“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn.”

-Derived from Xun Kuang, Confucian Philosopher

English Language Coaching

Communication is the inherent currency of our world. It has facilitated the emergence of governments, religions, technologies, sciences, and other fundamental systems of civilization. Today —and throughout history— the stronger one’s ability to communicate outside of his immediate circle, the richer he is in opportunity, resources, and perspective.

With this core belief, I’ve repeatedly sought chances to teach English, which outranks Mandarin Chinese as the most spoken language worldwide. My hope is that a tight grasp of English, whether written or oral, will improve quality of life for my students and produce a multiplicative effect.

I’ve come to learn through my coaching that communication is splintered by locale and dependent on access to education. These observations drive my interest in bridging regional gaps and minimizing barriers to access.

Role: Tutor at the Knight Writing Institute
Dates: October 2016 to December 2018

Role: English Program 1-on-1 Tutor
Dates: July 2020 to Present

Role: College Application Essay Coach
Dates: September 2020 to Present

John S.Knight Institute

for Writing in the Disciplines

While studying at Cornell University, I took on part-time employment as a Writing Tutor with the Knight Writing Institute. Here, I advised students of all ages, across all of Cornell’s departments, from Engineering to Human Ecology, on techniques that may add power to a given point communicated in a paper.

A typical tutoring session involved a student visiting the Knight Writing Institute with a writing prompt from a course and either an intermediate or near-final paper. Students were in search of guidance on brainstorming, organization, or revision.

Over time, I learned that:

  • My role is that of a counselor, not an editor. Writers ultimately control the fates of their papers, no matter my intentions.

  • There is no need to “fix” a piece of writing on behalf of the original student-writer.

  • Exercising a tutoring philosophy of empowerment is both sustainable and rewarding.

  • Students must be encouraged to challenge and engage with their pieces, as I emphasize holistic review and reflection before focusing on specific sections or grammatical concerns.

Over two years, I built familiarity with writing styles suited to academia, ESL writers, writers with disabilities, and difficult subject matter. My time at Knight Writing Institute instilled in me the confidence and training necessary to pursue English tutoring with Paper Airplanes and The Opportunity Network.

Paper Airplanes

Once I felt professionally steady at Blackstone, I searched for avenues to teach English and reconnect with an academic audience. Soon, I discovered Paper Airplanes, a nonprofit organization that pairs together aspiring English-learners afflicted with regional conflict and virtual mentors fluent in the language.

Here began multiple lifelong friendships and my most rewarding tutoring experiences to date.

Through a matching system optimizing for availability and student skill level, I was paired with Mounira Haidar, a full-time Accounting professional and part-time student based in Syria, and later, with Zia Yazdani, a translator employed by ITM to support the Asylum Services of Greece.

Both students have consented to the publication of their LinkedIn profiles above.

    • At the start of our weekly sessions over Google Meet, Mounira had basic proficiency in English but sought to improve her grammar and speaking fluency. She had placed into the Upper Intermediate bucket through her Paper Airplanes entrance exam.

    • Over the course of consecutive semesters, Mounira and I jointly defined attainable goals for her English-learning journey and regularly tracked her progress and morale.

    • As Mounira’s mentor, I utilized various resources and the predefined curriculum (provided by Paper Airplanes) to move towards Mounira’s targets.

    • During each session, I incorporated speaking, reading, and writing elements and patiently allowed Mounira to grow her comfort with new vocabulary and grammar.

    • Now, Mounira has separated from the Paper Airplanes program, but she hopes that ongoing study of English will support her in the TOEFL exam and applications to graduate universities in the US.

    • Unlike Mounira, Zia placed into the Beginner bucket through his Paper Airplanes entrance exam, but like Mounira, he is incredibly passionate and dedicated in his pursuit of improvement.

    • Early on in our partnership, Zia was prevented from advancing to the next level in the curriculum by Paper Airplanes staff due to a low score on the previous level’s Final Exam. This was inconsistent with my impression of Zia as an ambitious and committed student, so I was inclined to review the Exam’s grading. Several grading errors that I identified increased Zia’s score and qualified him for the next level!

    • Zia and I continue to participate in weekly lessons held on Google Meet, and I continue to leverage Paper Airplanes’ materials as we progress through the curriculum. Though, Zia has expressed an added personal interest in developing writing-oriented and grammatical skills, so I emphasize the activities that build those more heavily.

