Hello English Language Learners! こんにちは! あなたに合うのを楽しみにしています!
私のクラスをご覧ください! Hello! My name is Laura Bozarth, and I’m really excited to meet people through Cafetalk!
About me:
I am a qualified teacher. I have a
Masters of Arts degree in Teaching English as a Second / Other Language (MATESOL), and I have been teaching (on and off) for
more than 25 years, mostly in colleges all over the US.
In my younger days, I lived and traveled abroad extensively, including a two-year teaching experience in Japan in the 1990s. I’m excited to be moving my teaching practice online!
I live in beautiful Montpelier, Vermont with my husband, our three teenage boys, and my big goofy dog. My hobbies are yoga, pottery, gardening, hiking, skiing, and mountain biking.
Here's a picture of me with my family on a walk in the woods early this spring.
My Teaching Style:
Conversation ClassesI love talking to people from other cultures.
I’m kind, friendly, and open, and I like to help people learn. I’m really interested in what my students have to say, so my open conversation classes are really
fun. If you want conversational English, I would love to meet you!
Content-Based Instruction - コンテンツベースの指示 (please forgive my poor Japanese!)
Before I started teaching online, I taught ESL at American colleges, where I focused on teaching English through content. Content-based instruction (CBI) is one of the most effective ways to improve your language skills, and it is very interesting, too!
For example, you might learn the
past tense verb forms by reading about
the American Revolution. You would also study
vocabulary and
idiomatic expressions, and practice your
reading, writing, and discussion skills while deepening your knowledge in
the founding of the United States.
CBI is a fun and educational way to learn, and I love coming up with new ways to teach students English using texts, videos, and recordings about science, culture, current events, politics, even movies!
I have been working to create some CBI class-packs to offer on Cafetalk. I’m really excited to offer some classes on the
Black Lives Matter movement in the US, and I’m also working on one with the topic of
Women’s Place in the World. These issues are fascinating and important topic, and I would love to share the
readings,
recordings,
videos, and
discussion exercises that I am cooking up for
high-beginning to high-intermediate level students. Look for these courses coming online soon!
I am collecting ideas to make better classes -
I am always looking for students to tell me what new topics they want to learn about, so let me know if you'd like me to make one up special for you.
If you’re still not sure … I love to learn languages, and
I know how hard it is to be a language learner, so I always try to make my classes
fun and engaging, but I am also a serious teacher, and I want my students to progress and
learn. I love to help students to feel more
confident and successful. In the two years that I lived in Japan, I learned as much Japanese as I could, and although I have forgotten many words, I can still understand and speak some Japanese.
Whether you are just starting to learn English, or working to improve your skills, I can help you to face the challenges.
Let's learn together!
***ana