As a teacher, I try to cater each class to my student's individual needs and interests. Being bilingual myself, I am a strong believer that language and culture (and food!) are intertwined, and to learn any language, it is best to immerse oneself as deeply as possible. I started teaching ESL in 2005, in Tehran, where I worked with children and adults of all ages in private and semi-private settings. Upon graduating from college, I spent a year working as an English teacher at an international preschool and kindergarten, before moving to New Hampshire for graduate school. There, I studied Creative Writing, and continued to tutor ESL. I taught a beginners Farsi course at Dartmouth College, and while I've now relocated to Seattle, we've managed to continue classes via Skype. I have also helped prepare students who plan on taking the TOEFL in writing. It's been quite a ride! Upon moving to Seattle, I taught at Lake Washington Institute of Technology, a community college across the lake in Kirkland, WA. There as a faculty member of the International Department and a professor of the Intensive English program, I worked directly with international students. I taught Grammar, Academic Writing, Listening/Speaking, and Reading at various levels. I joined the college's ESL team in 2017, and taught Intermediate ESL (level 4), as well as proctoring the CASAS exam. In addition to being bilingual, I am also a language learner. As a student of Italian, I believe I am more empathetic towards the struggles of language learning, and understanding towards errors, and getting lost in translation.