I finally tried one and absolutely loved it. Since then, I have only met with Maggie online. Online sessions provide the same quality of tutoring as in-person sessions in a more efficient manner, and Wyzant’s interactive platform enhances the experience.

Zulfia, 54 lessons with Maggie

Yes,she is a knowledgeable teacher. I felt it from the first lesson. Thank you ⚘️

I liked that we could talk about everyday things and my teacher was able to explain both grammar and pronunciation to me. It was a very engaging and useful lesson.

Anita , 17 lessons with Maggie

Experienced and knowledgeble teacher

Maggie was excellent at teaching me how to pronounce certain words. She gave me helpful video links so that I can keep practicing between sessions. Her 30-minute session was very helpful.

Hiromi, 29 lessons with Maggie

Improving accent by becoming a better listener

I'm writing this review after 30 lessons with Maggie. We have been meeting every week for 8 months. Did I improve my English? Significantly! Did I like the experience? Absolutely! Our lessons were structured as discussions of my short 2-3 paragraph answers to various entertaining prompts. We spent the first half of a lesson talking about style and word choice. "Native speakers wouldn't say it this way" was the most frequent and helpful comment I received from Maggie. This comment made me pay a lot more attention to how I build my sentences when writing or speaking. The second half of the lesson was dedicated to accent reduction. Oh, man! Sometimes this is literally a tongue twister. For me it's just impossible to pronounce all sounds of American English correctly but now I realize where I have problems. I also want to mention Maggie's exceptional editorial skills. It's amazing how much clearer my paragraphs become when Maggie deletes unnecessary words (which sometimes constitutes half of all my writing). I formalized it to myself as Maggie's golden rule: "When in doubt, throw it out". I think that is the most useful rule I've ever learned. I'm sure that both the style of this review and word choice are not perfect. I continue working on that. However, I hope that my main point is clear. I recommend Maggie as a great English tutor to everybody who is looking to improve their language skills in a fun learning environment. Below you can read my first review written after 10 lessons with Maggie. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I wanted to share my experience after having 10 lessons with Maggie. I have lived in the States for 20 years and finally I decided to improve my accent. I'm very happy with my progress after working with Maggie for 2 months. I'm sure that my accent has improved but this is not what I’m most excited about. Maggie helped me to become a better listener and to use my everyday conversations to improve my English. We identified the sounds, which I pronounce incorrectly, and I started to listen for those sounds when talking to native speakers. My next step was to pay attention to other details such as verb tenses and word choice. Daily analysis of real-life examples reinforces the learning I've got from Maggie's lessons and makes it easier for me to speak naturally. Maggie's approach works well for me, and I recommend her to everyone who is looking for a great English tutor.

Victor, 30 lessons with Maggie

A wonderful tutor

Maggie is a wonderful teacher. She knows how to assess my language skills and choose adequate text books that match my level. She is patient while helping me correct my mistakes. Thanks to her, my accent has improved a lot, and my English writing also became much better. Maggie is definitely a great tutor for anyone seeking to improve English speaking and writing skills.

Harry, 46 lessons with Maggie

Great American accent class!

Great first lesson. Maggie spent time explaining how to physically pronounce and pay attention to where in my mouth/throat it should come from. Looking forward to more sessions

Sara, 2 lessons with Maggie

last minute help!

Maggie provided me with help on a last minute project and gave me great support! I am going to request her from now on!

Ryan, 2 lessons with Maggie

Focused, efficient and kind.

Maggie helped edit some essays. She ensured good use of time with clear call outs of problem areas (small like punctuation and large like repeated use of “I” in personal narrative) and was kind to make me feel they were still in good shape :) Thank you!

Vinu, 4 lessons with Maggie

Maggie is extremely professional

Maggie is very professional, i recommend her for American accent improvement and looking forward working with her. Thank you Maggie! ...

Vadim, 4 lessons with Maggie

great teacher.

I have never had a tutor before, but Maggie is showing me how having one is totally worth of time and money invested in. I just had 2 classes so far, and in both of them , she was patient and helpful.I am looking forward to learning much more with her. Thank you Maggie, you are the best.

Jennifer , 31 lessons with Maggie