PrepNow Tutor - Jim F.
James began on his career path as a way to experience the world. In high school, he took German because his school had an exchange program with Germany, and by the time he came back from that program, he was fluent in German and on the road to studying and teaching languages. He holds a BA in German studies from American University in Washington, DC, and he has also studied languages more generally: he speaks German, French, Russian, and Spanish. Now, he says, “As a language teacher, I relish the opportunity to share the life-changing experience of international travel with my students.” Indeed, he runs an exchange program with a small German town, offering students a similar experience to the one that changed his trajectory.
James’s teaching style is founded on the belief that one can often relate subject matter to student interests. As he says, “Students can relate story arcs to favorite movies, hobbyists can follow algorithms comparable to testing procedures, and competitors can fuel their studies through the desire to win.” However, James notes, effective education is not necessarily about mapping certain subject areas exactly onto students’ lives; rather, teachers can relate to students most effectively by showing them that students matter as people, not simply clients. To wit, James says, “I am friendly and informal: I establish a rapport with students that allows me to share my curiosity and enthusiasm for learning.”
As James was just beginning to learn German, he was also very involved in high-school music: he played trombone, trumpet, and guitar and was a part of his theater’s pit orchestra and chorus. These days, he still plays music but not in many public forums (though he did entertain at an open-mic night a few years ago). He has also maintained an enduring attachment to games and narratives - he will accept nearly any offer to play or teach chess, and he enjoys role-playing and strategy games and fantasy and science fiction novels.
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