About Me

Trained linguist and experienced ESL teacher

Language and linguistics have always been my specialty.  After receiving my BA in Linguistics and Russian from University of Wisconsin-Madison, I became a CELTA certified ESL teacher, teaching in Russia, Turkey, and of course, the U.S.    

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My years spent teaching abroad have given me not only great experience teaching, but also first-hand knowledge of what it takes to live in a country where you don't speak the language natively (or maybe at all!).  I know that books and traditional language lessons cannot prepare you for day-to-day life in another language.  This experience was the reason I developed my "Practical English" lessons-- I wanted to teach all the little things that are left out of standard English lessons but are still important for your daily life.

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My specialty is phonetics and phonology-- the sounds we make and how they fit together.  I have always loved accents, but I realized just how important intensive phonology work can be when learning a new language while I was studying in small town Russia.  When I arrived, nobody could understand me, despite the fact that I'd had three years of Russian classes.  After an intensive phonology class, though, I had people mistake me for a native speaker.  I realized that a large part of how fluent others considered me was entirely based on my accent, rather than perfect grammar or fancy vocabulary.   I want to bring this opportunity to non-linguists, which is why I designed my Accent Coaching and English Phonology course.  I'm also passionate about phonology, and I'm excited to share this with students.

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Recently, I have received an MS in Computational Linguistics from the University of Washington.  This is a field that merges linguistics with computer science and statistics.  You can read more about what I'm working on in this field in my blog, or you can check out my programs and computational projects on github.

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My goal is to help you improve your communication with others in English, as communication is ultimately the reason we learn any language (even our own!).  Whether this is via clearer pronunciation, expanded vocabulary, or good old grammar rules, I am confident that I can help you reach your fluency goals.