Case Studies: Teachers

Good morning, Yulia! Please will tell our readers a little about why you teach and the languages you specialise in?

I teach English, Russian and Russian literature from beginners to advanced level. I enjoy working with people to pass on my love of the spoken and written word. It is exciting to see how my students progress from learning the alphabet to understanding and sharing feelings, thoughts and intentions in a foreign language. Learning new languages helps people to make new friends, to live, study and work in different countries, and contributes to continuous development and positive mental health.

You are certainly one of our most experienced tutors. Can you tell us about your qualifications and history as a teacher?

I graduated from Moscow State Linguistic University (MSLU) in 1989 (BA in Teaching English as a Foreign Language) and taught advanced English there to first and second year students. In 1995, I received an MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from the University of Northern Iowa, USA. Between 1996 and 1999, I worked in an international holiday exchange company as a translator and a quality assurance supervisor in Moscow. In 1999, I moved to Cork, Ireland, where I worked as a manager and a trainer of new multinational recruits. I undertook further studies in Cork, and obtained a certificate for training and development from the Irish Institute of Training and Development in 2002. I also designed and taught an adult continuous education evening course on Russian culture and language at University College Cork. Later, I studied for an MSc degree in social research at Trinity College Dublin (granted in 2004) and received a PhD in psychosocial (mental) health from Dublin City University in 2010. I worked as a social researcher at the Irish Health Research Board in Dublin from 2004 till 2011. I lived and studied French in Strasbourg from 2011 till 2013, where I received a DELF B2 certificate in French from the University of Strasbourg. I am currently based in London, where I am engaged in freelance translating, tutoring and desk research. As you can see, languages, teaching and mentoring have always been part of my life.

Wow, absolutely! It seems you live and breathe them! What about Language Trainers made you want to teach with us?

I like your collaborative and professional approach to teaching. Plus, the company is very efficient, proactive and helpful. For example, at the time of COVID-19 lockdown in London, when my face-to-face lessons had to move online, the team provided me with advice, links and extra materials suitable for online teaching.

With such immense experience teaching, you must have a pretty good idea of your ideal student, right?

Certainly! I hope for curiosity, drive, perseverance, open-mindedness and a sense of humour. Also, acceptance that mistakes are normal and constitute an essential part of the learning process.

And what do you feel you bring to your lessons as a teacher?

I am energetic, engaging and patient. There will be fun, there will be homework, and time will fly quickly. In every lesson, I develop and engage students’ skills, such as reading, writing, speaking, listening, and sometimes singing (if they like singing, of course). I offer personalised courses, create my own exercises and use additional audio and video files in addition to the course materials. Students have no time to get bored and make good progress.

And are these the main reasons you would recommend students enrol in a course with Language Trainers?

Absolutely. Students will get experienced teachers, high-quality books and materials and a systematic approach to learning and testing their progress.

Wonderful! And to end, what are some fun expressions you like to teach your English and Russian language students?

My favourite expression that I ask my students of English to learn is: “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”. Meanwhile, I teach my Russian students the expression, “Глаза страшатся, а руки делают". Literally, it means, “Your eyes may be scared, but your hands still do the work”, or in other words, “feel the fear and do it anyway”.