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Language and communication, natural and easy.
Kathryn E.

5.0 (116 ratings)

552 hours tutoring

Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee
Hourly Rate: $38
Contact Kathryn
Kathryn E.'s Photo

Language and communication, natural and easy.
Language and communication, natural and easy.
Kathryn E.

5.0 (116 ratings)

552 hours tutoring

Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee
5.0 (116 ratings)

552 hours tutoring

Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee

About Kathryn

Bio

Tutoring is serious fun for me. I have just returned from living and working for two years in Moscow, where I tutored Russian students of all ages and at all levels in English as a foreign language. I also taught classes for Language Link Russia, the biggest (and most prestigious) language school in Moscow. There, my students were adults, and I taught all levels of English, including Advanced Business English. Before going to Russia, I was an adjunct college professor for about ten years,...

Tutoring is serious fun for me. I have just returned from living and working for two years in Moscow, where I tutored Russian students of all ages and at all levels in English as a foreign language. I also taught classes for Language Link Russia, the biggest (and most prestigious) language school in Moscow. There, my students were adults, and I taught all levels of English, including Advanced Business English. Before going to Russia, I was an adjunct college professor for about ten years, teaching English to foreign students planning to attend colleges or universities in the USA. In that capacity, I usually taught reading and communication classes, but I have experience teaching writing, too. I also have taught Russian language courses in adult education programs at two colleges. Tutoring is my favorite mode of teaching, however, as it seems to allow for more spontaneity in the teaching-learning relationship.

My educational background is in anthropology (undergraduate degree) and linguistics (two years of graduate school), the combination of which has served me well in teaching English to people from different countries. A knowledge of linguistics allows me to diagnose language learning problems specifically and to offer tailored solutions to those problems. One of my most successful niches, for example, has been accent reduction, which can be very important, as in the case of healthcare workers.

My teaching style is eclectic, relaxed, and supportive, with emphasis on actually using the language as opposed to just learning about the language. My approach is student-centered, paying attention first of all to what students want and need from me, and then depending on my substantive knowledge of the material to find creative ways to help students reach their goals.

Personally, reading has always been as natural and necessary to me as breathing. My interests are broad, so I enjoy reading about all kinds of things, and this helps in my teaching, too. Besides a lot of novels, I read about science, art, history, p

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Education

The University of Florida
Anthropology
Universityof Florida
Graduate Coursework

Policies

  • Tutor’s lessons: In-person
  • Hourly Rate: $38
  • Rate details: For two-hour sessions, I can charge $30.00 per hour, in consideration of reduced traveling time.
  • Travel policy: Within 30 miles of High Springs, FL 32643
  • Lesson cancellation: 2 hours notice required

  • Background check passed on 11/1/2018

  • Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee

Schedule

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Approved Subjects

Business

GRE,

GRE

I scored high on the GRE as a condition of getting into graduate school in Linguistics. I have successfully tutored graduate students in several different fields to help them with various writing projects such as research reports or professional articles. As an adjunct professor of EFL at college level, I have taught reading, writing, and communication classes. In preparation for tutoring the LSAT, I have studied the old LSAT exams. I feel qualified to tutor for the GRE except for the section on mathematics. Someone else could, no doubt, do a better job than I.
Public Speaking

Public Speaking

Public speaking is part of what I have been teaching in ESL for forty years. In formal communications classes at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida, my students studied speech outlining and presentation of speeches. I also created and ran extra credit workshops in skills related to public speaking. In Moscow (Russia), my students were generally older--business people, and other professionals from various fields--who needed to learn how to make formal presentations. My personal experience, too, includes public speaking in a variety of circumstances, both informal and formal, including church, political, and social venues. In general, I have been successful in speaking publicly myself, and in teaching others public speaking skills.

