Featured Native Estonian Tutor – Kristi Kiilman And Her Journey as a Language Tutor
We are pleased to be featuring Kristi Kiilman as our Featured Tutor this month. Kristi is an inspiring native Estonian tutor online who is currently sharing her teaching skills within her role as a language teacher at Lonet.Academy.
She shares with us her teaching journey, and how the teaching profession energizes and fulfills her! Kristi loves opera and movies and she dreams about traveling more around the world.
What has led you to the language teaching?
I guess it was just randomly seen job advertisement that led me to the language teaching. I was quite unhappy with my job at that time and noticed that one language school was searching additional English teachers. I got my first study group and just started enjoying working with them – it was actually Estonian study group and I found those foreigners from France, the USA and Spain to be very different from Estonians and it was very interesting to me.
How has teaching practice benefited your life?
Teaching practice has benefited my life a lot – I have found many great friends, and two years ago I was even invited to one of my students ́s wedding. My social life has become more active, I have learned more about other cultures and become more understanding and patient as a person not only as a teacher.
What is the most rewarding part of your daily teaching journey?
The most rewarding part is getting emails with students ́homework and additional questions. It is a good feeling to see motivated people and how they have developed their language skill, got over their fear of speaking.
Tell us some funny story that have ever happened to you with regards to teaching.
One funny situation was when I fell off the chair in the middle of the lesson. I felt so embarrased! In addition to this I started laughing and could not stop it. I have never laughed so heavily in my life.
What difference/impact has your tutoring had so far on the people you have been teaching?
My tutoring has had an impact on people – they have gotten over the fear of speaking, and many of them have passed language exams and got Estonian passports, they have found new friends from my course or from work as they have started to use the Estonian language.
What’s the biggest area in teaching you are curious about and why?
I am curious about different language applications – so far I see that these do not work well with
my students (scrolling apps for learning the words do not help with speaking), also reading
something in social media has not helped a lot. I would like to find ways which social media and
apps would be beneficial for speaking skills.
What advice would you give someone wanting to pursue a language teaching career?
My advice to people who want to be language teachers:
- be patient and understanding (people may not have strong motivation, they may not have time to study outside the lessons, they may have lack of practice);
- prepare your lessons and be on time (if students feel that you respect them and their time, they respect you and are friendly and nice back to you);
- do not focus on grammar (nowadays everybody needs/ wants/ prefer speaking, including slang)
Thank you Kristi for sharing your teaching journey with us!
If you are feeling inspired and would like to have a teaching business and practice you
can run from the comfort of your own home, then join Lonet. Academy and make a positive
impact!
Estonian language teachers and tutors online.
