I love the English language, always have. I’ve been teaching English in Italy for over 20 years and it still moves me when I see that spark of ‘eureka’ in a student’s eyes when they grasp a new grammar concept or figure out an idiom. I’m a good teacher. I’m passionate, I’m funny and I could have been a great teacher were it not for one slight hiccup, I’m severely Dyslexic (or dysgraphic, to be more accurate), I couldn’t spell to save my life. You might think, “well that’s a very poor choice of a profession…”, and you’d be absolutely right, the thing is – I love teaching! and I refuse to give it up just because of a silly technicality!
If ‘necessity is the mother of all invention’, shame is its grandmother. Not being able to correct my student's essays, nor tell them how to spell a new word, has pushed me to create conversation classes in which I could concentrate on teaching the interesting stuff (geek…), the grammar structure, and the link between the language and the culture, while cunningly avoiding actually writing something down. When I start a new year, I try to alternate between regular conversation lessons, aimed to strengthen A linguistic instinct and fluency, and grammar-based lessons aimed to sneak in grammar rules without anyone noticing it.
I have never won an honor or award ... probably because I couldn't spell either of these words properly! :)
I grew up in the US, spent years traveling in Australia and New Zealand, and have been working closely with various British institutions for the past two decades. I’m fortunate enough to have a rare glimpse into more than one Anglo-Saxon culture (which I try to incorporate into my lessons). I’ve been living in the North of Italy since 1994. I first came here, following my new husband, to realize his dream of becoming a winemaker, and immediately fell head over heels in love with it. I studied Art and Journalism in university, and after my children were born, I became fascinated with Cross Culture and Business etiquette. I've been working both as an English teacher and as a cross-cultural consultant for over 20 years.
Yet to be added
5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, Higher Education, Adult Education, Homeschool, Staff, Not Grade Specific
English Language Arts, Grammar, Vocabulary, Specialty, Math, Numbers, Science, Anatomy, Basic Principles, Environment, Social Studies, Civics, U.S. History, World History, Arts & Music, Art History, Visual Arts, Physical Education, ESL-EFL-ELL, Career and Technical Education, Health, British History, Geography, Life Skills, Critical Thinking, Business, Psychology, Character Education, Problem Solving, Cooking, Writing, Oral Communication, Holidays/Seasonal, Back to School, Thanksgiving, Christmas-Chanukah-Kwanzaa, Poetry, Autumn, Halloween, Winter, The New Year, Valentine's Day, Presidents' Day, Easter, Spring, Summer, Vocational Education, End of Year, Women's History Month, Classroom Community