Russian with Elena E.

If you are looking for an experienced and dedicated teacher to help you get high scores on TOEFL or IELTS or to prepare for college admission in the USA, look no more. As a current teacher at an intensive English program in Georgia, USA, I have been teaching grammar, reading, writing, listening, speaking, and test prep to students applying to colleges in English-speaking countries or improving their English to be better qualified for professional growth. I am also pretty comfortable working on more general goals such as daily conversation, US culture, reading for content, etc. Here is my philosophy of teaching in a very very brief form: I am a big believer in needs analysis and diagnostic. Before any goals are set, it is imperative to understand students' backgrounds, aspirations for their future, and proficiency levels. Additionally, I believe that setting tangible goals drives improvement and increases motivation. Finally, feedback, feedback, feedback! Intonation or vocabulary usage, personalized and specific feedback is what my students get and love. As far as methodology goes, I am pretty eclectic. Again, methods and approaches are chosen based on students' needs. Sometimes we just have to work on drilling sounds and intonation or some simple grammar concepts like “do/does”, while at other times open conversation is the best way to practice the same content. One key component that doesn’t change is the focus on the student. I work hard on planning my lessons so that my students do most of the work during class. I also strive to contextualize everything around real life by choosing materials that are recent and relevant.