"I've been teaching and tutoring languages since September 2006. I first tutored college students in Spanish classes ranging from 101 to more advanced grammar courses. After graduating with a degree in Spanish, I began teaching English as a second language (ESL or ESOL) to adults, which I've continued doing to this day. I taught middle and high school Spanish for a year and then K-5 Spanish while starting a teaching licensure program, which I finished with a 4.0. I've tutored ESL and Spanish over the years, mostly outside of Wyzant.

I've also been a learner of languages since I first started taking Spanish seriously in high school. I took two Japanese and two Mandarin classes in college and have since taken two very brief French classes and some private Korean lessons. Learning new languages helps me experience and remember what it's like to be a student.

When I first started teaching, I had a very grammar-focused approach. However, since then I've learned the value of comprehensible input (CI) and have made my classes far more engaging as a result. I also started learning about second language acquisition (SLA), which really solidified the limited nature of conscious knowledge about language. This has completely changed my view of how languages are acquired and how they should be "taught" in a class setting. Ideally, learners should be focused on meaning while understanding and interacting with what they hear or read in level-appropriate ways for a non-practice purpose.

Although I can help students who may be in situations where they have to memorize vocab and grammar and consciously understand language, any tutor can do that. My preferred approach is to align what I do with SLA research by creating experiences where learners comprehend and interact with input for a communicative purpose without correcting errors, drilling knowledge, or sheltering or sequencing grammar." less...