Deborah

Terrie C. from Skokie, IL

"Great tutors have the ability to inspire others and instill in others the desire to learn", this is what Deborah does for me. She really has a passion for teaching and it really shows with each lesson we have. She really knows her subject, explains things well, and makes learning Italian fun and interesting! She is warm, accessible, enthusiastic, and caring. Deborah has all the right ingredients and this makes her not only a great tutor, but a wonderful person!

Cailin D. from Park Ridge, IL

Deborah was a great ACT tutor! She was very accommodating to my schedule as well as my academic needs. With Deborah's help my score greatly improved. She was always prepared and tailored to my needs. Deborah provided me with the materials I needed to improve my score in and out of our sessions. I would definitely recommend her!

Arla G. from Chicago, IL

I have nothing but wonderful things to say about Deborah. She showed up on time, was well prepared, and had a solid command of the lesson. She is incredibly knowledgeable and is fun to work with. My grade for Deborah is A+!

Michelle K. from Chicago, IL

UPDATED: Debbie has now been working with our student for 14 weeks and she has become indispensable. She has helped our senior in high school write a beautiful, heartfelt personal essay, prepare for his ACTs, and become a deeper critical thinker. Debbie talks to our student with respect and dignity and has encouraged him to think of himself as a writer. In this, she has succeeded. He has been motivated to practice writing in anticipation of his weekly lessons from "the best tutor ever." As guardians of this young man, we have been overjoyed to have such an experienced and caring partner dedicated to advancing his education. Debbie's communication is more than we could have hoped for. I know that she puts in far more to this student than we can ever repay her for. She is truly devoted to improving this young man's grasp of the world. After just 3 visits, Deborah has motivated our struggling student to read and write each night and we have subsequently seen a huge improvement in these areas. We are grateful to have such a caring and patient adult helping guide the young man in our care. We are particularly thankful and heartened to have discovered that Deborah is willing to go above and beyond: helping us to make the best decision regarding our student's ongoing education and crafting a learning strategy that seems highly customized to our student's most authentic self. We all look forward to her visits. Highly recommended.

Gloria N. from Chicago, IL

Debbie P. is always terrific! She is teaching my 4 grandchildren Italian: they are different ages and at different levels of comprehension, but she manages to get through to all of them. We are very happy. Lately she has worked in all sorts of songs and games and Italian/English books that keep all of them involved, not an easy task since they range from ages 8 to 4. Keep up the good work, Debbie! Update: My grandchildren are now ages 5-9, and I continue to be amazed by Debbie's endless creativity, energy, and desire to personalize each lesson. At the last lesson aimed at only one family, since my other son, wife, and children were out of town, she planned half an hour individually with each child. Because "she has a beautiful voice," she told me, she engaged 5 year-old Sara in singing songs in Italian and in English and asked her to grade the songs. Sara gave "eccellente" to all but one. With the 9 year-old she played an Italian version of Scrabble, and delighted in the fact that he had beaten her at the game. Then we had dinner, as we always do, and everyone had fun. The kids love her. Bravissima, Debbie!

CJ K. from Schaumburg, IL

Deborah goes above and beyond for her students. She is currently tutoring my son in Italian, a class he was struggling in. She has brought up his grade and confidence with the language. I only wish I would have found her sooner! What a pleasure she is to work with as a parent - communicating with me the entire time. She works hard to accomplish your goals and needs. Don't let her slip away! A+++

Mihaela M. from Buffalo Grove, IL

I can't thank Deborah enough for all her help and I recommend her to everyone. She went above and beyond the topics I had booked her time for. In the past, I had paid 4 times more to get the same help she provided. The lesson was clear, with very specific examples, and she was very thoughtful - always putting herself in my shoes and getting to my level so she could be of the most help. Then, after the lesson, she sends me more information by email in a very caring and supportive way. Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!

Andrew G. from Chicago, IL

I recently worked with Deborah on a six week crash course in Italian to prepare for a business trip. When I first started I spoke only broken Italian. By the end of the six weeks I was able to speak conversational Italian on my business trip. What I liked most about Deborah is that she does not have a one size fits all approach to teaching. She tailored lessons to my strengths and weaknesses and seemed to have many tools in her instructional belt. She even suggested books that I could read to improve my comprehension. Deborah was extremely flexible with my work schedule and we formed a great working relationship based on mutual respect and patience with one another. She would come to me on days I was busy and I would visit her on the days when she was busy. We also managed to take advantage of Skype when the two of us were pressed for time on the same day. Overall, Deborah exceeded my expectations and I was amazed at the results.

