Acting, English Practice, And Reading/Writing Tutoring

As a decendant of two American born, college educated, native English speakers, I was born and raised in the United States (Colorado and New Jersey). I am very grateful that I received an excellent education. I excelled in school, especially in English (reading and writing). I am a college graduate from Syracuse University.

I am now a film and stage actor in NY and in other states. I have also worked in the restaurant industry for many, many years. It has been my job to communicate effectively in a professional setting for almost 20 years.

I know that non-native English speakers must work twice as hard as native speakers in this country to perform the same jobs. You may be more intelligent or have a better understanding of life than those born in the United States but you may get less respect or feel inferior because of language barriers. I applaud your determination to improv your English and I highly respect your inherent worth as a fellow human being. I will treat you as an equal every step of the way in our journey together regardless of your educational background or language skill level.

My process of tutoring in English and improving conversational and language skills will be fun as well as educational. I will use some of my acting training in our work to not only improve your English, but also to improve your articulation and help you access an American accent. When we first meet I will hear your goals and your needs, give you an assessment of where I see that you might benefit from improvement and we will move forward from there together. We will insure that we are on the same page, and check in about that often, so that we can get you what you want and need out of our sessions.

Designing our lesson plans will be a collaborative process. We will work on specific challenges you want to address and on the areas I see you struggling with. I will make sure you are learning what you need to and also having fun.

If desired, I can also give you small exercises to work on between our time together so that you can practice more, but this is by no means a requirement.

I have worked with native Spanish and Chinese (Cantonese and Manderine) speakers, but I am not an ESL teacher. The only language I am fluent in is English. I believe this is a plus for us both. You and I will only speak in English, except for when we can't. Imursive language learning is always best. We will use google translate to communicate if we hit any large translation hurdles. I look forward to those moments. Challenges are what make learning fun. I want to emphasize that I am not pretending to be better or know more than anyone who is trying to improve their English skills because your English skills are Lilly much better than mine are in your first language. You may even speak several other languages! However, I do speak and understand English like a pro. After not too long, I believe you will too. And don't be surprised if you teach me along the way!

There is no skill level requirement to begin working with me. We will start at wherever you are right now.

I look forward to meeting you, helping you improv your English, and becoming friends.

I have worked along side many non-native or non-fluent English speakers and have seen how challenging it can be for brilliant people from outside the country to feel comfortable and confident in the work place in the United States. That observation spurred my desire to tutor in English. People in my professional settings, with just a little help from me, have felt so much better about themselves and their relationship to the world around them after making even small improvements to their language skills. It brings me great joy to bear witness to that experience and to get to help others.

Working with people of different cultures and who have had different life experiences helps me feel more connected to the world around me. I believe that the world should be connected, kind, and joyful. I do my best to create that world in my sessions. If that fits your desired experience, we will have a wonderful time working together.