Are We a Match?

Hello Darlings!

Finding the right teacher is no small job.

You might say that it’s a ridiculous comparison but have you ever been to a restaurant where the food’s nice and the surroundings seem lovely but you just wouldn’t come back? Me too. If you were wondering, yes, I am comparing discovering your favourite restaurant to finding a teacher. Why? I think it was Carl Jung (or at least someone from the like-minded gang) who implied that our consciousness talks but so does our subconsciousness; those hidden layers of each one of us sometimes make us click with no apparent reason. From where I stand, this less-than-obvious connection between a student and a teacher is important. Why?

Firstly, learning a language, either from scratch or picking up where you last left, means that you’re going to make mistakes. It’s very likely that you’ll be feeling insecure, which can mean that you’ll start avoiding that by speaking less. Now, having this connection actually allows you to relax and laugh at yourself a bit, which translates to less cortisol (stress steroid hormone) in your system and that will allow you to remember things better and make those mistakes without the fear of being laughed at.

Secondly, we remember things better when we can relate to them. Your teacher can be great but if they’re into machinery while you read everything about cinema, well, it might not be a great match. Think about what information you remember best. Exactly, not the information that you have to remember, but the information that you’re interested in. And therefore having a teacher, who is interested in the world around her (yes, that's me. A little bit of self promotion), can bring huge benefits.

Thirdly, if you find a teacher that you actually like and feel free to talk to, you’ll want to go to classes. In my experience, some days are just not good for structured learning either because of personal issues, strange things happening in the world (Hi, 2020), or simply because they slept for three hours the previous night. What do we do then? We talk. And talking while learning a language is essential; your brain will form the necessary connections so you could finally stop translating and start thinking in English. Moreover, you will find out what vocabulary is missing since we sometimes know how to talk about political issues around the world but have no clue how to describe the process of making a delicious meringue lemon tart to a friend.

That’s why I made you a list of things, which, I think, could give you the feeling of

who I am and if we could be a match. I hope we are but if not, I wish you best of luck with both finding your favourite restaurant and a teacher. <3

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Personality type: (if you believe Myers–Briggs Type Indicator)

• ENFP

Zodiac: (if you believe in horoscopes)

• Gemini

Experience:

• I’ve worked in multiple language schools teaching English and French in Lithuania and China.

• I started my career in an International Baccalaureate school where I taught teenagers.

• I’ve worked in anti-money laundering for the North American market.

• I’ve also worked in commercial car insurance in the UK market.

• I have a TESOL certificate.

• My IELTS scores are all 8.5.

Languages that I got to know:

• English (my love)

• French (I have a degree in French)

• Lithuanian (my mother tongue)

• Latin (I studied it for 3 years but it’s not like you use it every day)

• German (I studied it for 6 years at school; however, I only remember the basics, Verdammt!)

• Spanish (I studied it on my own for a year)

• Mandarin (I studied it for 6 months when I lived in Chengdu,China)

• Russian (I can read Cyrillic like a first grader and understand basic stuff, especially the swear words)

Films that are often rolling in my head:

• The Dreamers

• The Meaning of Life

• The Science of Sleep

• Interstellar

• Love

• Playtime

• The Royal Tenenbaums

• The Seventh Continent

• Borat

• The Big Short

Series I fell in love with: (probably more than I should have)

• The Kingdom

• Dirty Money

• Sherlock

• House M.D.

• The Office

• House of Cards

• Black Mirror

• Planet Earth II

• A Bit of Fry and Laurie

• Norsemen

Random facts:

• I’ve donated bone marrow and semi-regularly donate blood.

• I used to spend my summers in the South of France with a lovely French family as a child.

• London is my second home because my mum’s lived there for more than 10 years.

• If I could, I’d take all the animals from all the shelters.
  

• One of the most interesting subjects to me - 2008 financial crisis.

• Another one is brain and its neurobiology.

• I'm a fan of Joe Rogan.

• 80% of the books that I own are on psychology.
  

• I have a huge interest in how our dietary choices affect our health.

• I'm currently based in Tbilisi.

​Dawn