GABRIELA G. from Walpole, MA

Me and my fiance just moved to the US and we had a hard time getting used to the language. Deborah's classes help us to improve our speaking and working with most-used words. The classes were always very enjoyable, she creates a dynamic atmosphere where you feel comfortable learning subjects that is relevant for our needs. I really appreciate the classes and highly recommend her.

Maryclaire C. from Glencoe, IL

Because I am "cramming" for my upcoming Italy trip, I often ask many seemingly random questions during my tutoring sessions. Deborah takes these cues and finds the information I need to keep me going in a straight learning path toward my goal of communicating reasonably while traveling. Grazie mille (Many thanks)!

Luis P. from Northbrook, IL

All lessons were very interesting for me. I am very glad with Deborah is a great teacher. I really appreciate all the the help you've given me.

Ron F. from Chicago, IL

Deborah P has been an excellent choice as an ESL tutor for the student. Prior to finding Deborah, she was having difficulty at college and was struggling with the classes that were offered there. After working with Deborah for the last few months the student's spoken English and reading comprehension have improved dramatically. In addition Deborah has introduced her to books that she can read and enjoy on her own which has added tremendously to her learning path. We are both very pleased with her progress and with Deborah's tutoring skills. We highly recommend her.

Valerie G. from Oak Park, IL

I have been studying with Deborah for the past several months and I couldn't be more happy with her. My family is from Italy and I wanted an Italian tutor who could help me be able to communicate with my family in Italy. Deborah creates our lessons so we focus more on speaking and listening. She also creates activities that are relevant to what I want to learn and she always ask me what I am interested in learning which is great. Even though I have only used her service for a couple months, I have learned more Italian in those months then I was able to alone. On a personal level, Deborah is very nice, funny, and I enjoy working with her every week. She is also very passionate about the subject and it shows in our lessons.

William C. from Walpole, MA

Deborah is an excellent teacher. To support this affirmation I can mention she has an extensive technical background, amazing methodology facing the need of the student and the most important she is always in a good mood with a mind ahead of our time. She is certainly a good choice if you are looking for English classes.

Joann D. from Glen Ellyn, IL

Deborah P. is not only excellent at what she does--she's also conscientious and zooms in on what a student needs to advance. She has a very pleasant manner and one can see that she loves teaching. I recommend her wholeheartedly!

Kevin C. from Chicago, IL

Deborah really prepared me for all the practical language my family and I will use in Italy. I used Skype for our tutoring lessons and it was really convenient. I highly recommend Deborah.

Elvio G. from Willowbrook, IL

I've been in Chicago for a while and for improving my English I looked for a teacher and I found Deborah. From beginning, there's been a good feeling, Deborah is patient and she understood my goals and we've worked on these. Moreover, I'm Italian and it has been easy to ask for a quick translation during speaking practice. She is terrific!! Thanks again and I hope to meet with you again soon.

Brandi P. from Evanston, IL

Deborah provided a wonderful Italian learning experience and I highly recommend her. I wanted to learn conversational Italian in preparation for a trip to Italy. Deborah customized our lessons based on my goals. She was very flexible in our lessons and always checked in with me to make sure I was learning what would be most helpful for my trip. She is very pleasant and personable. If you’re looking for a tutor in the area she works, don’t look any further.

Denise C. from Lincolnwood, IL

Deborah has been a wonderful tutor. I think the fact that she learned Italian as an adult truly lends itself to her teaching style. She understands it is not always easy and alters her lessons to match your own style. This is a definite plus because many Italian tutors do not always understand the difficulty for the student. She is very patient and tailors the lesson around things that are happening in your life, so it seems almost like you are just having a conversation with a friend. I would highly recommend her!

Carla A. from Evanston, IL

Often when I start something, my initial interest can fade quickly. That's not the case for my Italian lessons with Deborah. She has tailored sessions to what my needs are and brings a variety of learning tools along so classes don't get boring. Last week we even played Tombola, an Italian bingo game....and I won first place! (Of course, I was the only player.) Deborah is encouraging and motivates me. Her demeanor is kind, positive, and intelligent--a person you don't mind spending an hour with. There's a reason I rate her as a 5star tutor...because she is. Ciao!

Monica S. from Skokie, IL

Deborah is a very good tutor. She is very patient, motivating, makes classes very friendly. She has good humor which also makes the classes more fun. She has adapted to my needs both in terms of my level as my schedule. In class, we do different exercises (speaking and reading) to improve pronunciation, and some grammar but you can ask her about what kind of necessity you have and she adapts the classes to you. She is good with explanation about grammar or pronunciation. She is highly advisable to Spanish or Spanish-speaking students because she knows what mistakes we usually make. I recommend her.

