Jeanne Petrus-Rivera
Lesson Feesfrom $39.00 / 30 Minutes
Promotions Available
About
Hello! Hola! Bonjour! Здравствуйте!
Are you ready to take your English to the next level? Of course, you are! And I would love to help you do that.
My name is Jeanne and I'm from Cleveland, OH, and I speak with a neutral American accent. You can feel confident that my fifteen years of experience teaching ESL and pronunciation mean that you're in good hands. My Bachelor's degree is in Spanish and I have a Master's in Education with a Graduate Certificate in TESL plus a Certificate in PESL (or Pronouncing ESL.)
I've also trained as a nurse, and I was a small business owner, and now, I'm studying to be a yoga teacher, so my background is diverse.
I love connecting with my students on a professional and personal level. In addition, yo hablo español, et un peu de français, и я учу русский so I understand the challenge of mastering a foreign language. I always receive excellent ratings from my students wherever I teach. On another popular learning platform, I've received over 100 five-star reviews and have been featured as a Student Favorite for two years running. It would be my pleasure to help you to improve your English.
My favorite area to teach is pronunciation and accent modification because you need to feel confident that people will understand you when you speak in English. I can also help you with grammar, presentation skills, writing emails, oral reading... and much more!
I like to have fun when I teach so that you can feel relaxed when learning and so learn faster. If you're a very serious person, then I may not be the right teacher for you (unless you want to learn to be less serious!)
So what are you waiting for? Sign up for some lessons and let's get started!
NOTE ABOUT SCHEDULING: in order to get the most benefit from your classes, I recommend scheduling classes 2 to 3 times a week for 30 to 45 minutes. I enjoy having a flexible schedule and I offer flexibility for my students as well. You will be required to send me recordings of your practice sessions between classes in order to be sure that you are getting the most value for your investment.
I love to maintain a light and fun atmosphere in which my students can feel comfortable taking risks and making mistakes. My teaching style is personalized and adaptable to each student's needs and preferred learning style. I use a variety of resources from the web, including YouTube videos from some of my favorite teachers and targeted exercises that will focus on your specific areas of need.
Master of Arts in Education with Graduate TESL Certificate (University of Akron)
Bachelor of Arts in Spanish, minor Foreign Affairs (John Carroll University)
Associate Degree in Nursing (Cuyahoga Community College)
Institute of Language and Phonology, PESL Certification Course (Online)
For Accent Reduction, we may use a variety of texts depending on the student. We may choose from American English Phonetics and Pronunciation Practice by Carley and Mees, Mastering the American Accent by Mojsin, or American Accent Training by Cook. I encourage students to purchase one of the aforementioned texts. We may also use a separate program called PESL for students with a stronger accent. We will make that decision together.
All Accent Reduction students are required to send me recordings of their practice sessions between classes and I will provide feedback within 24 hours. I will teach you how to do shadowing so that you can learn to feel English in your body in ways that you may have not felt before. Accent Reduction is less about studying and more about doing and practicing. Be sure that you have the time to commit to daily practice of at least fifteen to thirty minutes.
“Based on the research that was conducted during the development of the PESL method, individuals who completed the program including all practice assignments displayed improvements of 50 percent or greater in post-training assessments.”
For ESL, I invite students to join Ellii, a free platform with tons of excellent lessons for grammar, vocabulary, and more. The lessons can be completed either online or with a downloadable pdf. Lessons are tailored to the student's specific needs.