Meet English Conversation Partner Angela
Describe your past experiences as an English Conversation Partner online
From 2007 – 2011 I taught in an international English language school in Russia. There I taught ages from 4 years through to adults and a variety of levels (beginner to upper intermediate). I was also a group leader during the students “culture immersion” field trips during my tenure here. From 2012 till 2015, I worked in a national English language school in Turkey. There I taught a large variety of students (2 years to adults) and levels (beginner to upper intermediate) including IELTS, TOEFL and GRE exam preparation.
Tell us more about your education?
Master of Arts in Linguistics with a Certificate of Advanced Study in Second Language Teaching and Learning.
As an English Conversation Partner online, how do you conduct lessons?
My teaching style would be relaxed and conversational. I will ask a lot of open ended questions about themselves and their lives. I would listen intently to what they were saying in order to make them comfortable. Within that relaxed conversation, then, I would be able to gently make corrections to their English and help them say things better. I would be patient and encourage them to try to say something before asking for help in expressing it. I would be able to lead the conversation to more difficult ways of speaking in order to introduce new material. I view myself more as an English Conversation Partner Online than an English language professor!
What are your favorite conversation topics?
I very much enjoy talking about pop culture. I like watching movies and television shows. Netflix!
Outdoor activities are always fun and make it easy to connect with people, I enjoy being active so that is easy to talk about.
I lived in 6 countries in the last 10 years so culture, language barriers, politics, sports, food etc are all excellent topics. Teaching is something I have been involved with for quite some time, so that’s a safe topic. Essentially any topic is good. I have a free and open mind!
In your experience, what area in English do ESL students struggle the most? Grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation? Or is it putting all of it together in real time?
Clearly, all areas above need to be focused on by ESL students. I believe the most important area of teaching English to ESL students is speech/conversation. I ensure students become actively involved in speaking from day one. I inspire and motivate students by discussing topics of interest. I explain to them, the more they involve themselves with a native speaker the more proficient and confident they will become. Having traveled to most countries of the world I am able to discuss cultures, cuisines, politics and other areas of interest. As an English Conversation Partner Online, my job is make students able to speak English naturally, without mental translations.
What advice would you offer English language learners who want to improve English Speaking?
My top 3 tips to ESL students would be PRACTICE, patience, and confidence. Practice speaking English all the time will absolutely improve their communication skills. Patience to learn more with an open-mind to new skills to become better with what they want to improve. Then, confidence that they can improve much better than they expect when they work hard for it!
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