Jessica A.
Private tutor in Kirkland, WA
Education
BA in Spanish with a minor in Linguistics at University of Washington Studied abroad for a year in Cádiz, Andalucía, Spain Received the Alice Wanamaker Scholarship for Study in Europe for a summer program on European Identity in Berlin
Experience
As an undergrad at UW, I studied abroad for a year in Cádiz, in southern Spain. Since graduating, I’ve taught for six years: I did an AmeriCorps year in Seattle teaching ESL and basic literacy skills to undocumented, unaccompanied minors, mainly through Spanish. I also spent five years teaching English at a public secondary school (ages 12-18) in the Basque Country in northern Spain until June 2015. While in Spain, I also tutored and gave conversation classes several hours a week, working with children, teens, and adults. Although teaching in a classroom setting was a great experience, I found tutoring to be more satisfying and enjoyable; it's more personal and allows me to tailor classes to students’ specific needs and individual goals. It’s also important to me to establish a strong student-teacher relationship so that learning is fostered in a warm, friendly, and respectful environment. I’m not a native speaker, but I’ve reached a high level of fluency and have quite a good accent. An advantage of having learned Spanish as a second language is that I know where possible pitfalls in the language learning process are and how to deal with them. I also have a good understanding of and love for the people and cultures of Spain from my time studying, living, and working there. Although the goal with tutoring might be to learn the language, ace an exam, or pass a class, I would also hope to imbue my students with an interest in Spanish-speaking cultures. During my time in Spain I also began learning to play the cello at a public music school. I wanted music to be a part of my life again, not just in a passive way, but actually making music myself. Something about the cello intrigued and excited me and within a short time after starting lessons I knew it was my instrument; I love it! Eventually I was able to play with the music school's orchestra for two years and participate in numerous recitals and concerts playing solo, in small ensembles, and with the orchestra. I now work as an elementary school orchestra tutor for the school district and have the skills to teach students just starting out or continuing into level two elementary orchestra or middle school orchestra. My priority is establishing good posture and position with the cello and bow so that students are getting the best sound they can and enjoy playing.
Availability
Weekdays after 10AM, Saturday after 10AM
Can Meet
Up to 45 minutes away for a flat fee, Up to 20 minutes away for no additional charge
Hobbies
I read a lot, both fiction (fantasy, science fiction, dystopian, mystery, literary fiction) and non-fiction (sociology, language, other cultures, global issues) in English and Spanish. I'm also into Basque language and culture (I'm working towards the level B2 exam for Basque), walking and hiking, films, and travel in Europe.
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