Corporate Training

ESL/ESOL,

ESL/ESOL

ESL/ESOL has been my focus in teaching for the past thirty-five years. Most recently, I was a part time adjunct professor in the ESOL (EPA) college prep program at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida, where I taught for eight years. In 2008, I left SFC to go to Moscow to teach ESOL there for a time in order to improve my spoken-Russian skills (and to fulfill a lifelong dream of experiencing Russia firsthand). I spent almost two years in Moscow working for Language Link International, teaching mostly business English to Russian professionals. In Moscow, I also did quite a lot of private tutoring, of both adults and children. Before teaching at Santa Fe College, I had been teaching ESOL in a variety of part-time positions for about twenty-five years while I did other things, which included government field interviewing, stockbrokering (which involved a stint doing the Morning Market Report for radio station WFOY in St. Augustine), counseling, and studying then practicing Chinese traditional medicine. My formal education includes a BA in anthropology and two years' graduate studies in applied linguistics. During this time, I taught as a graduate assistant in the University of Florida's English Language Institute, and in the UF English Department, teaching the ESOL course. In St. Augustine, Florida, in the 1980's, I taught ESOL in the adult education program for several years. In Clearwater, Florida, I taught for the Pinellas County School District in their outreach adult education ESOL program (while attending three years of training in traditional Chinese medicine.) My university training, my life experiences, and all the wonderful people in my family and also from around the world, have taught me much about life, human relations, and teaching and learning. Tutoring, without a doubt, remains my favorite way to teach, and ESOL is my favorite subject.
Grammar,

Grammar

My educational experience studying linguistics has given me a deeper understanding of grammar. Linguistics is the science of language, and it delves into the underlying logic of grammatical forms. I am often able to draw on this knowledge in explaining grammar to students in such a way that they can understand and remember forms that otherwise might seem senseless and difficult. Grammar can be fun!
Proofreading,

Proofreading

As an English teacher (ESOL), I have honed my skills as proofreader to such an extent that I proofread compulsively and involuntarily, helplessly noting the typos and incorrect words in everything I read. As a linguist by training, I am nonjudgmental about people's use of language in communication. But often an error in usage, especially in writing, can cause troublesome ambiguity that wastes time and energy. So I hope my uncomfortable compulsion can be put to good use! I have experience as a teacher of English writing classes, as sometime proofreader and editor of two small local newspapers and of a literary journal with national distribution.
Public Speaking,

Public Speaking

Public speaking is part of what I have been teaching in ESL for forty years. In formal communications classes at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida, my students studied speech outlining and presentation of speeches. I also created and ran extra credit workshops in skills related to public speaking. In Moscow (Russia), my students were generally older--business people, and other professionals from various fields--who needed to learn how to make formal presentations. My personal experience, too, includes public speaking in a variety of circumstances, both informal and formal, including church, political, and social venues. In general, I have been successful in speaking publicly myself, and in teaching others public speaking skills.
Russian

Russian

At the age of sixteen, I met a young man who spoke some Russian, and he began to teach me Russian, like a game, along with chess. At Indiana University, where we went after we had married two years later, I entered Slavic Area Studies and studied Russian formally, along with the history and culture of the Slavic peoples. We did not stay together, but my Russian language stayed with me and shaped my life in subtle ways for years to come. Back in Europe again, as a young woman living in Paris but not knowing French, I gravitated to places where Russian was spoken. There were many at that time, like the Russian restaurant where I found a job. Later still, in graduate school at University of Florida, majoring in linguistics, I once again picked up my formal study of the Russian language, using it as my minor. Having always enjoyed the company of people from Russia, I have spent time with many native speakers of Russian. Most recently, I have had the pleasure of living and working in Moscow for nearly two years. During some of all these years, I held current certification from the State of Florida to teach Russian. I have tutored Russian, and I have taught several courses in community education settings, including at Santa Fe College in Gainesville. Russian is a beautifully rich language.

Elementary Education

Elementary (K-6th),

Elementary (K-6th)

My qualifications for tutoring children K-6 rest on the breadth of my experience teaching in general, and on my practical experience working with children. I have been active in the education of my own four sons and their twelve children, my grandchildren. In addition to this, I have formally tutored several young children from other countries. I like working with children and have good results teaching them. I have been teaching the Russian language to my neighbors' children for the past four years, for example, on an informal basis, but very successfully.
Grammar,

Grammar

My educational experience studying linguistics has given me a deeper understanding of grammar. Linguistics is the science of language, and it delves into the underlying logic of grammatical forms. I am often able to draw on this knowledge in explaining grammar to students in such a way that they can understand and remember forms that otherwise might seem senseless and difficult. Grammar can be fun!
Phonics,

Phonics

My years of using the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) in my teaching foreign students the sounds of English--how to make them and how to recognize them in speech--surely qualifies me to teach elementary phonics. More specifically, I have helped several of my grandchildren and other children of my acquaintance learn to read through phonics. I'm a great believer in the usefulness of phonics as a tool for reading.
Reading,

Reading

I taught reading at college level at Santa Fe College from 2001 to 2008.
Vocabulary

Vocabulary

Four years of high school Latin has given me a lifelong good foundation for vocabulary learning and teaching. In addition, I have taken college level Greek and Latin derivatives courses for the medical field. In graduate level linguistics, I studied semantics. All my life, I have been an avid reader of literature from all genres, and of articles in literary magazines, scientific journals, and quality newspapers. My working vocabulary is very broad.

