During my college career, I studied 4 years of French and 2 years of Japanese. After 10 years living in Miami, a predominantly Spanish speaking city, I picked up enough Spanish to become conversant. Now living in Taiwan, I hope to combine formal studies with life experiences to become functional in Chinese.

 

One universal truth: When learning a new language, if you don't use what you have learned, you will quickly forget it. I am somewhat guilty of this myself. Because I didn't keep up with my French and Japanese since I graduated from college, I've lost my fluency. 

 

My teaching philosophy is to give students many opportunities to hear, speak, read and write English. I find topics relevant to students' interests and help them to connect the language to the concepts. By making it as applicable to to students' experiences as possible, they will better remember the relevant language.

General

• Born and raised in Lansing, Michigan, USA.
  

•  Lived in Miami, FL for 10 years and San Francisco, CA for 7.

• Traveled to 21 different countries on every continent, with the exception of Antarctica.

Education

BA of International Studies (with Honor) from Michigan State University. Course work included studies in language acquisition, French and Japanese. Additional studies in international relations, economics and finance. Studied in France for 3 months and Japan for 1 year.

Professional Experience

Over 20 years experience in the travel industry; 12 years in corporate travel management and 8 years for a major US airline as a passenger service manager and ultimately area sales manager.

English Teaching Experience

I have been teaching ESL in Taiwan for over 3 years in a variety of settings. I have taught elementary school kids in cram schools, teenagers in junior and senior high and business English to adults. Currently I am teaching at a private junior/senior high school mornings and corporate in the afternoons and evenings.

• I hold 2 personal fitness training certifications: NSCA-CPT (National Strength and Conditioning Association - Certified Personal Trainer) and ACE (American Council on Exercise). I specialize in training older adults and individuals with special health challenges such as diabetes, heart disease and HIV.

• I enjoy competitive volleyball. While living in the US, I frequently competed in volleyball club tournaments up and down the West Coast. In Taiwan, I still enjoy recreational volleyball with colleagues.

• Watching movies and reading novels is how I relax and unwind. I also enjoy walking my dog WeiWei through the several parks around my home.