Search from various English teachers...
Profile
I enjoy teaching English as a foreign language via Skype and Wire. I'm interested in languages in general but unfortunately, these days, I'm so busy with my teaching work that I have no time to improve my knowledge of other languages.
Learning
Other
Language Skills
EnglishNative
Spanish
French
Russian
Lesson Feedback
Lesson history
 Last monthLast 3 monthsAll time
Completed lessons004
Attendance rate100%100%100%
Teacher reviews
Galina
Russian
Dec 9, 2016
Спасибо за интересную беседу, мне было приятно провести время с Вами. Ваш русский достаточно хорош, особенно грамматика. Вы редко ошибаетесь в спряжениях глаголов и в падежах, чувствуется старая школа. Буду рада видеть Вас снова. Удачи!
Marina
Russian
Dec 1, 2016
Вы хорошо говорите по-русски. Старайтесь больше практиковать разговор и работать над ошибками и все трудности, связанные с грамматикой, уйдут сами собой. Спасибо!
Russian with Alla
Russian
Nov 24, 2016
Спасибо, Дуглас! У Вас хорошие базовые знания русского языка, продолжайте в том же духе!
Isabel Freitas
Portuguese
Oct 23, 2014
Doug has a nice level of Portuguese, it will be easy for him (with a lot of work, of course) to improve quickly! Thank you!
Activities
  • Corrected

    Сommitment of further crimes after release from prison

    Nowadays, modern society often meets a crucial problem when, after being in prison, criminals repeatedly commit murder, robbery and other offences. This serious problem has three reasons and three solutions for it.
    Firstly, criminals cannot find a well paid job for good money. They have a bad reputation after committing crime, so  nobody wants to hire them and to work with them. Secondly, they return to the criminal community they used to belong to. As the people around them steal, break and kill, the ex-convicts start to repeat their behavior. Thirdly, prison is a terrible place where people get know with other delinquents. There are many other cases of violence, danger and pressure, so each person suffers numerous psychological problems. Even though the causes of repeated criminal behavior are very complex, nevertheless there are three ways to solve them.
    On the one hand, prisons should build schools and libraries and organize special events for offenders so as to change their lives, to give them the chance to find a job and a place in the community. On the other hand, the government should implement an employment program in other regions to provide the opportunity for people all over the country to get experience. Also, it would help  new employees to make new friends, find love and change their social behavior. Although criminals have many psychological problems, it is still possible to resolve them but only under the control of special staff, developing prisoners’ feeling of being part of the community. If the government will not help its citizens, who else will help them?
    Taking everything into consideration, improving the criminal situation requires investment and political action from the government, which is something that is sometimes not easy to achieve.
    0 voted
    March 29, 2019
    0
  • Corrected
    0 voted
    March 29, 2019
    0
  • Corrected
    0 voted
    March 25, 2019
    0
  • Corrected
    0 voted
    March 24, 2019
    0
  • Commented
    Yes, it happens. I suppose the saying, "It takes all sorts to make a world," applies. Some people are polite and considerate, others are not. It's the same feeling one gets when one holds a door open for someone and the person just sails through with no acknowledgement. Oh well, "c'est la vie". :)
    0 voted
    March 21, 2019
    0
  • Answered
    It's an interesting question. I think that, in general, you're right that we tend to use 'looks like' when we can actually see something. 'Seems' or 'seems like' could be used in either context - either a place that you've seen or a place that you have some knowledge about that suggests that it's a peaceful place. For example, 'I saw it from the train. It looked / seemed like a peaceful place'. However, we would say, "John told me about his holiday in La Rochelle. It seems (not 'looks') like a really peaceful place." We can also use 'looks' when we're making suppositions; e.g. 'It looks like (or better: 'looks as if') he isn't coming today'; or, 'It looks like (or, 'as if') you've forgotten to pay the electricity bill again!' In these cases it's not necessarily about something that you've seen.
    0 voted
    March 18, 2019
    0
  • Corrected

