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Experienced English/ESL Teacher for Interview and Presentation Skills
Estrella C.

5.0 (108 ratings)

577 hours tutoring

Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee
Hourly Rate: $65
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About Estrella

Bio

Hello! My name is Estrella C. My specialty is helping international professionals and immigrants improve their English fluency quickly so they feel comfortable communicating with anyone. I also help ESL clients prepare for job interviews and fine-tune their presentations to an American audience.

Let me give you a few examples.

The vice president of a Japanese firm wants to feel comfortable conversing in English with his American customers. He frequently entertains them, so he...

Hello! My name is Estrella C. My specialty is helping international professionals and immigrants improve their English fluency quickly so they feel comfortable communicating with anyone. I also help ESL clients prepare for job interviews and fine-tune their presentations to an American audience.

Let me give you a few examples.

The vice president of a Japanese firm wants to feel comfortable conversing in English with his American customers. He frequently entertains them, so he wants to increase his confidence using English to talk about any topic.

Another client is a Microsoft engineer from China who needed to sell her ideas to directors and vice presidents. We rehearsed her presentation, working on gestures, eye contact, tone, and created opportunities to interact with her audience. Her presentation went so well that she was promoted shortly afterwards.

Another engineer from Japan frequently presents at international conferences. We worked on eye contact, pace of speech, and English expressions that communicate his ideas more clearly and concisely.

One scientist was not presenting herself well in interviews, even though her work is of high quality. In her culture, interviews are conducted very differently. We rehearsed ways to demonstrate her strengths, to expand on her answers so interviewers can know her better. We also worked on eye contact, posture, and other subtle nonverbal communication skills.

These are just a few examples of my approach. My goal is for clients to feel ease and confidence when communicating in English, and to feel a sense of connection with people in their new community. I work with your preferred learning style and individual interests to achieve your goals efficiently. Feel free to request a demo lesson so you can decide if I am the right match for you.

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Education

Seattle University
English Second Ed
University of Washington
MEd

Policies

  • Hourly Rate: $65
  • Rate details: If you are a corporation reaching out on behalf of individual employees for 1-1 sessions, please contact me for rates.
  • Lesson cancellation: 24 hours notice required

  • No background check

  • Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee

Schedule

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Approved Subjects

Career Development

Career Development

I coach clients who are preparing for interviews. Some of these clients are unaccustomed to the interview process in their countries. By rehearsing their answers to align with what interviewers are looking for, offering feedback about body language, eye contact, smiles, etc. my clients feel more confident about the process and do better in the interview as a result. I worked with a software engineer who got her PhD. from China. She wanted to succeed even further in her career. When I met her she was working with Disney. She wanted to be the lead within a couple of years. I shared a skill that had nothing to do with language or cultural understanding. She used it and got that promotion within a few months. 2 years later, I got a call from her. She left Disney to work with Microsoft. She thought her need was to improve her writing. However, it seemed to me that her presentation skills needed to take precedence because she was trying to sell an idea to directors and vice-presidents. She rehearsed the presentation with me several times. We worked on tone of voice, pauses, how to show enthusiasm, using gestures, eye contact, and inviting audience interaction. Her presentation was successful. In fact, she was invited back to present to the senior managers who were absent that day. And she got promoted to the position of director, a promotion that usually would take twice as long within that company. She has since moved to another company as one of their executives. I would be happy to include testimonials from previous clients upon request. Please feel free to email me with your specific question.
English

English

B.A. in English and Secondary Education M.Ed. in English as a Second Language and Post-Secondary Education Coach international clients to become fluent in English and interacting with American friends and colleagues Taught College Writing, Effective Communication, and Organizational Communication at City University Designed customized English programs for non-native English speaking employees in NW companies
ESL/ESOL

ESL/ESOL

My Masters degree is in ESL and Higher Education from the University of Washington. For over 30 years, I have taught ESL to students from many cultural backgrounds, in both classroom settings and in one-on-one sessions. I help my students increase English fluency, develop confidence in their English skills so they can make friends in the new culture more quickly. I help international business clients fine-tune their presentation skills so they are more effective with American audience. I also connect clients with new friends and community resources so they have more support in their new country. I customize my classes to meet the individual needs of my clients. Some engineers want to have their writing revised to reflect proper English, or to practice giving presentations to American customers. Scientists and journalists want to improve their pronunciation so they can communicate more clearly and effectively to their audience. Some business clients want to increase their English conversational skills so they can build relationships with English-speaking clients more easily. I have also worked with university students who want to increase their TOEFL scores so they can more quickly get into their degree program. Some MBA students need help writing their papers to get higher grades. Some immigrants want to increase both their spoken and written English so they can move into higher paying jobs and promote faster in their companies. I help my students understand cultural values of their new environment so they can succeed more quickly.
Grammar

