Ted Phelps
About
I think that helping, which is what 'teaching' is charged with being, requires an ability to sense what help is really wanted and useful and ready to go. So, I listen and look for where I can be of service. I believe that language is itself a means for helping each other and that English can be flexed in many diverse directions to meet a given purpose.
Helping in a specific way that the other person(s) find particularly useful. I enjoy working on the underlying intention of a piece of writing and then choosing the best structures, order, styles, and finally words.
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
Getting to know where they are in their current skills and where they want to get to in the coming year. I work with intention. There is an intention for learning that can be cleaned up, and when writing and speaking, intention leads the way and carries us through all kinds of so-called errors. People feel what we are trying to do. Practice, of course, is important. It has a dull name, 'homework.' But it is doing instead of talking about. We need all of that.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I have a BA in psychology, linguistics, and art from Yale. I have also taught tutoring sessions with hundreds of people learning meditation in a particular way (culturally neutral and health-oriented. Natural Meditation. See naturalmeditation.org
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
One-hour online sessions are $50. I do not charge anything, though, for initial session or the second, during which we figure out whether or not I am useful to the learner in this case.
How did you get started teaching?
I had a brother and sister at home. After college, I taught meditation, and I still do.
What types of students have you worked with?
I have worked with a Vietnamese monk who can barely speak. Also with a novelist. I have had hundreds of students of Natural Meditation.
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
I am fond of a monthly open mic based on spoken creative words by the speakers. It is a warm, inviting space that is helps draw creative juices from all. People have such a warming effect on creativity when they know how to do that.
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
First, to know yourself in the sense in my next answer about questions you should ask. For English, give the person a session or two to see if he or she is interested in your particular case. Or do they just want to push stuff onto you?
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
English, or any basic topic, has many different levels and directions, and each of them alter the course of learning. It would be important to learn from other sources, including your school, as to where you currently are in the field and then where you want to get to in, say, the coming year. For a simple example, there is a huge difference between learning to write a language and learning to speak aloud the written word, not to mention have interactive conversation.