Erica Sim
Specialty ESL Lessons
Test prep, accent coaching, intensive courses, and more!
Sick of generalized English lessons that don't focus on what you need? These lessons are the solution! I offer many kinds of lessons that you will not find elsewhere, from unique intensive courses to accent coaching, as well as traditional lessons and test prep. No matter what area of English you want to work on, there is a course here for you. Each one will be specifically tailored to your needs and interests.
Traditional Lessons
$60/hour
These are traditional English lessons, like you may have had before. We cover a mix of grammar, vocabulary, listening exercises, speaking, reading, and writing. Some at-home work is encouraged. The lessons are tailored to work on the student's personal needs, including addressing weaknesses and covering vocabulary for topics that they find interesting.
Conversational Lessons
$45/hour
These are conversation-based lessons. We can talk about anything that interests you! Vocabulary learned will depend on the topics you choose. The benefit of having conversational lessons with a real ESL teacher over regular conversations lies in the follow-up. At the end of each lesson, I will go over weak areas or systematic mistakes that came up during the conversation, ultimately improving your fluency!
Test Prep
$80/hour
I have experience teaching ESL students preparing for the SAT, ACT, GRE, and IELTS. (The GRE is my specialty!) We will go over proven test taking strategies and practice the skills and tasks that will be on the exam. For IELTS, this will mean a focus on speaking, listening, and writing. For the other exams, we will focus on the English needed to understand word problems and instructions. For all exams, we will learn lots of vocabulary and practice critical reading skills in English.
Tutoring (for class)
$45/hour
If you aren't looking for full lessons, but just need help with a class, this is the option for you! We can go over homework and assignments, as well as any vocabulary you may need. This is not limited to tutoring for ESL classes! This can be help with English for any subject; we can work on understanding readings on any topic, or on reading academic writing more generally.
Paper help & editing
$45/hour
Are you overwhelmed by writing assignments? I can help you find the issues that are holding you back, and tricks to get started. We will also go over papers to catch errors and find ways to improve the final product. I can help you write a great paper, from the outline up!
Accent Coaching & English Phonology
$75/hour
Is your English great, but you still have problems being understood? Or maybe you've just started and you're struggling with making some of the sounds used in American English. I am a trained linguist, specializing in phonetics and phonology. In these lessons, you will get the benefit of years of study of American English accents and dialects, learning from a teacher raised in the Midwest US (the closest accent to a Standard American English one). In this intensive course, we will focus on the physical location in your mouth that you are using to create the sound in order to perfect your pronunciation. We will do a lot of recording, listening, and repeating. I also like to use poetry and lyrics to help practice these new sounds.
Practical English
$60/hour
Traditional English lessons are great, but they tend not to focus on the little things that you deal with every day here in the US. In these lessons, we can focus on the area(s) and tasks of your choice. Some previous topics have been: signs, abbreviations, reading packaging, recipes, using the post office, and asking questions in a shop or restaurant.   We will practice these in real time, in various locations. These lessons are a great way to bring your English out from behind your desk and into the real world!
Intensive courses
$70/hour
Is there one particular area of English that continues to give you trouble? Do you want to improve a specific skill very quickly? An intensive course with me may be what you need! I offer intensive courses on grammar (all levels), vocabulary, reading, and writing. These courses generally last for 6 to 8 lessons which can be taken as quickly as you like (I recommend 6 weeks).  To achieve the results you want within this kind of time frame, these courses will require some at-home work.
Lessons for Teens and Children
By arrangement
Teens are more than welcome to take any of the above courses! (Younger teens may do better with 45 minute lessons.) I also teach children by arrangement. I have experience teaching children as young as 3 years old, using the "guided play" techniques used in English lessons in private kindergartens in Istanbul. Please contact me and we can discuss what the best lessons for your children would be!
Other Subjects
By arrangement
I am also happy to offer tutoring in other subjects besides English. These include: math (any area up to and including college calculus as well as probability & statistics), Russian, computer science (Python or Java), and mandolin lessons.
Contact Me
Let me know if you are interested in a lesson with me (or have any questions)! Please include what type(s) of lesson you want.
University District, Seattle, WA
