Who is Mrs. M?

 

My long story in a nutshell 🥜

 

I have taught the English language since I was 16 years old and my first student was a lovely 6-year-old girl in Poland. I had just returned from the USA, having learned English myself at the United Nations International School in New York. I immediately fell in love with the feeling of accomplishment in supporting a child's language development, and I feel blessed that this excitement for learning and growth has never left me! The classroom or ZOOM room is my heaven on Earth!

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As I tutored a variety of English language learners throughout my university years (getting a triple M.A. in Applied Linguistics, TESOL and translation), I realized it's the middle school-high school student that I connect with best. The tween. The teenager. The enigma! 😜

 

So a career in teaching English as a Second Language was a no brainer. It unexpectedly began in Greece at a "frontistirio"(a youth night school) while I worked days as a relief teacher at TASIS Hellenic International School for all subjects/grades (which provided me with valuable insight into what a student's entire schooling looks like). I then moved to Indonesia to teach English at Jakarta International / (later) Intercultural School, for "just one year." 

 

Well, long story short, one year unexpectedly turned into several decades... and here we are, starting the 2nd quarter of the 21st century! 🤩

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In my classes and tutoring sessions, I've interacted with over 3000 students from dozens of countries and loved every moment. I taught not just the English language and literature, but also, as one Australian student put it, I "shined the light on the importance of not only learning  from the structured environment, but also on the influence we have within ourselves to teach and express events and the lessons that were learnt throughout our lives and correlate them back into the current subject." A Japanese student recalls me "as a teacher who not only taught me about English but also as a teacher who taught me about the world, and what it means to be an individual."

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I've taught a number of English courses, designed them myself, too. I believe in educating "the whole child" - hear it for yourself in my TEDxJIS talk "From Fat Knees to Swift Wings: Educating the Whole Child" (2019) - not just teaching them English or text types or grammar. As a language learner myself (taught myself Greek at the age of 21!) I totally understand second language learners, and troubled learners, too. I listen to and learn from your teen first. Then - together - we embark on a journey of discovery.

 

During those decades in Jakarta, I also raised my two multilingual sons into successful career men, devoted husbands to their wives, and fantastic fathers to their children. Success not just at school, but in life as well! 💪 That's all we ever want as parents, right? 

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Today's technology allows me to reach out to teenagers anywhere in the world and support them in their quest for success. As a lifelong learner, I stay up to date with pedagogical and psychological research, keep pace with innovation in EdTech, and implement the most appropriate personalized methods, case by case, as I tailor the lessons to the teenager on the other side of the screen. 

 

As I aim to continue making an impact on 21st century learners, I bring straight to your son's or daughter's room: enhanced English proficiency and a whole lot of lifelong learning skills to help them reach their goals and fulfill their dreams of a successful life and an international career. 💪

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