Friendly, native-English ESOL/EFL Online Tutor, 13 years' experience, would like to help you be more confident in General or Healthcare English, Trinity CertTESOL; Diploma Anatomy/Physiology.

Mais detalhes sobre Valerie

• 1) Do you speak this language fluently because of your origins or for another reason?

  I speak English fluently with a neutral accent because I was born and grew up in the south-east of England, near London. For many years I lived in the north of England, until I was lucky enough to move to beautiful Portugal a few years ago!

• 2) Name a person (current, historical or fictional) who, in your opinion, represents well the culture of the language you teach!

  It’s difficult to choose just one! Maybe Stephen Fry for how articulately he expresses himself and for his gentle humour; Benjamin Zephaniah for giving us an understanding of his cultural heritage through his poetry and prose; and Paddington Bear for his slightly formal register and typical British-style politeness!

• 3) Is there a typical word, expression or tradition that you particularly like?

  A quote that I particularly like is, “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” (Albert Einstein). My view is that mistakes should be called opportunities to learn!

• 4) Why is learning this language important (whether in the school, professional or personal sphere)?

  In recent decades, the world has become a much more accessible place, both physically and online, offering countless opportunities for people to live and work all over the world. For historical reasons, English has become the most-spoken language in the world, and a good knowledge of it enables communication with a vast number of people worldwide. This can be useful for leisure, travel and work; for example, many companies have multinational workforces whose common language is English, so having this skill is a gateway to a much greater number of professional opportunities.

• 5) What is the biggest difficulty of this language and how to facilitate this learning process?

  There are several challenging aspects to learning English, one example of which is phrasal verbs - one phrasal verb can have several completely different meanings, depending on context! However, despite these challenges, students will definitely achieve success with study, time and patience.

• 6) Can you share any funny stories and/or curiosities related to your profession or your private lessons?

  An amusing thing happened a long time ago when I asked a class, “Does anybody know what siblings are?” A student became very excited and said, “Yes, yes! I learned this yesterday - they go over your shoulders and hold your trousers up!” I consulted my sister, but she had never seen that task as part of her job description!

• 7) We want to know more about you, tell us a little about your travels and adventures.

  I have always loved camping and hiking, and often used to spend weekends away in beautiful parts of the UK, including some long-distance backpacking trails in Yorkshire and Scotland. More recently, I did six days of hiking on the beautiful Fisherman’s Trail in Portugal, which was amazing!
  When my lovely nephew was five, my sister and I started taking him on a camping holiday every summer, initially to various parts of the UK. When he was 13, we started to explore a different European country every year - it was so exciting, and a wonderful opportunity to learn a little about other countries, cultures and people. We used to book a flight and pack our tents, crossing our fingers that we would find a campsite on arrival! We didn’t like to pre-book because this gave us the freedom to move on to other places during the holiday.
  I have also taken various short-stay hostel breaks in Europe; however, there are still many European countries I would like to explore, as well as others further afield!

• 8) What makes you a Superprof (besides being able to communicate in several languages)?

  I am a patient and friendly teacher whose approach to teaching is to help students achieve their goals at their own pace, and to become more confident in English through this process. I use materials containing clear explanations and exercises for points of grammar, such as verb tenses, phrasal verbs, and the active and passive voice. At the end of every lesson, my student and I look through notes I make during the lesson (I call these the flashcards - samples attached), which correct and explain mistakes of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation which the student can study as part of their homework.