Hello prospective students, With my background in Linguistics and Education (Master's Degrees), I am excited to combine two things I love dearly: Teaching and speaking/understanding foreign languages! Since I am originally from the Netherlands, I was fortunate to learn a few languages very well (including English) and my students always remark how well I can help them see the connections between them. The fun part about teaching a language for me is to help the student understand that foreign languages are more related to each other than one thinks, and are thus not so much “strangers” to each other, but more “distant relatives.” My gift is helping students understand that language learning should be fun and not feared. Here are some quotes from previous students: "I really enjoyed his teaching style combined with his personality, you can tell he is incredibly patient and kind. I would highly recommend taking one of his classes to pick up a new language or gain extra practice at all levels!!!" "I recommend Jako for his skills and friendliness in being a teacher for foreign language! I was in his Dutch online class and he made everything easy to understand and learn. He’s very patient and high-skilled in teaching foreign language". "I took one of Jako’s introductory Dutch classes via zoom. I can say so many great things about his teaching and structure of his classes. He is very knowledgeable in teaching the pronunciations and grammar of the language. He is a patient teacher and really invested in having an interactive class. I believe we all felt comfortable with him as a teacher. One of his best strengths is the ability to identify where we were having issues with either grammar or pronunciation." I have more than 20 years' experience teaching Dutch, French, Latin, ESL and Spanish to Adults, Teens and Younger Children and I am happy to be involved with Takelessons!