Daria
– What is your reason for becoming a teacher?
Teaching for me is a vocation. Some people are just born with the patience to explain things over and over again. I really love watching my students progress, from feeling insecure and shy about using a foreign language to confidently using it in written and oral form. And because I myself have been through the learning process of the languages I am teaching, I can understand and relate to the struggles of learning another language.
– Which countries have you had students from?
My students have been from Peru, Spain, Ukraine, Russia, Canada, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Israel and Bulgaria!
– What are the biggest challenges for your students?
We all know the grammar rules and exceptions that are particular to a language, and how everyone makes a thousand mistakes before they memorize them, but I feel that the biggest challenge is just speaking freely. The native speaker will understand what you mean to say, as long as you use the correct vocabulary. Taking the leap from the exercise book to the real-life, everyday communication is the hardest (and scariest) thing to do, and once you realize that making a mistake is not that deadly, using that language will be much more pleasant and satisfying.
– What would you tell somebody who wants to learn other languages?
You can never know “too many” languages! Learn as many as you can, travel the world, practice with native speakers, listen to music in that language (the internet is a blessing in that sense!), watch movies and documentaries, join clubs and expand your comfort zone! You never know what life has in store for you, but you can make your path more exciting and unexpected by learning a new language!