Maria Makarchenko

I am a new student to Ukrainian and to italki. From the very first «Привіт!», with her beaming smile, Maria had me hooked! Марія teaches and listens with enthusiasm, patience, and a lot of understanding. Her lessons and conversations are diverse, interesting, engaging, and we always smile and laugh along the way! 😄 With my extremely demanding schedule, our learning sessions have become a veritable oasis! We just completed another session and I already can’t wait for our next lesson (I feel that way after each lesson)! Щиро дякую, Маріє! Я так багато вивчаю кожен урок! Ти чудова вчителька! Дуже дуже дякую! 🙏

I have had Maria as a teacher for at least six lessons and she is excellent. She quickly assessed my level of skill in Russian, where I was strongest and what needed work on. Then she set up me up with the opportunity to do assignments (if I wished). Maria is also a great conversationalist and to my surprise had an incredibly detailed knowledge of my humble little state of South Dakota. The hour I spend with her each week just flies by. She motivates me to be better and I feel myself improving as a student -- at least my confidence is! : ) I was not a great language student back in school, but this is fun. It doesn’t feel like work at all. Notice how busy her schedule is. There is a reason: she’s good.

As I move towards purchasing my next package of lessons, I could not be more grateful for the lessons I have already taken with Maria or more excited for what is to come! I am building confidence and proficiency, making each lesson more and more meaningful and more and more fun! The content I am able to take in, understand, and speak never stops growing! Дякую дякую дякую, Маріє!!! ✨✨💡✨✨

One of the best decisions I made this year was taking Ukrainian lessons with Maria. While I have little talent for learning languages, she has tons and gladly passes her experience and enthusiasm on to her students. In a relaxed and friendly environment, you will learn and practice your language skills, learn about Ukrainian culture, and be inspired to keep going. The hour will go by far too quickly, and you will be noticeably better by its end.

✨Maria is so ultimately encouraging! ✨This last lesson was filled with a sense that my foundation I have been slowly building in the Ukrainian language is really starting to take hold. I am beginning to look around and be able to utilize certain words and structures sometimes even to my surprise! Maria’s face lights up with enthusiasm when she sees this progress happening too! Maria stays engaged in your learning process; you will feel and experience this from the very first lesson encounter with her!✨ Марія НАЙКРАЩА!! ✨

I truly enjoy the conversational Ukrainian practices that I have with Maria. Having only studied Ukrainian for a few months, I find our sessions to be a great chance to utilize some of the basic phrases and verb conjugations that I have learned. Maria has also helped me with the grammatical formation of some basic sentences. Maria is very easygoing, patient and kind. I appreciate the manner in which she speaks to me; slowly and clearly, focusing on pronunciation and correct grammar. She makes me feel very comfortable and I always leave the session feeling inspired to further develop my language skill. I appreciate Maria’s sense of humor and how we often share more than a few laughs during our meetings. In addition, Maria is beyond accommodating in regards to scheduling sessions. I highly recommend her as a language instructor!