Elena Iakovleva

I've been teaching English as a foreign language for 3 years in total (I took a short break to focus on my own education). I got two Master's degrees in Teaching English - one from Moscow State University, Russia, and one from Sheffield Hallam University, UK. Having those two different experiences helped me to understand different approaches to education, and also made me realize what kind of teacher I want to be.
During my lessons, I focus not only on student's needs but also on their interests and preferences. I choose additional materials that can help the learners to stay motivated and make lessons more fun for them. Moreover, my work as a supply Teaching Assistant in schools around Sheffield gave me a better understanding of the learning strategies that different students have. As a result, now it's easier for me to adapt to each child's learning style which makes lessons even more productive.
Online lessons (usually via Zoom) include many presentations, additional audio and visual materials. For some sessions, I prepare games to keep the children engaged in the process; they also are very helpful for learning new materials in an interactive way. Moreover, my goal is to teach the real language, not the "textbook language"; and because of my experience of living in England for 2 years, I can definitely do that.
I do believe that homework can make a change - I give my students home tasks for them to revise and remember information from our lessons. I usually ask for it to be sent at least a couple of hours before the session so I can see what needs additional attention.