"Biology major and polyglot. Member of Mensa.

I have over 30 years of experience in laboratory medicine (graduate level certification as a Specialist in Blood Banking from the American Society for Clinical Pathology); am fluent in Spanish with very good abilities in Russian, French and German. Currently teaching conversational Spanish in a program for homeschooled middle school age students. I've taught English as a second language overseas and also in the USA as a tutor for adults wanting to improve their English to gain citizenship.

I possess a high level of understanding of biological processes and systems, and have mentored numerous entry level laboratory technologists in transfusion medicine. With an approachable personality, workers in the lab would come to me with problems, and I was able to guide them on the right path to solve complex transfusion situations. You will find that I have the ability to "translate" complicated topics into understandable terms appropriate to the learner.

I love language, and the English language is a beautiful one! With a solid understanding of several foreign languages in addition to my native American English, I am able to intuit what's making English difficult for the students, and help them find the best way to express themselves with their growing English vocabulary. Reading English is a special challenge, as the language is not 100% phonetic; reading together out loud and using phonics tools when appropriate works wonders.

Many years of both formal and informal study of Spanish, starting in high school and never really stopping, allows me not only to express myself in that musical language, but to understand Spanish as spoken by people from all parts of Latin America and Spain itself. I use Spanish daily, both speaking and reading and writing. Having a grasp of other languages and language families gives me insight to linguistic principles that I can apply to teaching a second language." less...