New Jersey-based ESL and French teacher

Ben W.

I am a New Jersey and NYC–based ESL and French tutor who most recently spent seven months in France through the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF) teaching English to each level at three different primary schools, with my students ranging from 2 to 12 years old. I graduated from Temple University, where I majored in journalism, minored in French, and was a part of the executive board for the school's debate team. From middle school through to college, I studied French for slightly over 10 years.

While doing TAPIF, I taught entirely in English with varied lesson plans for each level, including dozens of presentations and worksheets on English vocabulary, grammar, and phrases, and on American culture and traditions. Songs, games, motions, flash cards, and videos are usually incorporated into my lessons, as I love to teach through music and with a sense of humor. I was proud to see by the end of the school year that, through my teaching techniques, almost all of my students showed marked improvement in their pronunciation and, more importantly, their confidence and willingness to speak English.

While in France, I also worked as an English tutor with three different clients ranging from 13 to 18 years old on their English proficiency skills, mostly spoken. After one week of tutoring every day, a university student whom I worked with went from an average of 8 (or C-) on their weekly oral exam up to 12.5 (or B). With each client, I focused largely on prepositions, conjugation, and pronouns, as well as how to pronounce sounds and words in English not usually found in French.

My biggest goals while teaching are to tap into students' preexisting potential by understanding their particular learning style and to create a judgment-free learning environment where they feel comfortable expressing their doubts, questions, and thoughts about the language. If you'd like to schedule a lesson or have any questions, reach out to me any time!