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Lauren

Bachelors, Foreign Language Education 6-12

University of Wisconsin-Madison

About Me

As a former long-time teacher of both French and Spanish, I believe every person can learn a foreign language. I have taught all levels, from preschoolers through adult language learners in college, and have a wide variety of techniques and resources at my disposal to help students master skills and concepts. For me, it's the relationships I form with my students that matter the most; I like to build lessons around my students' needs and interests to keep them engaged in the lessons and to show them how they can use their new language for self-expression and in everyday life. I have several philosophies I follow when working with students: I stress focusing on strengths instead of concentrating on weaknesses, rewarding the effort instead of the outcome, and sticking by my students by being their biggest cheerleader. I was very fortunate to graduate with an MA in French and a BS in Foreign Language Education from UW-Madison. During my graduate work I met my husband, then a graduate student in French, and we've had a wonderful life speaking French at home, traveling to French-speaking countries and raising our daughter bilingual French-English. As I am also a former Spanish teacher, living in Texas is like a dream - it's so easy to speak and learn Spanish in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (although I hear quite a bit of French here, too!) Any French or Spanish students are bound to find ample opportunities to practice their new language skills.

Education & Certifications

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Bachelors, Foreign Language Education 6-12

Q&A with Lauren

I value my relationships with my students first and foremost; I like to know what kind of people they are, what their interests are and what motivates them. Better and faster learning will occur if the student is comfortable with me. Knowing my students well helps me differentiate instruction to capitalize on the individual student's strengths. I don't believe education is a one-size-fits-all matter. We all have preferred modes of learning, and although I will expose a student to many different learning scenarios, I build up my students' confidence by emphasizing areas in which they have already some degree of mastery in order to show them how far they've come and what they can already do. I also like to meet students 'where they're at' instead of where the textbook or course says they should be. Often students who seek out tutors have not mastered prior material or are struggling with difficult concepts. Lastly, I teach the language through authentic and communicative ways, and grammar points can be presented in context; students can pick up so much from a poem, a song and using the language authentically.