"Hello! My name is Raleigh S. I am originally from Houston, TX and I have also lived in Tucson, AZ and in Denver, CO. I majored in Spanish and Portuguese and minored in French at the University of Arizona in Tucson where I graduated magna cum laude with honors with a Bachelor of Arts. I also attended graduate school at the same institution and earned my Master's degree in Hispanic Linguistics. I worked at the university as a tutor in Spanish and Linguistics for two semesters and as a Spanish instructor for seven semesters. In Colorado I taught advanced Spanish courses to both English-speakers and heritage learners at the high school and university levels, and I have worked as a translator and interpreter. I love teaching and learning foreign languages and I would love to help you learn them as well. My specialty is Spanish (all levels), but I also tutor in French (all levels), Portuguese (all levels) and in English as a second language. As a linguist, I have a very good understanding of how people learn a language and the problems that students have in the process. My past studies of phonetics and phonology also allow me to greatly help students improve their pronunciation. I know that learning a language can be hard (especially for adults), but I believe that anyone can do it with enough dedication and with a knowledgeable teacher to guide them. Generally, in both my classroom and private lessons I like to employ a well-rounded approach, emphasizing all the important aspects of speaking, listening, reading and writing and including a variety of materials such as short readings, videos, and music in addition to the more ordinary grammar and vocabulary lessons. I believe this method provides the best overall command of the language. I am also good at tailoring a customized curriculum for those who have specific interests. Contact me for more information; I would love to get to know you and help you be successful!" less...