I love words! Russian words and English words and all kinds of words. I love words so much that I got a PhD in Slavic Linguistics, then I went to work for the US Government as a Russian language analyst where I did all kind of language-related work. When I was in graduate school, and then later at the National Cryptologic School, I taught undergraduate, graduate, and cryptologic professionals Russian language (from beginner to advanced translation concepts) and Czech language (intermediate and advanced) as well as other language-related classes (like teaching the Russian alphabet to people who will never actually learn much Russian, but need to recognize key words). I have tutored immigrants from Moldova in English, English speakers in Czech and Russian, and have mentored many, many federal employes on their (English) writing.

I love sharing my love of language with students! I really enjoy the relationship we can build, and it makes me so happy when I can help people make progress in their language goals, whether it's better writing, understanding grammar, or just generally communicating more clearly.

I tutor languages. Russian, Czech, and English are my strongest, but I do have skill and could help with beginner Polish or French. Or Old Church Slavic or Latin (not a whole lot of demand for those). Which is my favorite? I love the Slavic languages, especially Russian and Czech (my grandfather spoke Czech, but I'm not a heritage speaker). I think trying to learn and use foreign languages has given me a deep appreciation for anyone also trying to learn and use English properly! That's why I'm in the process of getting certified as a TEFL instructor.

I do not tutor literature of any kind. While I enjoy reading, I don't have an academic brain for literature. I do have one for linguistics.