ESL Teacher in Charlottesville, VA with Background in Linguistics and Experience in Asia and the US.

- Charlottesville
- at your home

About the lesson

I prefer a relaxed approach to language learning. I am a naturally curious person and I approach language as something to be puzzled out, rather than lists of rules and tables to be memorized and regurgitated. We learn the rules, but when possible we also look at the languages that English is related to/ descended from and see why sentence structure or spelling is the way it is. We use everyday scenarios and current events to give us a subject to work with and targeted vocabulary to use.
With my background in linguistics and voice, I have a good ear and can help students learn and master standard pronunciation and avoid the pitfalls and difficulties of a heavy accent. I like to use music when applicable to a lesson, especially with kids, as the repetition and rhythm help with memorization.

subjects

English Vocabulary
ESL
English speaking
+3

English reading

English listening

English phonetics

languages

English

levels

All Levels

About Maryanne

After getting my CELTA, I volunteered in my local community for a year and a half before taking a job in Thailand as a foreign language teacher for children in grades 2-9 for a year. While in Thailand I found myself fascinated by the process of language acquisition, both for my students who were puzzling out English, and for myself as I puzzled out Thai. After the school year was finished I returned to the US to get a degree in Linguistics from the University of Virginia so that I would have a better background knowledge of language in general that would serve me as I teach English in particular.
I also took voice lessons in high school and again while at UVA, which I have found to be invaluable as it acquainted me better with my own vocal apparatus as a whole and helps me communicate to others the common sounds made in the English language.

Rates

packages

5h: $15
10h: $200