"I am a non-native fluent speaker of Spanish, and studied Spanish all my life. I have lived abroad and done research all over Latin America and Spain. I majored in Spanish, and graduated Cum Laude from Georgetown University. I earned an MA and PhD in Spanish Literature and taught in universities for 12 years. Throughout that time I have been tutoring students at the high school, college, and adult level.

While teaching in the formal college language classroom, I have used the Communicative Approach to language learning, which focuses on Speaking, Listening, Writing as well as Reading, and which centers spoken exchange by every student during every 50 minute class period. This includes both conversational registers as well as presentational, with students at every level frequently giving low-stakes mini-presentations. Grammar material in this type of classroom is contextual and based upon a culturally-informed theme, or on students’ own experience, so as to keep them engaged and avoid rote grammar drills with no connection to a larger topic. I have taught at UC Irvine, University of Portland, and Fairfield University.

While tutoring students, I have adapted to the individual needs of my students. I have worked with middle school students on upper school admissions prep, I have tutored high school students at all levels including International Baccalaureate and AP Spanish, and I have also supported college students enrolled in community college and 4 year programs who simply needed extra reinforcement. I have also tutored home-schooled children from the same family ranging from ages 8-14, and was able to curate a curriculum particular to their needs. I have also worked with adults on conversation and grammar reinforcement. I use my background in Latin American literature and film to introduce texts and current events which we discuss." less...