About me
Vera Dobos
I'm a certified English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher with an additional certification in teaching Business English. I have 2 years of experience teaching languages in Duolingo Classes, where my classes were rated 4.9 out of 5 by students.
Not only have I learnt how to teach English, but I have also worked in an English-language work environment. For this reason, I truly know what skills are needed for work and how to apply them in practice, for example, to write reports, lead and participate in meetings, or prepare and deliver engaging presentations.
I also have extensive experience with academic language as I was working as a scientific researcher for over ten years. Besides fully participating in the academic life, I was also regularly teaching and supervising students at universities.
My teaching philosophy
My priority is always on what the students need to learn.
I tailor the curriculum to cover relevant grammar points and vocabulary, and I choose topics that are interesting to the students.
Focus on specific skills for fast results in work / study.
Do you need to regularly send e-mails in English? Or to speak with colleagues / clients? Do you need to write reports / essays?
You tell me what you need, and we'll put special focus on practicing those skills.
My classes provide a safe space to practice and make mistakes.
Making mistakes is a natural part of the learning process. Due to the friendly, playful and encouraging atmosphere in my classes, even shy students gradually build confidence to speak.
Selecting materials to maximise learning outcomes.
Depending on the students' needs, I teach with or without a course book, incorporating other materials.
Do you already have a book that you want to use? No problem!
We will learn from that.
Preparing engaging activities to keep students active.
Besides selecting materials that interest the students, I also use videos and other digital learning tools. When there is time, I also include discussions on recent news which students find highly engaging.
I keep the classes interactive, making students work with each other, and assign time-consuming tasks (such as reading) as homework.
Why learn from a non-native English speaker
Most people think that it's best to learn from native English speakers. However, there are numerous adventages to learning from someone who learnt the language the same way as foreign students do.
If you study with me:
you will be exoposed to different accents, which will help you understand foreign business partners / teachers / classmates;
I will be able to recognise what causes difficulty in understanding specific grammar points and provide targeted help;
we will focus on your international intelligibility rather than trying to mimic a specific native-speaker accent;
if your mother language is Italian or Hungarian, I will be able to highlight the similarities and differences between your first language and English. This includes grammar points, pronunciation and tricky vocabulary (false friends).