English

ACT Reading,

ACT Reading

For one year in the eighties, I was the lead instructor in the GED Lab at St. Augustine Vocational College, where we focused on effective reading skills. For about twenty years, I taught English classes for foreign students in several places in Florida. I have completed two years' graduate studies in Applied Linguistics (how to teach languages). At Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida, I taught ESL Reading (for foreign students preparing to enter US colleges or universities). These courses were designed to give the student many tools for fast and efficient reading at college level.
English,

English

I have been teaching and tutoring English-as-a-Foreign-Language for thirty-plus years. As training, I studied Applied Linguistcs for two years in graduate school. As a graduate student, I taught in the English Department of University of Florida in Gainesville. After other ESOL teaching assignments in Florida, I taught as an adjunct professor at Santa Fe College in Gainesville from 2001 to 2008. From 2008 to 2010, I taught for a private language school in Moscow. ESOL is my focus subject, but my training and experience are relevant to teaching English to native speakers of English as well as to foreign students. I have taught classes in reading, writing, and speaking English. As a tutor, I have taught students of all ages, and at all levels of learning.
ESL/ESOL,

ESL/ESOL

ESL/ESOL has been my focus in teaching for the past thirty-five years. Most recently, I was a part time adjunct professor in the ESOL (EPA) college prep program at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida, where I taught for eight years. In 2008, I left SFC to go to Moscow to teach ESOL there for a time in order to improve my spoken-Russian skills (and to fulfill a lifelong dream of experiencing Russia firsthand). I spent almost two years in Moscow working for Language Link International, teaching mostly business English to Russian professionals. In Moscow, I also did quite a lot of private tutoring, of both adults and children. Before teaching at Santa Fe College, I had been teaching ESOL in a variety of part-time positions for about twenty-five years while I did other things, which included government field interviewing, stockbrokering (which involved a stint doing the Morning Market Report for radio station WFOY in St. Augustine), counseling, and studying then practicing Chinese traditional medicine. My formal education includes a BA in anthropology and two years' graduate studies in applied linguistics. During this time, I taught as a graduate assistant in the University of Florida's English Language Institute, and in the UF English Department, teaching the ESOL course. In St. Augustine, Florida, in the 1980's, I taught ESOL in the adult education program for several years. In Clearwater, Florida, I taught for the Pinellas County School District in their outreach adult education ESOL program (while attending three years of training in traditional Chinese medicine.) My university training, my life experiences, and all the wonderful people in my family and also from around the world, have taught me much about life, human relations, and teaching and learning. Tutoring, without a doubt, remains my favorite way to teach, and ESOL is my favorite subject.
Grammar,

Grammar

My educational experience studying linguistics has given me a deeper understanding of grammar. Linguistics is the science of language, and it delves into the underlying logic of grammatical forms. I am often able to draw on this knowledge in explaining grammar to students in such a way that they can understand and remember forms that otherwise might seem senseless and difficult. Grammar can be fun!
Proofreading,

Proofreading

As an English teacher (ESOL), I have honed my skills as proofreader to such an extent that I proofread compulsively and involuntarily, helplessly noting the typos and incorrect words in everything I read. As a linguist by training, I am nonjudgmental about people's use of language in communication. But often an error in usage, especially in writing, can cause troublesome ambiguity that wastes time and energy. So I hope my uncomfortable compulsion can be put to good use! I have experience as a teacher of English writing classes, as sometime proofreader and editor of two small local newspapers and of a literary journal with national distribution.
Public Speaking,

Public Speaking

Public speaking is part of what I have been teaching in ESL for forty years. In formal communications classes at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida, my students studied speech outlining and presentation of speeches. I also created and ran extra credit workshops in skills related to public speaking. In Moscow (Russia), my students were generally older--business people, and other professionals from various fields--who needed to learn how to make formal presentations. My personal experience, too, includes public speaking in a variety of circumstances, both informal and formal, including church, political, and social venues. In general, I have been successful in speaking publicly myself, and in teaching others public speaking skills.
Reading,

