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 approach the end of another learning package with Maria, I am amazed at how integrated all of the things I have learned with her have become. It’s so helpful to have my lessons booked in a package because I can look back, as I am doing now, at how much I have learned and grown over a specified period of time. It’s like moving through a season of learning and as each season passes, you not only get to celebrate each unique and precious day of the season, but the season itself. I so look forward to the next Ukrainian lesson package/season with Maria!! ❄️🌸☀️🍁

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.

Another extremely worthwhile lesson with Maria! (They ALL are!) We played a deceptively simple game which introduced me to a lot of new words, new variations of words I was already familiar with, and new ways to use them all in conversational Ukrainian. Every time I learn a new word, it’s like a new treasure I have found or someone has shared with and gifted me. I am so thankful to have a teacher like Maria who just keeps learning more and more interesting! 🎁

Maria’s teaching prowess continues to flower, as do my own learning skills and applications of what she is teaching me! This past lesson felt like flying down a coastal highway in a convertible with the wind in my hair! I feel more and more able to freely find the words I truly want to use to express myself in Ukrainian and less and less often find myself with wide eyes, frozen in uncertainty of how to say something. What a feeling! What a rush! This is truly one of the best learning experiences I have ever had! And it just keeps getting better! ЯК?! I am so very thankful to have these opportunities to learn and grow! Thank you, Maria! 🙏 Дяку-YOU!