Andrew McNiece
About Me
Lessons
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Visited a month ago
Andrew McNiece
Professional Teacher![]()
Teaches
English
Native
Speaks
Spanish
Portuguese
TEFL-certified English teacher with nearly 5 years of experience teaching conversation classes
Teaches
English
Native
Speaks
Spanish
Portuguese
TEFL-certified English teacher with nearly 5 years of experience teaching conversation classes
About Me
Me as a Teacher
My lessons & teaching style
Resume & Certificates
From United StatesLiving in Pasto, Colombia (00:05 UTC-05:00)
About Me
italki teacher since Oct 1, 2021InterestsMusicReadingHistory
Hi there! I am a US native from Chicago who somehow currently finds himself living on a volcano in Pasto, Colombia. My passion for languages developed over two magical years in the nearby city of Medellín, Colombia, where I taught English and began my Spanish learning journey. As you can imagine, I love to meet new people from around the world as learning about their cultures and histories keeps me feeling deeply inspired and ever-evolving. My passions include reading, writing, sports (especially hockey 🏒), music, film, as well as all things art, life, and nature. I also love to discuss world events and politics.Me as a Teacher
What I love about being a teacher is seeing a new vocabulary word or grammar concept "click" for a student. When that light bulb goes off in the student's head, I feel a deep sense of purpose and joy seeing them grow in real time. Examples I often give in class include jokes, because I believe students learn better with a laugh. However, I am not a clown and won't force myself to be funny, because I know that can be obnoxious. My worst nightmare is a bored student. What's yours?
**ALSO** I DON'T GIVE LESSONS TO KIDS. I recommend searching for a teacher with experience teaching kids. There are some great ones on Italki!My lessons & teaching style
The topics of my conversation classes will always be catered to your personal preferences/needs. They will be focused on developing your abilities to produce English comfortably. We will strengthen your pronunciation skills and learn new vocabulary within the context of each topic. In order to keep you engaged and practicing your listening, I use videos to expose you to additional accents and informal language. In grammar classes, I will use a mix of inductive and deductive teaching methods, so that I don't only instruct, I allow you to discover how things work on your own. Generally speaking, classes will be laid back, fun, well-prepared, and always interesting.My teaching material
- PDF file
- Text Documents
- Presentation slides/PPT
- Audio files
- Image files
- Video files
- Articles and news
- Quizzes
- Test templates and examples
- Graphs and charts
- Homework Assignments
Certificates
Teaching IELTS Exam Prep - Bridge Education Group - 2022I completed a 20-hour course to become familiar with the format and sections of the different versions of the IELTS exam. I learned various tips from experienced test practitioners and analyzed in-depth each section of the exams and how they are scored. I also completed assignments related to lesson planning for a prep class and learned best practices for preparing students for the exam.
Certificate verified
TEFL Certificate - International TEFL Academy - 2017To obtain my certificate, I completed 180 hours of coursework as well as 10 hours of teaching practicum in beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes. I earned the grade of A in both my coursework and practicum hours.
Certificate verified
Certificate in Creative Writing - Welsleyan University - 2016I studied the craft and fundamentals of creative writing and was required to produce a slew of short stories to complete the specialization program.
Certificate verified
Education
2006 - 2010
Bachelor’s - Arts AdministrationAt Indiana, I graduated with a 3.4 GPA majoring in arts administration and minoring in music. In addition, I was the co-director of the Arts Management branch of the BCEC (Business Careers in Entertainment Club).
Work Experience
2017 - 2019
English TeacherAt Blendex, I taught classes focused on developing the conversational skills of my students. In my two years there, I learned how to adapt to teaching students with varying levels of English. I also enhanced my abilities to keep conversations flowing and engaging and discovered techniques that helped me inspire even the shyest students to speak. I also taught many intermediate grammar lessons, a series of classes on essay writing, and even some IELTS preparation.
2019 - 2021
Tour GuideGiving tours is quite similar to teaching ESL. As a tour guide, every tour started with me providing around 30 minutes of group and personal instruction on a topic unfamiliar to my clients—in this case, how to operate a Segway. This required me to project my voice and speak in a clear and concise manner to people from all over the world, and hence, different levels of English. During the tours, I taught my clients a good deal of Chicago history, and I often used joke to keep them engaged.
2018 - 2021
English TeacherDuring my time in Medellín, I started to give private classes on the side, while teaching at Blendex. I am also currently conducting weekly online private classes with two pre-intermediate students in Bogotá. This experience has helped me develop my skills teaching remotely in one-on-one classes using a video chat platform.
2015 - 2017
Co-Writer and EditorWith a team of comedy writers, I co-wrote and edited the *satirical* book _Trump's America: Buy This Book and Mexico Will Pay for It_. Over the course the 2016 campaign for the US presidency, I honed my writing skills by producing satirical news articles and essays lampooning a potential Donald Trump presidency. I believe this experience, in addition to my other studies in writing, provide me with the confidence to aid students who may be looking to improve their English writing capabilities.
5.0
Rating
94
Students
1,543
Lessons
100%
Attendance rate
99%
Response rate
English Lessons
Trial Lesson
42 lessons completed
USD 15.00+
(*Long-term students only*) General Conversation Practice A1-C2
A1 - C2Conversation1,355 lessons completed
USD 10.00+
Package with 17% off
General English / Grammar Lessons
A1 - C1Language Essentials133 lessons completed
USD 35.00+
Package with 10% off
Growth Through Conversation A2-C2
A2 - C2Conversation13 lessons completed
USD 25.00+
Package with 12% off
Availability
Based on your timezone (UTC+00:00)
My creations
Vocabulary (1)
63 Reviews
Debora
81 English lessons
Teacher’s pick
Interesting conversation topics! 👌🏻 Andrew gives you some activities to do before the lesson, based on what you are interested in. During lessons you can talk about these topics and/or do general conversation. You learn in an informal and effective way!
Jan 17, 2022
Nazar
8 English lessons
Teacher’s pick
It's easy to practice the language with Andrew. He sends nice homework tasks, which suits my interests and grammar needs
Nov 26, 2021
Aleks Zhhamych
27 English lessons
It's very easy to find a topic to discuss with Andrew.
Feb 25, 2023
Gabriela
48 English lessons
Teacher’s pick
It was very nice to take lessons with Andrew, he prepares each lesson before so we can profit much more the time available.
Nov 30, 2021
Aline
6 English lessons
Andrew's class are very cool. He has a large knowledge about many topics, making the class very interesting.
Mar 5, 2024
Aleks Zhhamych
27 English lessons
I had some problem with connection but it wasn’t a problem to finish a great lesson with Andrew
Feb 4, 2023
Trial Lesson
USD 15.00
Your final payment will be made in USD