I have been been teaching college-based adult education language and computer literacy courses since 2010. I earned an MA in linguistics and a BA in computer science from UC San Diego.

I maintain a blog with tips on English composition and links to sample CBEST writing topics, courtesy of CSUN. I also have a blog with songs for learning the Hebrew alphabet along with contemporary vocabulary.

I have provided computer instruction in Spanish. I have used praat and audacity to model phonetic features of foreign and native accent. I have presented posterboard sessions on pronunciation with respect to voice-onset-timing and on Ukrainian dialects in the New World.

I recognize that learning differences require approaches that build on a student's strengths. There are three approaches to presenting new material: visual, aural, and kinesthetic. Experiential learning promotes retention.

It is important to check for understanding, especially when a student processes pragmatics in a different way from a neurotypical student. It is also important to check for understanding when a student is an English language learner whose written and oral English are at different levels. The current trend in academic work is group projects. Without extra preparation, these two types of students can easily fall behind.