Reading

I taught reading at college level at Santa Fe College from 2001 to 2008.
TOEFL,

TOEFL

Teaching college level English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) courses to international students preparing to take the TOEFL exam acquainted me with the skills the takers of the test are required to have in order to pass it successfully. In the preparatory classes we offered, we administered final exams that paralleled the TOEFL as closely as possible, so that if a student passed our advanced level exams, (s)he should also pass the TOEFL. Earlier, as a graduate assistant teaching EFL courses, I was actively involved in monitoring the exam, so I can advise a student about what to expect in the physical taking of the exam, a useful bit of information, perhaps.
Vocabulary,

Vocabulary

Four years of high school Latin has given me a lifelong good foundation for vocabulary learning and teaching. In addition, I have taken college level Greek and Latin derivatives courses for the medical field. In graduate level linguistics, I studied semantics. All my life, I have been an avid reader of literature from all genres, and of articles in literary magazines, scientific journals, and quality newspapers. My working vocabulary is very broad.
Writing,

Writing

In my experience as a teacher, I have taught ESOL writing classes at college level. As a lifelong reader of all kinds of fiction and non-fiction, I have a well developed sense of writing styles. As a tutor, I have helped students, from elementary level to graduate level and beyond, organize their thoughts and information to fulfill writing assignments. Teaching classes related to English as it is used in science and in international business, I have myself learned the rules of technical writing. Informally, as a friend of fiction writers, I have read several manuscripts for stories and novels.
ACT English

History

Anthropology

Anthropology

Anthropology was my undergraduate major. I went on to do two years of coursework in Applied Linguistics, which has allowed me to teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL) for the past 35 years. I have continued to read broadly books and journal articles relative to anthropology, so I feel competent to tutor in this field, and have successfully done so.

Homeschool

Elementary (K-6th),

Elementary (K-6th)

My qualifications for tutoring children K-6 rest on the breadth of my experience teaching in general, and on my practical experience working with children. I have been active in the education of my own four sons and their twelve children, my grandchildren. In addition to this, I have formally tutored several young children from other countries. I like working with children and have good results teaching them. I have been teaching the Russian language to my neighbors' children for the past four years, for example, on an informal basis, but very successfully.
English,

English

I have been teaching and tutoring English-as-a-Foreign-Language for thirty-plus years. As training, I studied Applied Linguistcs for two years in graduate school. As a graduate student, I taught in the English Department of University of Florida in Gainesville. After other ESOL teaching assignments in Florida, I taught as an adjunct professor at Santa Fe College in Gainesville from 2001 to 2008. From 2008 to 2010, I taught for a private language school in Moscow. ESOL is my focus subject, but my training and experience are relevant to teaching English to native speakers of English as well as to foreign students. I have taught classes in reading, writing, and speaking English. As a tutor, I have taught students of all ages, and at all levels of learning.
ESL/ESOL,

ESL/ESOL

ESL/ESOL has been my focus in teaching for the past thirty-five years. Most recently, I was a part time adjunct professor in the ESOL (EPA) college prep program at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida, where I taught for eight years. In 2008, I left SFC to go to Moscow to teach ESOL there for a time in order to improve my spoken-Russian skills (and to fulfill a lifelong dream of experiencing Russia firsthand). I spent almost two years in Moscow working for Language Link International, teaching mostly business English to Russian professionals. In Moscow, I also did quite a lot of private tutoring, of both adults and children. Before teaching at Santa Fe College, I had been teaching ESOL in a variety of part-time positions for about twenty-five years while I did other things, which included government field interviewing, stockbrokering (which involved a stint doing the Morning Market Report for radio station WFOY in St. Augustine), counseling, and studying then practicing Chinese traditional medicine. My formal education includes a BA in anthropology and two years' graduate studies in applied linguistics. During this time, I taught as a graduate assistant in the University of Florida's English Language Institute, and in the UF English Department, teaching the ESOL course. In St. Augustine, Florida, in the 1980's, I taught ESOL in the adult education program for several years. In Clearwater, Florida, I taught for the Pinellas County School District in their outreach adult education ESOL program (while attending three years of training in traditional Chinese medicine.) My university training, my life experiences, and all the wonderful people in my family and also from around the world, have taught me much about life, human relations, and teaching and learning. Tutoring, without a doubt, remains my favorite way to teach, and ESOL is my favorite subject.
Reading,

Reading

I taught reading at college level at Santa Fe College from 2001 to 2008.
Writing

Writing

In my experience as a teacher, I have taught ESOL writing classes at college level. As a lifelong reader of all kinds of fiction and non-fiction, I have a well developed sense of writing styles. As a tutor, I have helped students, from elementary level to graduate level and beyond, organize their thoughts and information to fulfill writing assignments. Teaching classes related to English as it is used in science and in international business, I have myself learned the rules of technical writing. Informally, as a friend of fiction writers, I have read several manuscripts for stories and novels.

