Kevin Lowdermilk

Hi!

My name is Kevin. I am a native English speaker with dual American and Norwegian nationalities. I am currently based in Sicily and have 3+ years of experience teaching, both in schools and privately from home, to all ages and levels. Although I often prefer working with teens and adults, as this is where the really fun grammar and the most interesting conversations happen, my experience with young learners is extensive, and I honestly enjoy working with anyone who has a desire to learn, regardless of their age or level.

I like teaching from context and put a lot of focus on speaking and listening. As much as I love talking about grammar and explaining rules and nuance in great detail, my primary focus is on getting you, as a learner, to start using the language and improving your skills and knowledge from day one. Context is a useful tool as it gives you a medium from which to use the target language in a way that is natural and unscripted. You will be required, by the context of the material, to use whatever grammar points are being studied that day, so that by the end of each lesson you will have actually used and practised the target grammar and vocabulary both orally and in writing.

It is also important for me that language be used and learned in a natural and communicative way, rather than memorising lines and sentence structures as if you are going to recite them on stage. It is important that you learn how to communicate and use all the language you know rather than simply memorising various phrases and repeating them in an unnatural manner. For this reason, I also like task-based teaching, which is an approach where there may be a focal grammar point but a lack of target language. This encourages natural communication and critical thinking as you are required to complete a clearly defined task using whatever language you have at your disposal. The target language is dependent on what emerges during the session and will be reviewed at a later stage. All that being said, my approach always depends on the student's personal needs and expectations.

I honestly love teaching English. It is the best job I have ever had. I love connecting with my students and helping them achieve their goals and become a better version of themselves. I speak several languages, so I know that it can feel like a daunting task in the beginning, but with patience, I promise you can achieve your goals. Learning a language may not happen overnight. It may demand your blood, sweat, and tears, but that doesn't mean it can't be fun! I look forward to meeting you.