Special Educator, certified Kindergarten-12th grade.

Mary S.

A Great Teacher Who Truly Cares

From the radio, 40 years ago, I began to learn English as a foreign language; I never had a teacher teach me about phonics. How important is phonics? I never paid attention to phonics until I experienced two major life events: 1. People have difficulty understanding me. For instance, when people ask me, “Could you spell your name and street address letter by letter?” My answer is always the same: “Can I have your phone number, so I can text you since my pronunciation is horrible,” but that doesn’t work if I want to make an appointment with doctors, since the front desk will not give me a personal phone number so I can text. 2. One life-threatening experience made me decide to learn English. A few years ago, in Phoenix, I was rushed to the ER due to GI bleeding, a life-threatening condition. After reading the blood test results, the doctor asked me, “Do you want a blood transfusion?” I said, " No"; “Do you want an iron supplement?” I said, “No” again. However, in that urgent situation, as I’d lost so much blood, a blood transfusion and iron supplements were crucial for me to recover. I did not understand the questions the doctor was asking me, nor the word IRON since I did not know how to pronounce it correctly, so I responded, “No” to both questions, and I did not receive a blood transfusion nor an iron supplement, and I almost lost my life. Thursday, October 8, 2026, was one of my lucky days of the year; I found Mary on Wyzant. Mary is a very professional English teacher; she is friendly, patient, responsible, considerate, detail-oriented, and flexible on schedule. She customized an individual plan to best use the lesson hour to improve my English pronunciation. Most of all, her teaching style is fantastic; what I learned from her in just two hours will benefit me the rest of my life. She taught me A-to-Z phonics, all 5 vowels and 21 consonants, in a particular way within that short period of time. That first lesson was life-changing for me; It solved my many years of difficulty with phonics as a non-native speaker. Moreover, it built my confidence to speak English in public- no more hiding, no more avoiding. It, however, is only the beginning; I am very much looking forward to her next lesson with her. I’m hoping to explore more areas in English, such as writing, reading, etc. No matter if you are a student or a housewife like me, if you want to learn phonics accurately and efficiently, I recommend Mary to you! Thank you for reading my story, and best wishes to you. I hope you find the right tutor for your needs!

Linda, 1 lesson with Mary