Language

ESL/ESOL,

ESL/ESOL

ESL/ESOL has been my focus in teaching for the past thirty-five years. Most recently, I was a part time adjunct professor in the ESOL (EPA) college prep program at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida, where I taught for eight years. In 2008, I left SFC to go to Moscow to teach ESOL there for a time in order to improve my spoken-Russian skills (and to fulfill a lifelong dream of experiencing Russia firsthand). I spent almost two years in Moscow working for Language Link International, teaching mostly business English to Russian professionals. In Moscow, I also did quite a lot of private tutoring, of both adults and children. Before teaching at Santa Fe College, I had been teaching ESOL in a variety of part-time positions for about twenty-five years while I did other things, which included government field interviewing, stockbrokering (which involved a stint doing the Morning Market Report for radio station WFOY in St. Augustine), counseling, and studying then practicing Chinese traditional medicine. My formal education includes a BA in anthropology and two years' graduate studies in applied linguistics. During this time, I taught as a graduate assistant in the University of Florida's English Language Institute, and in the UF English Department, teaching the ESOL course. In St. Augustine, Florida, in the 1980's, I taught ESOL in the adult education program for several years. In Clearwater, Florida, I taught for the Pinellas County School District in their outreach adult education ESOL program (while attending three years of training in traditional Chinese medicine.) My university training, my life experiences, and all the wonderful people in my family and also from around the world, have taught me much about life, human relations, and teaching and learning. Tutoring, without a doubt, remains my favorite way to teach, and ESOL is my favorite subject.
Russian,

Russian

At the age of sixteen, I met a young man who spoke some Russian, and he began to teach me Russian, like a game, along with chess. At Indiana University, where we went after we had married two years later, I entered Slavic Area Studies and studied Russian formally, along with the history and culture of the Slavic peoples. We did not stay together, but my Russian language stayed with me and shaped my life in subtle ways for years to come. Back in Europe again, as a young woman living in Paris but not knowing French, I gravitated to places where Russian was spoken. There were many at that time, like the Russian restaurant where I found a job. Later still, in graduate school at University of Florida, majoring in linguistics, I once again picked up my formal study of the Russian language, using it as my minor. Having always enjoyed the company of people from Russia, I have spent time with many native speakers of Russian. Most recently, I have had the pleasure of living and working in Moscow for nearly two years. During some of all these years, I held current certification from the State of Florida to teach Russian. I have tutored Russian, and I have taught several courses in community education settings, including at Santa Fe College in Gainesville. Russian is a beautifully rich language.
TOEFL

TOEFL

Teaching college level English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) courses to international students preparing to take the TOEFL exam acquainted me with the skills the takers of the test are required to have in order to pass it successfully. In the preparatory classes we offered, we administered final exams that paralleled the TOEFL as closely as possible, so that if a student passed our advanced level exams, (s)he should also pass the TOEFL. Earlier, as a graduate assistant teaching EFL courses, I was actively involved in monitoring the exam, so I can advise a student about what to expect in the physical taking of the exam, a useful bit of information, perhaps.

Most Popular

Elementary (K-6th),

Elementary (K-6th)

My qualifications for tutoring children K-6 rest on the breadth of my experience teaching in general, and on my practical experience working with children. I have been active in the education of my own four sons and their twelve children, my grandchildren. In addition to this, I have formally tutored several young children from other countries. I like working with children and have good results teaching them. I have been teaching the Russian language to my neighbors' children for the past four years, for example, on an informal basis, but very successfully.
English,

English

I have been teaching and tutoring English-as-a-Foreign-Language for thirty-plus years. As training, I studied Applied Linguistcs for two years in graduate school. As a graduate student, I taught in the English Department of University of Florida in Gainesville. After other ESOL teaching assignments in Florida, I taught as an adjunct professor at Santa Fe College in Gainesville from 2001 to 2008. From 2008 to 2010, I taught for a private language school in Moscow. ESOL is my focus subject, but my training and experience are relevant to teaching English to native speakers of English as well as to foreign students. I have taught classes in reading, writing, and speaking English. As a tutor, I have taught students of all ages, and at all levels of learning.
ESL/ESOL,

