About Me

Hi There. My name is Jamey and I'm an ESL tutor with previous tutoring and teaching experience through 2 different colleges. I tutor online exclusively, preferably through Zoom, but I can use Skype as well. I specialize in teaching adults but I'm willing to tutor people as young as 13. I am capable of not only tutoring English as a Second language and all related skills such as speaking, listening, reading and reading, but I am also capable of basic English tutoring and I welcome students of all nationalities and backgrounds.

Describe your teaching and tutoring experience?

I have tutored English as a second language for approximately 7-8 years. I first got my start back in 2013 when I took the 30-hour TESOL course at Westchester Community College in New York for the first time. In order to complete the program and earn certification I had to teach students from various different countries for a total of 30 hours. After that, in 2014, I tutored Korean students online through 2 different sub divisions of a company called "Language Developement Systems", first one called "Mirae", and then another called "BCM". These experiences were brief but did give me experience tutoring online, as well as working with students from a country that I had little experience with. Later in 2015, I gained employment as an ESL tutor at the Academic Support Center at Westchester County in New York, and within a few months earned level 1 certification in the College Reading and Language Assocation.  At W.C.C., I have tutored students from a variety of different backgrounds and native countries with many different native languages. I have helped these students not only to speak and understand English better, but have also helped them to write better essays for their college English classes.  Later in 2018, I decided to take the TESOL course at Westchester Community College a 2nd time, and once again taught for a total of 30 hours to gain a 2nd certificate.  Following this, in 2018, I gained employment as a level 3 ESL teacher through Dutchess Community College, although I taught my classes at Brewster high school in Brewster, New York.  I taught ESL to students of various backgrounds for 3 semesters up until the Fall of 2020.  Since the emergence of covid I have continued to tutor ESL through Westchester Community College and currently use the Zoom platform to aid my students.

Tell us about yourself. What are your interests outside of school? What else would students enjoy knowing about you?

I have a number of different interests outside of tutoring and teaching. One of my main interests is martial arts.  I have trained in various different martial arts since the age of 8.  For example, I trained in American Kenpo, Karate from ages 8-14 and earned a 2nd degree brown belt.  My primary art is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which I have trained in since 1996 and in which I currently hold a brown belt. I have competed in 34 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments over the years and over 100 matches. I have also experimented with boxing, Muay Thai kickboxing, wrestling and Mixed Martial Arts, and I played Rugby for 2 semesters in college.  Aside from that, I am a bit of a film buff and enjoy movies of all types from comedy to thriller, horror and drama.  I love to read and enjoy books of all kinds.  I enjoy music of various different types, especially rock and heavy metal, and played guitar for 7 years.  I also love to try out ethnic foods of different kinds and love to try food from as many different countries as possible, with my favorites being Thai, Indian, Indonesian and Italian.  I have also traveled to several foreign countries including: Spain, Italy, England, Ireland, The Netherlands, France, Canada and Greece.

What makes you an awesome Tutor? Describe any experience, qualifications or strategies here?

I think I am a successful tutor for several reasons, but for starters, I'd say one reason I'm effective with students is because I try to engage with them on an individual basis and get a sense for each student's personality and tailor myself to their individual needs.  I consider myself a fairly affable person with a good sense of humor, and I like to hear about different people's lives and experiences, especially those from backgrounds different from myself. This means that students usually have an easy time opening up to me.  After all, so much of learning a language is really just about speaking and listening and it doesn't need to be a rigorous academic chore.  At my best, I'd say I'm capable of making a tutoring session feel more like a natural conversation that just happens to be held in a language that isn't native to the student.  However, there are times when a student has a more specific focus like learning how to use phrases common to their job, understanding the difference between formal and informal language (like how to speak to a boss vs a friend) or how to write an essay for their college professor.  When it comes to any aspect of English, be it speaking, listening, reading or writing, pronunciation, punctuation, or any other skill, I can adapt my style to help the student.  My lessons can be as formal or informal as the student wants, and I also consider myself patient and can vary the pace of my sessions to suit the student's needs.