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Joseph Ruppert

English

Native

Italian

From United States

Living in Grand Rapids, United States

Credited ESL instructor with over 15 years experience teaching international university students. I am a native English speaker and US citizen currently living in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I was born in Seattle and grew up in Washington State. My accent is from the Pacific Northwest and is what is usually considered "neutral" American. I lived in Florence, Italy for nearly three years and can speak basic conversational Italian. I have been a English teacher at our local university for more than twelve years, teaching both domestic American students as well as international students. I live with my wife, two kids (one who is also an italki teacher!), two cats and a dog. In 2006, I began teaching English as a second language to international students at Western Michigan University. I have taught students from all over the world: Saudi Arabia, China, France, and the Dominican Republic are among some of the places my students call home. I specialize in academic and professional English focused on speaking, listening, grammar, reading and writing. However, I have also worked with students developing basic vocabulary, pronunciation, and conversational skills. Although I am rooted in the United States, my greatest pleasure in teaching English comes from the connections I make to other lands and cultures through my students. My general approach to language instruction is task-based. Rather than focusing on discrete grammar points or lengthy vocabulary definitions, I ask my students to use and stretch their language skills by performing communicative tasks. Example tasks might incl...

My teaching material

PDF file
Text Documents
Articles and news
Quizzes
Test templates and examples
Homework Assignments

Interests

Films & TV Series

Travel

Gaming

Writing

Business & Finance

English

Trial Lesson

143 lessons completed

USD 8.00+

43% off

Reading & Writing English for Professional or Academic Purposes

B1-C2

Language Essentials

3,466 lessons completed

USD 22.00+

15% off

Conversation & Communication for Professional or Academic Purposes

B1-C2

Conversation

166 lessons completed

USD 18.00+

12% off

Based on your timezone (UTC)

5.0

176

Reviews

100%

Attendance

100%

Respond

Provides materials·1

Pronunciation·4

Structured lessons·1

Patient·1

For beginners·4

Liana

11 English lessons

Professor Joseph perfectly adapts the lessons to my present language needs and objectives. He makes the classes meaningful and valuable to me.

Cherrie

37 English lessons

very funny and inspiring teacher!

Cherrie

37 English lessons

fabulous!

Liana

11 English lessons

The teacher had selected an interesting authentic material ( a short story) which we discussed in depth and in this way I learned some useful vocabulary in context and practiced for fluency.

Cherrie

37 English lessons

brilliant teacher！always gives interesting materials to discuss with

Cherrie

37 English lessons

best italkie teacher ever!