Barbara

Certified Tutor

I began teaching English as a Second Language about 12 years ago. I earned my M.A. in TESOL (Applied Linguistics) from California State University, Los Angeles, and I taught ESL at the University of Southern California for 8 years. I did curriculum work, created courses, and taught for USC Gould School of Law in their Summer Legal English Program, as well.

I changed careers and chose to teach ESL because I enjoy helping others reach their goals. I also enjoy interacting with people from different countries and cultures. Many of my former students keep in touch. I'm happy to see that most of them have gone to American universities and gotten their degree. Some have had more career opportunities and grown in their professions because learning English opened more doors for them. I enjoyed being a corporate paralegal, but I decided that I needed to do more...I genuinely wanted to help people. After observing a friend teach an ESL class, I was hooked and decided to go to graduate school.

I've taught a variety of levels / classes in ESL but I can easily teach native English speakers. I've taught reading, writing, listening, speaking (giving presentations/public speaking), grammar, TOEFL Prep, some GRE labs, vocabulary, Life Skills, etc.

At present, I work for Educational Testing Service as a test rater for the TOEFL iBT.

Before teaching, I owned a small business, and I was a corporate paralegal.

I have an American Bar Association Approved - Paralegal Certificate from the University of San Diego and my B.A. is in Marketing, so I have a legal and business background, as well.