"Hi, I'm Steve! In 2003, I had the opportunity to move to Yokohama, Japan to teach in an English language school. I had no experience at the time, but was trained by the company that hired me. What I thought would be a one-year commitment turned into four years! After getting wonderful training from my original company, I transferred to a Japanese middle school and was introduced deeply into the Japanese lifestyle. During this time abroad, most of my teaching was directed at young children, college students, business workers, and retired adults. My methodology was primarily the PPP approach.

Upon returning to the U.S., I realized how much I loved teaching ESL and wanted to make it my career. I was fortunate to have obtained a position with a wonderful language school based here in Chicago. Classes were composed of students from all over the world, were limited to 15 students, and utilized a variety of classroom methodologies. In addition, we were given the chance to participate in monthly workshops, weekly outdoor activities, and be directly responsible for student grades and feedback.

With fifteen years of teaching experience, I've been exposed to and experimented with many different teaching methodologies, and populations. I always make my lessons student centered, giving the students as much opportunity as possible to practice the target language. My classes are always fun and relevant to the students' needs. With regards to certification, I have certification in TEFL as well as TESL and have experience teaching TOEFL and IELTS.

I encourage you to contact me if you have any questions regarding how we can meet your ESL goals. I look forward to helping you to the best of my abilities." less...