Turkish with MICHAEL T.

I have been teaching foreign languages for over 15 years including almost five years of teaching Arabic at the university level. I have been a small group instructor and private tutor as well to help students of Arabic, French, Farsi, and Turkish. Although these languages are very different, learning each one has made me better at the others as I develop nuances for the vocabulary, grammar and other lexical features of the languages. I have also lived abroad for almost seven years affording me the opportunity to understand the cultures of the peoples and to gain proficiency akin to a native speaker. I love learning new languages myself and sharing them with others. This has fueled my drive to learn new languages as well as teach. I have learned various languages through traditional classroom studying, private tutoring, and self instruction. The combination of these methods has helped me to learn the challenges that students face in learning foreign languages and the techniques that work to make you successful. I am a native English speaker and have acquired near native proficiency in Arabic by living in the Arabic speaking world for almost 7 years and teaching the language for over 15 years. My study of Arabic and Middle Eastern History led me to pursue additional studies in French, Farsi, and Turkish so that I could conduct more in depth research in these languages and also to assist me as I traveled through the region. Each language helps to unlock some of the more difficult aspects of the other language and helps to explain the similarities and differences of the languages and provides me with a unique set of tools to explain the "how?" and "why?" questions that generates from students' natural curiosity. To teach your own native language, in my case English, it is immensely helpful to learn another foreign language. As I struggled to learn to speak others' languages, it helped me greatly to better understand my own. I enjoy using this advantage to help English as a Second Language students understand the intricacies of the language wile quickly grasping the most fundamental aspects required to communicate effectively in English.