Training for English Communication Skills in New York
Chiara's Success Story
Student Profile:
Chiara relocated to New York with her family in 2011. When she arrived, she knew that she needed training for her English communication skills. She wanted to feel comfortable and confident in her new life in New York. She wanted to be able to get to know her American neighbors and the parents of her daughter's classmates.
Chiara's Challenge:
Chiara felt overwhelmed when she first arrived in New York. Not being able to understand people in the grocery store or at the bank created a feeling of stress that she wanted to overcome. She was looking for someone who could guide her in improving her English and help her gain confidence to communicate every day with the people in her life in New York.
The Solution:
We worked with Chiara to create a long-term private English course plan to help her move closer to her goals of speaking confidently. Chiara worked with her tutor, Jane, a few times per week in the morning for four months. Here are some of the things that they accomplished:
- Learned new American English vocabulary words through reading newspapers during each lesson
- Built a list of common phrasal verbs and used them in conversation practice and lesson activities
- Improved pronunciation including verb "ed" endings, "s" and "es" endings, the "h" sound, the "j" sound and the 14 vowel sounds
- Moved to a higher level of grammar proficiency by focusing on present perfect and past perfect tenses and modals
- Improved her English listening skills through songs and cloze exercises
- Became a better reader in English through reading "A Jury of Her Peers" by Susan Glaspell and discussing it with her English tutor.
Why Was English and Culture Right for Chiara?
Chiara was a perfect match for English and Culture. We like to work with students who understand that learning English is a process and who are willing to put in the work outside of class in order to get the most value out of their private English course. We knew that Chiara was willing to work hard so we were happy to help her reach her goals. She had specific needs in terms of scheduling that we were able to accommodate. She needed to work with her tutor on weekday mornings, when her daughter was in school and she preferred to study in a convenient location in lower Manhattan. We were able to meet her location, schedule and her need for flexibility.
Chiara's Thoughts on the Lessons:
"Learning a new language is a huge challenge because often you feel sad and don't see the light in the tunnel. Every day you think ' I never learn this language, I never feel well in this foreign country'. But one day you begin to understand a little bit more and you are able to speak with a new friend without having shame."
"That happened to me, above all, thanks to English and Culture. My tutor has been great fully understanding my fear, my skill and my behavior. The classes one to one helped me to make more confidence with myself. Every time I read a new article on a local newspaper, improved my pronunciation and listen some movie or song. Also I loved the Skype lessons."
-Chiara, Italy
