Finn Garfield

My teaching is primarily focused on achieving proficiency in speaking skills. The structure of my lessons revolves around speaking rather than reading or writing, although those areas will be covered as well. I know that learning and speaking a new language can feel intimidating to a lot of people so I prefer the lessons to feel more like an instructional conversation rather than a student teacher interaction in the traditional sense. I like to begin lessons by assessing the learner's level of proficiency, this can come in the form of a short quiz or just by having a short conversation, depending on the individual. I believe it is very important to understand the students goals and motivations for learning English in order to tailor the lessons specifically to those goals. The specific methodology I use varies depending on the level of proficiency that the student possesses, but In general I find that leaning vocabulary and grammar is much more effective if it is taught in context, so I like to give real world application to all the material that we cover. One of my main aspirations is: at the end of every lesson the student can take something from that lesson that they will be able to apply in their daily life, as well as gain confidence in their English speaking ability.