Experience Summary
I have taught adults, Vietnamese Boat asylum seekers, kids in suburban after-school enrichment programs, middle school and high school students with decoding and other learning issues that require personalized attention. My attention to detail, ability to motivate and deliver appropriate pedagogical activities is grounded in my deep interest in my students and my ability to analyze and guide them so that they trust me and the process.
Teaching Style
I was trained in the Standford System (Foreign Language Educ. Major, Miami Univ., Ohio '75) which emphasizes teaching the target language in the target language itself. So I do not teach by translating, but, rather, encourage a student to feel comfortable enough to be confused because "confusion is the garden of learning." My honorable responsibility is to bring my student into an environment of clues and information that stimulate natural curiosity. I employ a lot of humor, much of it targeted at myself.At the end of each lesson the student is able to digest and tell what s/he figured out, that is, what was learned and how to apply it in the future. Each lesson concluded with a sense of accomplishment for the student as well as for me.