    • Now, Zia has advanced 3 levels in the curriculum, and our work together is not yet done!

Sample Tutor Resource: “Teaching the Perfect Progressive Tense”

Sample Lesson Plan: “Home and Emergencies,” including 6 sections: Warm-Up, Pre-Activity, Activity, Post-Activity, Reflection, and Homework

Sample Student Learning Journal entry, with reflection on progress and new goals

I learn something new from each interaction with Mounira and Zia, but here’s what I’ve learned so far:

Be Nimble

Many of my conversations with Mounira steered away from the pre-set curriculum. Instead of stemming these deviations and adhering rigidly to the curriculum, I gave way to Mounira’s curiosity and natural inclinations while still incorporating key elements from the original lesson plan.

Prioritizing genuine bonding has also proven effective with Zia. How else would I know that he goes to the beach to swim often or how to make Mantu, Afghan dumplings, Zia’s favorite dish?!

By establishing connections outside of Paper Airplanes, my students gain trust in me, and I am able to deliver lessons organically, making them easier to retain. As an added bonus, both parties grow richer in friendships!

Be Persistent

Scheduling conflicts are not the exception but the norm when setting up weekly sessions with my students.

Despite the tendency of ad-hoc sessions to slow our momentum, Mounira’s conflicts were fully understandable given some of her situational constraints, such as electricity cuts in Syria and technology limitations. I stymied the impact of these issues by persistently messaging Mounira for her availability and verifying that she was equipped with the necessary resources to complete her independent assignments.

Zia, a full-time employee, is available only in the evenings for our lessons, which translates to during the workday for me, given the time difference. As a result, I routinely contact Zia to arrange meetings on holidays or weekends, generally agreeable to both him and I.

Be Innovative

Some form of technology was always accessible to Mounira, but it was not always a laptop. She was also more comfortable communicating over WhatsApp than email, which would have otherwise been our standard mode of exchanging course materials. Combined, these factors required me to adapt resources and assignments to fit Mounira’s available technology suite.

In Zia’s case, given difficulties with audio, we opted to simultaneously dial into a Google Meet session, both muted, simply for screen-sharing, and a WhatsApp call, for conversing throughout our active session.

Incorporating my students’ preferred mediums of consumption into our lessons cost innovation but paid in retention.

The Opportunity Network

I found that I still had unused bandwidth and a lingering urge to connect with students, given the isolation brought about by COVID-19 and the remote structure of Paper Airplanes.

So, I searched for additional opportunity to teach English. I discovered The Opportunity Network (OppNet), a nonprofit organization strengthening students in New York and New Jersey in their response to inequities that disproportionately affect students of color and low-income communities.

At the time, OppNet was recruiting Essay Coaches for the Fall 2020 term. The physical proximity of OppNet (headquartered 5 minutes away from my then-apartment!) was a delight.

Further, OppNet required a minimal time-commitment, as I would only be active as an Essay Coach for half of the year, during college application season.

Together, these considerations meshed perfectly with my lasting interest in English coaching. I joined OppNet in September 2020 and began supporting High School Seniors (those were the days!) as they ideated on, organized, drafted, and revised personal statements and writing supplements for universities.

Remembering my time at Knight Writing Institute, I empower my students to (1) embrace their creativity, (2) be open to iteration, and (3) both challenge and take pride in their writing.

I also volunteered as a Career Mentor with OppNet in 2024. With a wider scope of responsibility than my position as an Essay Coach, I reflected on my own professional journey and extracted key lessons for my Fellow. More tangibly, I passed on contacts in the industry as well as blueprints for common documents. My Fellow seemed to enjoy and gain confidence from our mock interviews, resume workshops, and general recruiting preparation.

By working with OppNet Fellows, I have:

1

Developed different ways to be supportive and thoughtful through various stages of the writing and recruiting processes, each requiring different amounts of asking, speaking, and listening on my part.

2

Understood the vulnerability and creativity that characterize early essay drafts as well as responses to interview questions, which both require any criticism to be constructive and high-level.

3

Solidified the type of student-teacher relationship that I want to maintain with all of my students going forward, by witnessing my students’ openness to my current style of feedback.

4

Experienced complete ownership of my tutoring style (in the absence of formal curriculum or handbooks), and grown independent, compassionate, and adaptable in my mentorship.