ESL/ESOL

ESL/ESOL has been my focus in teaching for the past thirty-five years. Most recently, I was a part time adjunct professor in the ESOL (EPA) college prep program at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida, where I taught for eight years. In 2008, I left SFC to go to Moscow to teach ESOL there for a time in order to improve my spoken-Russian skills (and to fulfill a lifelong dream of experiencing Russia firsthand). I spent almost two years in Moscow working for Language Link International, teaching mostly business English to Russian professionals. In Moscow, I also did quite a lot of private tutoring, of both adults and children. Before teaching at Santa Fe College, I had been teaching ESOL in a variety of part-time positions for about twenty-five years while I did other things, which included government field interviewing, stockbrokering (which involved a stint doing the Morning Market Report for radio station WFOY in St. Augustine), counseling, and studying then practicing Chinese traditional medicine. My formal education includes a BA in anthropology and two years' graduate studies in applied linguistics. During this time, I taught as a graduate assistant in the University of Florida's English Language Institute, and in the UF English Department, teaching the ESOL course. In St. Augustine, Florida, in the 1980's, I taught ESOL in the adult education program for several years. In Clearwater, Florida, I taught for the Pinellas County School District in their outreach adult education ESOL program (while attending three years of training in traditional Chinese medicine.) My university training, my life experiences, and all the wonderful people in my family and also from around the world, have taught me much about life, human relations, and teaching and learning. Tutoring, without a doubt, remains my favorite way to teach, and ESOL is my favorite subject.
Reading,

Reading

I taught reading at college level at Santa Fe College from 2001 to 2008.
Writing

Writing

In my experience as a teacher, I have taught ESOL writing classes at college level. As a lifelong reader of all kinds of fiction and non-fiction, I have a well developed sense of writing styles. As a tutor, I have helped students, from elementary level to graduate level and beyond, organize their thoughts and information to fulfill writing assignments. Teaching classes related to English as it is used in science and in international business, I have myself learned the rules of technical writing. Informally, as a friend of fiction writers, I have read several manuscripts for stories and novels.

Other

ESL/ESOL

ESL/ESOL

ESL/ESOL has been my focus in teaching for the past thirty-five years. Most recently, I was a part time adjunct professor in the ESOL (EPA) college prep program at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida, where I taught for eight years. In 2008, I left SFC to go to Moscow to teach ESOL there for a time in order to improve my spoken-Russian skills (and to fulfill a lifelong dream of experiencing Russia firsthand). I spent almost two years in Moscow working for Language Link International, teaching mostly business English to Russian professionals. In Moscow, I also did quite a lot of private tutoring, of both adults and children. Before teaching at Santa Fe College, I had been teaching ESOL in a variety of part-time positions for about twenty-five years while I did other things, which included government field interviewing, stockbrokering (which involved a stint doing the Morning Market Report for radio station WFOY in St. Augustine), counseling, and studying then practicing Chinese traditional medicine. My formal education includes a BA in anthropology and two years' graduate studies in applied linguistics. During this time, I taught as a graduate assistant in the University of Florida's English Language Institute, and in the UF English Department, teaching the ESOL course. In St. Augustine, Florida, in the 1980's, I taught ESOL in the adult education program for several years. In Clearwater, Florida, I taught for the Pinellas County School District in their outreach adult education ESOL program (while attending three years of training in traditional Chinese medicine.) My university training, my life experiences, and all the wonderful people in my family and also from around the world, have taught me much about life, human relations, and teaching and learning. Tutoring, without a doubt, remains my favorite way to teach, and ESOL is my favorite subject.

Science

Anthropology

Anthropology

Anthropology was my undergraduate major. I went on to do two years of coursework in Applied Linguistics, which has allowed me to teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL) for the past 35 years. I have continued to read broadly books and journal articles relative to anthropology, so I feel competent to tutor in this field, and have successfully done so.

Special Needs

Phonics

Phonics

My years of using the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) in my teaching foreign students the sounds of English--how to make them and how to recognize them in speech--surely qualifies me to teach elementary phonics. More specifically, I have helped several of my grandchildren and other children of my acquaintance learn to read through phonics. I'm a great believer in the usefulness of phonics as a tool for reading.

