Marie
Certified ESL/English/Language Arts, Writing, Test Prep, Spanish Tutor
The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery. - Mark Van Doren Hello, and thank you for considering me! I am a Cambridge University CELTA-certified English/ESL teacher, a magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University, and a dedicated educator. I have tutored and taught adults, youth and children in private lessons, the public school system and through nonprofit educational organizations for more than twelve years. As a teacher, I have three important priorities: 1) to help student...
ACT English
ACT Reading
anthropology
CBEST
elementary (k-6th)
elementary math
A Note to Parents and Guardians: As an experienced elementary educator, I have tutored math to students in grades K-5. In all honesty, math is not my favorite subject to tutor, although I always got good grades in math up to and including trigonometry. (However, I have since forgotten everything I ever knew about trigonometry!) I do remember key geometry and algebra concepts and I am proficient in kindergarten through 5th grade math. My greater expertise and interest is in English/Language Arts. I also love tutoring elementary social studies and science and I have subject descriptions for all of these areas. As the lead teacher in a San Francisco after school program, I designed an innovative multi-disciplinary curriculum integrating language arts, social studies and science. I was also a volunteer science educator at the Berkeley Marina Shorebird Park Nature Center for one year. Even though I don't love tutoring math, I understand that many parents want a tutor who can tutor all elementary subjects. To that end, I do accept tutoring positions where English/Language Arts, social studies and/or science tutoring is the primary need and math is a secondary need. If your child is struggling with reading or writing, I would be an excellent choice as a tutor, as I have successfully worked with many struggling readers and writers. I am a patient, enthusiastic and experienced English/Language Arts tutor. However, if your child is seriously struggling with math, I recommend hiring a tutor who genuinely loves to tutor math. For a student who requires extensive help in several elementary subject areas, you may want to consider working with two different tutors, a Language Arts specialist such as myself, and an expert math tutor. This approach may produce better results for your child than simply working with one generalist.
elementary science
English
ESL/ESOL
GED
grammar
literature
phonics
proofreading
PSAT
psychology
reading
SAT reading
SAT writing
social studies
Spanish
special needs
spelling
As an experienced English/Language Arts teacher and tutor, I have taught spelling as part of the Language Arts curriculum. I take pride in my excellent spelling skills, and I believe that good spelling is an important facet of good writing. By the same token, I recognize that many students struggle with spelling. As an English as a Second Language/ESL teacher, I also know that English spelling rules are much less consistent than spelling rules in several other languages. I can help students overcome frustration with spelling and learn to view it more as an interesting game with an unusual set of rules. I will help students see the consistent rules where they exist and recognize notable exceptions to those rules as well. Please note: If your child is in 3rd grade or higher and is having extreme difficulty with spelling, you may want to consider testing for a learning disability, as spelling difficulties are sometimes features of underlying learning disabilities that need to be addressed.
study skills
TOEFL
vocabulary
writing
Darren B. from San Mateo, CA
Marie has done an excellent job in tutoring our 5th grade daughter in writing and composition. We wanted our daughter to have a boost in her writing skills since it was her weakest area academically even though she was getting average grades. Marie proactively reached out to us upon seeing our listing, and has been just as proactive ever since. She met with us to get to know our daughter a bit and learn about what we were looking for. From there Marie designed an approach tailored to her style of learning, and her strengths and weaknesses. After just a few lessons, we have seen our daughter's writing develop a more solid foundation and as well as deepen in style appropriate to whatever the assignment is. Marie has been very hard working, patient and accommodating, and I would recommend her as a tutor to any student striving to improve their writing.
CAmila P. from Daly City, CA
Marie is a very good tutor!! I can say she is a great teacher in all aspects. She is very kind and considerate to patiently lead students to find their own path of learning and, most of all, motivate students to keep going on their interests in English. I'm really enjoy the time with her and can find my speaking and listening comprehension significantly improved through the classes. Thank you Marie!!
Nobuko H. from Burlingame, CA
Marie is such a patient, enthusiastic, and well-informed tutor! She is always well-prepared for lessons, and goes the extra mile to find something interesting for me to work with. She is open-minded and cares what I want to do. Marie always has answers to my tricky questions on English grammar. Thank you for helping me improve my English, Marie!
Deborah B. from Pacifica, CA
Marie's tutoring in both English and Spanish has really been an effective tool for me to both understand and pick up quicker Spanish. Marie is an excellent tutor. I am very pleased with her services. Thanks WyzAnt!
Carol M. from Millbrae, CA
My son's tutoring experience with Marie has been exceptional. He recently received an A- for his 6 week marking period in Spanish 3/4, which is a big improvement from his Spanish 1/2 grades last year. And while I am happy with his recent grade, I am more pleased by the fact that my son is feeling more confident and engaged in learning Spanish, and as a result, he is more focused on learning a subject that does not come easy to him. Marie has been able to make her lessons challenging and engaging for my son without making Spanish feel boring and like work. She is patient, and really cares about her students. I would recommend Marie as a tutor for any student looking to learn and improve their Spanish.
Cynthia W. from Pacifica, CA
Marie is an outstanding tutor who had an excellent rapport with my son. She is very caring and patient and makes sure that the needs of her students are met. When I was looking for a tutor for my son, I was impressed with Marie's credentials, her responsiveness, and her detailed explanation on how she would be able to help my son prepare for the SAT/ACT Reading, English, and Writing examinations. Marie's style of teaching is very organized, thorough, and methodical. She was able to provide great test taking strategies which helped my son achieve excellent scores. She also helped him to become a better writer. Marie is very friendly and personable and my son enjoyed having her as his tutor!
Marcia G. from San Francisco, CA
Marie is a gifted teacher with a knack for understanding a child's learning style and an intellectual curiosity about learning which is truly inspiring. She showed more patience with our foster child from West Africa than any person who has ever worked with him and spent hours getting to know his language and structuring lessons around his strengths and weaknesses. He came into his own as a student on her watch, and it was remarkable to see.