    New Year

    When was a child I used to wait for New year as something amazing and charmed [better: 'charming', or maybe 'magical']. I remember how I woke up and couldn't believe that “today I is the 31st of December!!!! Wow!!’ when I became older I acquired a lot of duties: to throw away from my house [better: 'to throw away from my house'] everything that I didn't need, buy gifts, write congratulations, to cook holiday dinner, to buy a new dress.. Several years ago i started to write a to-do list for the next year. Clearly it is a good idea for my self-development, but I noticed that I reproached myself for things which I hadn’t done by New Year. But today I have thought about it differently. Why do we go crazy about New Year? Why do we spend all our salary for [better: 'on'] presents? Shops decorate everything from November and try to force us to spend our money. New Year has become a commercial holiday. I read that shops do 80% of their sales at this time. I have realised that we don’t need to buy expensive gifts, we can buy something useful or cook something. The main idea of a gift is to show appreciation to the person [or 'people'] who you love. We don’t need to try do everything from a to-do list by New Year. On the 1st of January every year we stand by themselves! [I'm not sure what you mean here; maybe: 'we stand by ourselves'?]. This holiday we need to spend time with our relatives, do what we want, to have a rest etc. #moreфон

    [I absolutely agree that, these days, Christmas and New Year are all about spending lots of money on things we probably don't need!]

    0 voted
    December 14, 2018
    0
  • Corrected

    Funny story

    Once I had a task to [better: Once I had to] deliver a cargo [better: a package / an item] to a partner of our company [better: one of our company's partners]. As soon as I arrived in the partner's city I tried to call him but suddenly I heard a conversation between the partner and a manager of our company [better: one of our company's managers] on my phone. They were discussing my arrival and (they) could not understand where I was. I decided to interrupt them saying "I am here" and they were surprised. So was I. I had never had such a situation, when more than two people could join one telephone line.

    [Me neither!]

    0 voted
    November 21, 2018
    1
  • Corrected

    Language

    Language it is a great gift. We are often inclined to forget what language means. But we can do nothing without a language. Language is a very complicated living substance, it reflects every idea which is ever created. But for an average person, it is not easy to notice how his mother tongue works. A language is like a third parent, its impact on personality is enormous; a child doesn't realise  how much he has been given by his parents.
    But as soon as you try to learn a foreign language, it becomes clear. You have to crack a huge system. You have to change your personality, your mind. As for me for a long time, I had a temptation. To translate the system of my first language to the foreign language system. It's an absolutely false idea. Only separate words can be translated, not systems. The main idea of learning the language is to understand the system inside.

    [It's true that most people don't notice how their mother tongue works. Most native English-speakers would be unable to explain English grammar. :) ]

    0 voted
    November 20, 2018
    1
  • Corrected

    Fantastic Beasts

    Hello, everybody! Could you please correct my short review about the new movie for possible mistakes?
    I also have a question for you if you like ['fancy' has the meaning of wanting to acquire or do something; for example, "I fancy a cup of tea. How about you?", or "Do you fancy going to the cinema tonight?". It can also be used informally in the sense of finding someone attractive; for example, "My friend really fancies you."] J.K. Rowling's books. Do you read her detective stories about Cormoran Strike? Do you like them?

    So, today I (have) watched a movie that I have been waiting for to come out for two years. It's the second part of Fantastic Beasts - The Crimes of Grindelwald. The story now focuses on the main villain, Grindelwald. He wants to rule the magic world and is gathering followers. Newt Scamander and his friend Tina are trying to stop him. Generally, I think that the second part is less dynamic and less gripping. But it tells another story about the world created by J.K. Rowling, so I enjoyed it anyway.

    [Good review! I'm not a huge fan of J.K. Rowling. She has a wonderful imagination but her characters don't come to life for me.]

    0 voted
    November 19, 2018
    2