Summer

Elementary (K-6th),

Elementary (K-6th)

My qualifications for tutoring children K-6 rest on the breadth of my experience teaching in general, and on my practical experience working with children. I have been active in the education of my own four sons and their twelve children, my grandchildren. In addition to this, I have formally tutored several young children from other countries. I like working with children and have good results teaching them. I have been teaching the Russian language to my neighbors' children for the past four years, for example, on an informal basis, but very successfully.
ESL/ESOL,

ESL/ESOL

ESL/ESOL has been my focus in teaching for the past thirty-five years. Most recently, I was a part time adjunct professor in the ESOL (EPA) college prep program at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida, where I taught for eight years. In 2008, I left SFC to go to Moscow to teach ESOL there for a time in order to improve my spoken-Russian skills (and to fulfill a lifelong dream of experiencing Russia firsthand). I spent almost two years in Moscow working for Language Link International, teaching mostly business English to Russian professionals. In Moscow, I also did quite a lot of private tutoring, of both adults and children. Before teaching at Santa Fe College, I had been teaching ESOL in a variety of part-time positions for about twenty-five years while I did other things, which included government field interviewing, stockbrokering (which involved a stint doing the Morning Market Report for radio station WFOY in St. Augustine), counseling, and studying then practicing Chinese traditional medicine. My formal education includes a BA in anthropology and two years' graduate studies in applied linguistics. During this time, I taught as a graduate assistant in the University of Florida's English Language Institute, and in the UF English Department, teaching the ESOL course. In St. Augustine, Florida, in the 1980's, I taught ESOL in the adult education program for several years. In Clearwater, Florida, I taught for the Pinellas County School District in their outreach adult education ESOL program (while attending three years of training in traditional Chinese medicine.) My university training, my life experiences, and all the wonderful people in my family and also from around the world, have taught me much about life, human relations, and teaching and learning. Tutoring, without a doubt, remains my favorite way to teach, and ESOL is my favorite subject.
GED,

GED

In the mid-nineteen eighties, I was the lead instructor in the Adult Education GED Preparation Laboratory at St. Augustine Technical College. We helped many people successfully pass the exam. Since then, I have tutored students who then took the exam and received the GED, and I really enjoy doing this.
Reading,

Reading

I taught reading at college level at Santa Fe College from 2001 to 2008.
Russian,

Russian

At the age of sixteen, I met a young man who spoke some Russian, and he began to teach me Russian, like a game, along with chess. At Indiana University, where we went after we had married two years later, I entered Slavic Area Studies and studied Russian formally, along with the history and culture of the Slavic peoples. We did not stay together, but my Russian language stayed with me and shaped my life in subtle ways for years to come. Back in Europe again, as a young woman living in Paris but not knowing French, I gravitated to places where Russian was spoken. There were many at that time, like the Russian restaurant where I found a job. Later still, in graduate school at University of Florida, majoring in linguistics, I once again picked up my formal study of the Russian language, using it as my minor. Having always enjoyed the company of people from Russia, I have spent time with many native speakers of Russian. Most recently, I have had the pleasure of living and working in Moscow for nearly two years. During some of all these years, I held current certification from the State of Florida to teach Russian. I have tutored Russian, and I have taught several courses in community education settings, including at Santa Fe College in Gainesville. Russian is a beautifully rich language.
Writing

Writing

In my experience as a teacher, I have taught ESOL writing classes at college level. As a lifelong reader of all kinds of fiction and non-fiction, I have a well developed sense of writing styles. As a tutor, I have helped students, from elementary level to graduate level and beyond, organize their thoughts and information to fulfill writing assignments. Teaching classes related to English as it is used in science and in international business, I have myself learned the rules of technical writing. Informally, as a friend of fiction writers, I have read several manuscripts for stories and novels.

Test Preparation

ACT Reading,

ACT Reading

For one year in the eighties, I was the lead instructor in the GED Lab at St. Augustine Vocational College, where we focused on effective reading skills. For about twenty years, I taught English classes for foreign students in several places in Florida. I have completed two years' graduate studies in Applied Linguistics (how to teach languages). At Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida, I taught ESL Reading (for foreign students preparing to enter US colleges or universities). These courses were designed to give the student many tools for fast and efficient reading at college level.
GED,

GED

In the mid-nineteen eighties, I was the lead instructor in the Adult Education GED Preparation Laboratory at St. Augustine Technical College. We helped many people successfully pass the exam. Since then, I have tutored students who then took the exam and received the GED, and I really enjoy doing this.
GRE,