Javier S. from Skokie, IL

I needed a person to improve my conversational skills in English. I am from Spain, and I found in Deborah exactly what I wanted. She is very professional, she has a large experience with foreign people with Latin based languages (such as French, Spanish and Italian), and she knows perfectly what are our common mistakes and what we need to improve. She lived over 25 years in France and Italy and spent some time in Chile, and that helps a lot with our culture differences and understanding. We have a very intensive schedule of meetings every week, but she knows how to make every class interesting and enriching. Our meetings are usually at the library in Skokie, but from time to time we change it for visits to museums or places in Chicago and suburbs, which are a good source for conversation in English while I learn about the American culture as well.

Pilar V. from Evanston, IL

Deborah is an excellent teacher, I really enjoy her classes! She helped me a lot to improve my English skills. Highly recommended! -- Deborah es una excelente profesora, disfrute mucho sus clases! En poco tiempo me ayudó a mejorar mis habilidades en inglés. Totalmente recomendada!

Hannah J. from Chicago, IL

My husband and I traveled to Italy for our honeymoon this summer and I wanted to learn some basics for our trip. I contacted Deborah and she was very easy to work with! She was willing to work with my schedule and even came to my home which was such a nice environment to learn in. She was very patient with me as well, some days I was "on" and some days I wasn't. I will be enlisting Deborah's services in the future and would recommend her to family and friends in a heartbeat. A consummate professional!

Simone A. from Evanston, IL

Deborah has taught English to our children, aged 12 and 14 years. She has the skills of a professional teacher, not only skills related to language. She has the ability to make the lesson interesting by involving children in learning, alternating theory, exercises and learning games. Professionalism, dedication, commitment and availability sum up her work.

Karen M. from Glenview, IL

Deborah is great. She is reviewing college level II Italian with my son and his grades have never been better. She responds by phone or email promptly. She is very organized and knows her material.

Christina J. from Chicago, IL

I came to WyzAnt to find a tutor that would help me translate my wedding vows from English to Italian for my upcoming ceremony. I found Debbie to be the perfect fit because she puts care and consideration into her lesson plans. I told her exactly what my goals were and within 4 sessions we were able to complete my wedding vows and learn extra phrases I could use for my Italian in-laws that could not speak any English. Working with Debbie each week has really made me feel comfortable and confident in reading advanced words even though I am a true beginner. Her expertise in Italian culture and true knowledge of the language has given me the tools I need to make my special wedding day even more beautiful. I am very thankful that she is my tutor.

Daniel P. from Des Plaines, IL

The one lesson I spent with my tutor was great. The reason I only did one lesson was due to the fact that i was leaving the state for a while. She was able to help me out and was quite patient with me. I would recommend her to any student or person interested in learning the language.

Karl G. from Evanston, IL

Deborah helped me tremendously during this last year of my studies in Italian in college. It was indispensable to have such a good resource for both review and practice. Without her help, I would not have seen the raise in my grades as I did. I recommend her to students at all levels!

John B. from Chicago, IL

To speak Italian easily with no fears of embarrassment. Very patient with me. Highly recommended her 5 star help!

Robin P. from New York, NY

Deborah is a fantastic tutor for anyone, at any level, looking to improve their Italian. She is incredibly patient and helpful, and explained every confusing concept with clarity. Highly recommended.

John N. from Barrington, IL

I could not have selected a better tutor to learn Italian than with Debbie. The books and videos are very helpful, but in my opinion it is essential to have an experienced teacher like Debbie, who can coordinate and guide you in your speech, understanding and appreciation of this beautiful language. She also has lived in Italy for over 20 years and these life experiences enhance every lesson you have with this excellent teacher. You are learning Italian from a "true Italian." It doesn't get any better than that.

Julia Sweeney B. from Evanston, IL

I found Deborah here on Wyzant. She already had a lot of excellent reviews and now I know why. Deborah's a gifted tutor. My daughter, who is a Sophomore in high school, had trouble with writing. Mostly, she doesn't like it. In fact, it was agonizing for her. She's more of a math and science kind of kid. English got her head spinning. Particularly grammar. We decided she needed a boost in this area. I'm so glad I hired Deborah! From the very first session, my daughter felt appreciated and encouraged. She liked being with Deborah so much. Deborah has a warm personality and is inviting and gentle. My daughter was able to go over school essays with Deborah. My daughter felt she had a personal advocate and ally. We'll probably be seeing Deborah throughout my daughter's high school years. So much anxiety has been lessened. I cannot recommend Deborah enough.