Jonathan L.

Native speaker with 27 years of teaching experience

Teaches

English lessons

About me

First of all, I am qualified to teach English in the US, having graduated, (with honors), from a prestigious American university, after studying English, teaching, and rhetoric, (i.e. the art of language.) This alone would put me in the top 5% of teachers on this site. Since then, however, I've logged 26 years of teaching experience, 14 in Ukraine & Japan, plus 14 in the US. I've routinely taught English teachers English! In addition, I've got countless supplementary home-made materials for every level, but my background is most useful to upper-level students. In fact, if you are an upper-level student, you'd be remiss to NOT have a trial class with me, as odds are you'd find it both enlightening and practical.

In the US I taught 9-13-year-olds, so I have taught many subjects besides English, but I'm now in my 15th year of teaching English as a Second Language. I use books, (which I provide), along with loads of supplementary materials, (which I use as my students require.) I even created an original placement test - 50 questions but 65 answers. I've found that this forces prospective students to think long and hard about what they know about the language. It also guarantees they will learn a lot during our first class! I've edited two novels, and if you are looking to improve your writing, there's no one better on this site than me!

As stated above, I can 100% guarantee that you will learn some useful, practical English during your trial class. I also recognize that my prices are higher than many other teachers here, but, do they have a teaching degree? From an English-speaking country? Have they taught in an English speaking country? How much experience do they have as a teacher? What special skills do they bring to the table? Can they use idioms in the correct context? Can they help you sound like a native speaker? Do they guarantee results?

The answers, for me, are as follows: I graduated with honors after studying at an American university. I've since taught 12 years in the US, 2 in Japan and 13 in Ukraine. Besides Teaching & English, at university I studied Rhetoric, which is the art of language. This has helped me teach hundreds of students how to write more effectively. I routinely use idioms in class, then explain them if needed. The part of the US I'm from, (Minnesota), has been said to have the easiest accent for people to understand. National broadcasters were trained to speak like people from the Midwest. Finally, yes, I guarantee results even on your trial lesson. Most people learn at least 10 important things about my mother tongue that they will take with them, even if I never teach them again.

I speak

English

Native

Lesson rating

5.0

Reassurance

5.0

Clarity

5.0

Progress

5.0

Preparation

Based on 2 anonymous student reviews

What my students say

4.7

Based on 52 student reviews

Kateryna
August 28, 2023
I love having our lessons with Jonathan! He is an enjoyable person with a great sense of humor. I like his approach and attention to grammar and pronunciation. You can feel Jonathan's experience in teaching. He clearly explains grammar rules and gives understandable examples to figure out how to use them in real life. Yes, real-life English is the thing that I like the most! What is important to note is that during the lessons, we use the knowledge learned in the previous classes - so your skills improve even better. Another essential point: Jonathan has no lesson limit. He will allocate a few more minutes if we have already run out of time but need more time to discuss something. I'm telling you, I learned more than in years of studying English during our few lessons. Thank you, Jonathan!
Lily
September 18, 2014
Jonathan is a very good teacher. He knows how to present the material in a quality manner and with positivity. The classes are always fun and productive. Since he is a native speaker, he always corrects the student's pronunciation and places the word with the correct accent, which is quite important. You always leave the classes with a smile on your face. By the way, literally after 2 classes, I started to speak English confidently; I used to be shy, but thanks to Jonathan, I felt a certain freedom, and the results are quick to come.
Olga
September 2, 2015
IELTS
Very correct and cool teacher for those who really want to improve their English level. What I like the most is that Jonathan always provides very life-like examples! This way, you will not only learn grammar but also know how to apply it in live communication. He personally selects exercises/books/programs specifically for you, taking into account what you need to work on. And besides such productive things, it's just pleasant to communicate with him; you won't feel any personal discomfort or excessive formality and pedagogy :)
Sergey
May 18, 2015
Conversational English
Overall, I agree with the positive reviews. We managed to have a few classes. The lessons are interesting, Jonathan is an experienced teacher and has a good understanding of the nuances of the language, but I recommend "controlling" the dialogue, inserting words and periodically stopping the explanations to avoid getting too deep into not-so-important details. Definitely a teacher for levels where you already speak reasonably well; otherwise, I think you will be studying ineffectively. I will continue to study.
Yaroslav
March 4, 2020
Jonathan is an excellent tutor. In addition to knowledgeable and effective teaching, you can learn many interesting facts about both English and life, for example, in the USA, which also helps to memorize the material faster and more effectively. The lessons are quite fun and take place in a relaxed atmosphere, which helps to reduce the amount of stress for the student (and as I know, this is something that almost everyone faces). I also wanted to highlight two of the most important points, at least for me: 1. If you need to prepare for any event in English and in a fairly short time, Jonathan will gladly accommodate you and will suggest options for how to do this, even if it was not part of the initial learning plan. Not all tutors would agree to this; 2. Jonathan does not end the lesson exactly at the time you paid for. For example, if you still have assignments left for today's lesson, he will most likely ask you if you're in a hurry and will suggest finishing them anyway. This has always been the case in our classes if we didn't finish on time, and I think this also says a lot. Overall, I have only positive emotions from the lessons with Jonathan. I recommend him!
stanislava
March 22, 2015
For everyday use
In the process of searching for a teacher for practice and interview preparation (job search), I chose Jonathan because he is a native speaker and teaches not only how to do it right but also how NOT to do it, considering the typical mistakes of Russian-speaking students. The teacher explains very clearly, and many rules are easy to remember. It will probably be interesting for those who have basic knowledge and need to improve it. Overall, I am satisfied and recommend!