GRE

I scored high on the GRE as a condition of getting into graduate school in Linguistics. I have successfully tutored graduate students in several different fields to help them with various writing projects such as research reports or professional articles. As an adjunct professor of EFL at college level, I have taught reading, writing, and communication classes. In preparation for tutoring the LSAT, I have studied the old LSAT exams. I feel qualified to tutor for the GRE except for the section on mathematics. Someone else could, no doubt, do a better job than I.
TOEFL,

TOEFL

Teaching college level English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) courses to international students preparing to take the TOEFL exam acquainted me with the skills the takers of the test are required to have in order to pass it successfully. In the preparatory classes we offered, we administered final exams that paralleled the TOEFL as closely as possible, so that if a student passed our advanced level exams, (s)he should also pass the TOEFL. Earlier, as a graduate assistant teaching EFL courses, I was actively involved in monitoring the exam, so I can advise a student about what to expect in the physical taking of the exam, a useful bit of information, perhaps.
ACT English

Examples of Expertise

Kathryn has provided examples of their subject expertise by answering 12 questions submitted by students on Wyzant’s Ask an Expert.

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Ratings and Reviews

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5.0 (116 ratings)
5 star
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Reviews

Great tutor

First lesson for my daughter, she immediately likes her! Kathryn is very knowledgeable and charming! I’m sure my daughter will learn a lot from her! We are looking forward to next lesson.

Yunlu, 5 lessons with Kathryn

Very patient and encouraging

Kathy worked on writing and grammar with my 8th grade son. She took time to explain and make sure he understood the concepts. She was calm, patient, and knowledgeable.

Amy, 3 lessons with Kathryn

Personable and Knowledgeable

Kathryn helped my son get started with Russian. She was very patient and engaged. We are pleased with the outcome.

Robert, 2 lessons with Kathryn

knowledgeable and passionate about what she does.

She works with my son. He says he loves working with her. She is every nice, helpful and patient with my son. He has always struggled in school but he enjoys working with Kathryn every much.

Winter, 7 lessons with Kathryn

Very knowledgeable and patient tutor!

I am so happy to have had Ms. Kathryn as my tutor! I have had five lessons with her, and my GRE Verbal score improved by 10 points! Whenever I had questions or felt unsure about any of the vocabulary- she automatically knew the answer and would help explain the material to me.

Sabrina, 5 lessons with Kathryn

Patience and understanding wins the day!

Watching Kathryn patiently work with Alex to create a story was eye opening to me. This was Alex's greatest success to date at writing! I believe using this narration/ scribe method will bring out his inner writer with far less stress than we've experienced to this point. I also love how she allows him to be his energetic self and works with his nature rather than trying to force him to be something he's not.

Michelle, 12 lessons with Kathryn

Absolutely Wonderful!!!

We had our first session with Kathryn to help my 11-year-old son with Language Arts and let me just say WOW!! She is so wonderful with my son. She is so patient and kind. She has such a warm, kind hearted energy. When she reads a story she brings it to LIFE!!! My son is excited for her to come back and that is very rare for him to be excited about tutoring, so that speaks volumes!! I feel she will be very promising for my son and improving with Language Arts. Thank You!!!

Chelsea, 8 lessons with Kathryn

Great!

English is my second language and I struggle with grammar and pronunciation. Kathy is helping me tremendously. Kathy is knowledgeable and patient.

Zoe, 4 lessons with Kathryn

Great tutor for ESL

I´m Paulo, Elisa's husband. I was the one that was tutored by Kathryn. The classes with Kathryn were so useful, because I could improve my listening and speaking. We had a couple of hours of conversation about day to day subjects, in which she brought ways of improve my grammar and my fluency. I liked the way she conducted the conversation, giving me a lot of room to express myself. It forced me to remember the words and expressions and use it... some that I didn't even know I could use. After the lessons the great accomplishment for me was the increase of my self confidence, that I can speak good English as a foreigner. Definitively I recommend Kathryn as a ESL tutor.

Elisa, 4 lessons with Kathryn

Greatest tutor I've ever had

Kathryn taught me a lot of vowel reduction skills and corrected my pronunciation. I think my English is improving without my knowing. She really help me a lot and I would recommend Kathy to my friends. She is really good at linguistics and tutoring.

Chi-An, 17 lessons with Kathryn
Hourly Rate: $38
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