Glynis Jones

I have taught Chinese and Russian in classrooms and private lessons at the elementary, secondary, and university level.

I currently offer private tutoring and small-group lessons in person (in Western Mass) or remote for students of all ages and levels who wish to learn Modern Mandarin, Classical Chinese, or Standard Russian. My tutoring methods draw from my extensive experience as both teacher and student of these languages. I use a combination of open source online materials and my own curriculum to tailor my teaching to my students’ needs.

My teaching style is founded in a mix of methodologies: I do not believe in a complete immersion style of teaching nor do I believe in a completely traditional approach which eschews speaking in favor of translation. Instead, I use as much immersion in the classroom as is appropriate to the level and individual learning styles of my students. Immersion is valuable in the context of natural conversation: in the beginning of class when we are chatting about our weekends and during class discussions. The clarity of English is essential for short grammatical explanations, classroom structure discussions, and the occasional clarifying question. Keeping students loose, relaxed, and unafraid to make mistakes keeps them learning and growing.

I completed my student teaching for Chinese (grades 5-12) at Amherst Regional High School and Middle School in the 2021-2022 school year. I was primary instructor for the intermediate and beginner classes, regularly substituted for advanced and AP levels, and taught weekly Taichi classes. While at ARHS, I also taught an after school Russian language and culture class. My students and I led a fundraiser for disabled people in Ukraine by selling t shirts, stickers, and Russian candy.

As a Teaching Assistant at the University of Massachusetts from 2019-2022, I taught Chinese 110 and 120 as primary instructor both in person and over zoom through the depths of the covid-19 pandemic. I worked within the framework of the Integrated Chinese textbooks to teach speaking, listening, reading, and writing, while also bringing in culturally relevant activities such as calligraphy.

Prior to my work at UMass, I was a bilingual paraprofessional at the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School teaching late-entry students who did not go through the early ed immersion process to improve their Chinese skills.

Reach out to set up a tutoring session!