Elizabeth Dennis
Bilingual Professional
St. James
Summary
PROFESSIONALSUMMARY Bilingual Spanish Teacher with over thirty (30) years of experience teaching and thirty (30( years of speaking Spanish. Educated students using forms of teaching such as communication in only foreign languages, immersive instruction, as well as interactive activities involving movement, songs, role-playing, arts and crat and food preparation. High degree of fluency and specialize in managing students and maximizing learning opportunities in diverse classroom settings. Extensive travel study and residence experience across Latin America and the Spanish Speaking Caribbean .
Overview
34
34
years of professional experience
Work History
Interpreter/Translator/Instructor
Self -Employed
St. James
01.1991 - Current
- Spanish/English
- Designed and implemented customized language programs for persons with minimal or no proficiency in both English and Spanish in order to encourage and improve communication in the target language in a manner that is comprehensible to a native speaker
- Prepared students sitting CSEC exams as well as Cambridge and A ‘Levels
- Designed Spanish for Business programs customized to client’s specific industry in order to meet their needs
- Designed curriculums for US middle school Spanish and worked closely with the Head of Department to execute program efficiently
- Designed Spanish Immersion program for a primary school in the North of Port of Spain to assist in the implementation of Spanish as a second language in order to change the culture of the school
- Also provided Interpreting/Translation and other Language services to various organizations including:
- The U.N.,
- Tidco
- Niherst,
- US Board of Education,
- Customs and Excise
- Neal and Massy
- Lucent Technologies
- Avaya
- Provided language translation and customer service skills to clients in a wide variety of business sectors.
Foreign Language Instructor
Centro Venezolano Americano
Caracas,
09.1990 - 08.1991
- Designed task-oriented activities and games to facilitate better language acquisition.
- Provided written and oral feedback to parents on students' progress.
- Organized detailed list of resources to help students go beyond classroom environments and delve into topics of interest.
- Expanded student understanding of texts by spearheading in-depth discussions and assigning exploratory essays to help students articulate knowledge.
- Developed activities and integrated technology to diversify instruction.
- Increased ESL students' reading levels by integrating online word games and altering lesson plans for students needing extra guidance.
- Attended workshops to learn about student motivation and engaging learning activities.
- Created monthly academic status reports based on in-depth student evaluations.
- Gave one-on-one attention to each student while maintaining overall focus on entire group.
- Documented student attendance and progress against goals.
- Educated students in basics of English grammar and conversational speaking.
- Developed and taught ESL curriculum to improve students' conversational abilities.
- Designed seasonal programs emphasizing vocabulary, pronunciation and reading comprehension.
- Improved instruction methods by using various assessment tools and strategies.
- Employed variety of assessment tools and strategies to improve instruction methods.
- Assigned lessons and corrected homework.
- Used positive reinforcement and provided clear feedback to help students succeed.
Assistant Teacher
LEAP
Palo Alto
09.1989 - 08.1990
- Monitored and reported student progress and development, offering mentoring as needed.
- Kept records of student progress for teachers and parents and made notes on behavior, grades, comprehension and personal growth.
- Worked with teachers to design lesson plans and coordinate activities for classes.
- Assisted in lessons, curriculum and homework planning.
- Monitored students' work, corrected papers and delivered other administrative support.
- Engaged with teacher and students and encouraged children to develop physically, emotionally and socially.
- Initiated positive verbal contact in appropriate language with each student every day and verified fulfillment of program expectations.
- Assisted with maintenance of clean, safe, healthy and developmentally appropriate classroom environment and supported bilingual needs.
- Worked with individuals or small groups of students to reinforce learning of materials and used bilingual communication when necessary for clarity.
- Served as translator and interpreter for written and verbal communication to students, parents and staff members.
- Displayed knowledge of various routine educational tasks, duties and procedures and followed specific instructions of teacher.
- Worked expertly and productively with students and parents from diverse ethnic groups.
- Supported teacher in classroom discipline and maintained standards of pupil behavior.
- Demonstrated flexibility, coped with challenges of rapidly changing world and assisted students lacking language proficiency.
- Helped teacher prepare instructional material and displays.
Education
Bachelor of Education - Educational Leadership
CREDI Vianney House
Belmont, Trinidad2009
Bachelor of Arts - Pschology
Universidad Católica De Andres Bello
Andres Bello, Venezuela1991
Montessori Training -
London Montessori Center
Woodbrook, Trinidad1991
ESL Training Caracas -
CVA
Caracas 1990
Skills
- Study Sessions
- Spanish Interpreting
- Educational Team Collaboration
- Public Education
- Staff Education
- School Administration
- Positive Learning Environment
- Group and Individual Instruction
- Parent and Guardian Communication
- Instructional Materials Preparation
- Positive Reinforcement Methods
- Classroom Integration
- Different Learning Styles
- Educational Tours
- Classroom Setup and Decorating
Latin Dancing, Acting
Have set school plays in the past and do occasional advertisements from time to time. Member of the Lydians Choir.
Also member of Latin Dance group doing performances a couple times a year.
Timeline
Interpreter/Translator/Instructor
Self -Employed
01.1991 - Current
Foreign Language Instructor
Centro Venezolano Americano
09.1990 - 08.1991
Assistant Teacher
LEAP
09.1989 - 08.1990
Bachelor of Education - Educational Leadership
CREDI Vianney House
Bachelor of Arts - Pschology
Universidad Católica De Andres Bello
Montessori Training -
London Montessori Center
ESL Training Caracas -
CVA
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