Kirstin
Certified Tutor
It is my goal as an ESL and language educator is to provide meaningful contexts for students to explore the world through language, to better understand themselves and others as individuals, and critically engage the world around them.
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Undergraduate Degree:The University of Montana- Bachelors, Spanish
Graduate Degree:University of Maryland-Baltimore County- Current Grad Student, TESOL
- GRE: 301
- GRE Verbal: 158
Hiking, traveling, cooking Peruvian food, meeting new people, learning new things.
- American Literature
- AP Spanish Literature and Culture
- College Level American Literature
- Conversational Spanish
- English
- English Grammar and Syntax
- ESL/ELL
- Essay Editing
- High School English
- High School Level American Literature
- High School Writing
- Languages
- Middle School Reading
- Middle School Reading Comprehension
- Middle School Writing
- Phonics
- Public Speaking
- Spanish
- Spanish 1
- Spanish 2
- Spanish 3
- Spanish 4
- Spelling Bee
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
As an ESL and language educator, it is my philosophy that students learn the most when they are personally invested in the activities they are participating in. I try to incorporate classroom activities that tie directly to students' interests and experiences, making learning a much more fun and engaging process.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
In a typical first session, I like to get to know my students and their interests. I try to develop my class as a community, where everyone has valuable interests and skills to share. Knowledge of my students' interests and abilities is essential in developing activities that meet their needs!
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
I think one of the best ways to help a student become an independent learner is by encouraging them to find meaningful connections to the topic in their lives. For ESL students, this means encouraging them to make friends in the target language community. Teachers can lead the way by building positive relationships with students that encourage natural use of the target language.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
如果一个学生不能理解这样的东西is being explained, I would take time to work with them individually to find the cause of confusion. I would attempt to explain the idea from a different perspective, incorporating visual and physical cues to help them reach understanding. As much of language is contextual, seeing something acted out can help enormously in student understanding.