Grammar

My undergraduate degree is in English. I have taught college writing, which includes the usage of correct grammar, as well as ESL to university students, who also require excellent grammar usage to write research papers. In addition, I have written both business and travel articles that were published in business journals and major local newspapers. For some of my business clients, I review their correspondence to make sure that they are using English grammar accurately as well as expressing their ideas clearly and effectively.
Public Speaking

Public Speaking

I assisted Microsoft engineers with their public speaking skills. One software engineer from China needed to sell her ideas to directors and vice presidents. We rehearsed her presentation, working on gestures, eye contact, tone, pauses, and interactions with audience. She reported success with her first presentation. In fact, she was asked to give it a second time to those who were not in the first meeting. I also assisted another Microsoft engineer from Japan with his presentation to international scientists and engineers. We worked on eye contact, pace of speech, and expressions that are more easily understood. For several years, I taught Effective and Efficient Communication at City University. Students are professionals returning to university after many years away from school. 10 presentations are required for the course from each person. I created a safe environment so students feel comfortable exploring their own style of public speaking. I offer helpful suggestions immediately after the presentation that are not perceived as criticism, but as strategies of getting results more effectively. I also coach clients who are preparing for interviews. Some of these clients are unaccustomed to the interview process in their countries. By rehearsing answers, body language, tone, attitude, etc., my clients feel more confident about the process and do better in the interview as a result. I would be happy to include testimonials from previous clients upon request. Please feel free to email me with your specific question.
Voice (Music)

Voice (Music)

I have studied with three professional singers and voice teachers. Two of them trained me in classical techniques. The other performed on Broadway and taught me how to look good on stage. Although I studied as a hobby and not a profession, I was the soloist for over 40 wedding and anniversary celebrations, and have performed with two singing groups. I have an excellent ear, and can give you feedback on how to deliver your musical message effectively and in ways that express your essence.
Writing

Writing

I taught college writing at City University for several years, as well as Effective and Efficient Communications. Many adult students have been working in their field for many years, and some felt quite a bit of anxiety about returning to school, being with classmates with younger students who have had much more practice than they. I formed small groups in the writing class so students feel more comfortable. I set the rule of "only praising" and I am the only one who could offer a "critique". I know I can do it in a way that's easy for the writer to hear, because I lavish praise within the offering of suggestions. The small groups worked very well. Each person let another read their writing outloud (to be admired and honored) and if any clarifications were needed to understand the writing better, the small group members could do so. Quite a few adults left the course feeling much more confident about their ability to express themselves easily in writing.
Reading

Examples of Expertise

Estrella has provided examples of their subject expertise by answering 4 questions submitted by students on Wyzant’s Ask an Expert.

See all of Estrella ’s answers ›
Estrella C.'s Photo

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Ratings and Reviews

Rating

5.0 (108 ratings)
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4 star
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3 star
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Reviews

Best career investment!

Estrella is an amazing teacher and a pleasure to work with. Her suggestions helped me keep the audience engaged throughout. I felt very happy after I gave my presentation. I’m so glad I used her coaching and I will be back.

Juli, 7 lessons with Estrella
Tutor responded:

Wow! Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback, Julie! I thoroughly enjoy working with you. I learned some valuable tips from your presentation and will apply them in my own work. You are a delight to work with!

Knowledge and thoughtful tutor

I am preparing presentation and improving my public speech skills with Estrella. She has many good ideas and instructions which is very helpful for me. She is experienced especially to someone like me that is not born here and English is not my native language.

Binbin, 4 lessons with Estrella

Wonderful teacher! Helped my 3 minute sales pitch.

Estrella is a wonderful teacher. She was helping me to improve fluency of my 3 minute sales pitch for my business. Estrella is very creative in finding various ways to develop my 3 minute sales pitch. I definitely recommend Estrella's services to anybody who would like to make significant progress in speaking English, and getting the confidence to speak in public.

Hawa, 2 lessons with Estrella

Great Tutor

Receiving great feedback from students on class and can see much improvement on the level of communication between students and other employees.

Edward, 29 lessons with Estrella
Hourly Rate: $65
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