Hello! My name is Irena. When I first started using italki I was a student just like you. I really enjoyed my italki experience - it helped me get fluent in Italian! - so I decided to become a community tutor teaching English and Croatian, two languages that I speak at a native level. Time and time again, I was inspired by my students’ determination and motivation to learn a new language. So many wonderful stories of perseverance and success. I’ve learned so much from them. It has been a life-changing experience. I think it’s important to continue growing in whatever we do. After almost 2 years I took it one step further and obtained a TEFL certificate. I wanted to be able to help my students even more and understand how they can use their unique learning style to speed up their progress. So here I am now, ready to hear your story and help you reach your goal of becoming fluent too. I teach intuitively. Which is a strange thing to say, but it is true, I do. I try to feel what my students need at a certain stage and then select the right kind of approach and materials to help them moving forward. Those range from online articles, comic books, videos, audio files to writing prompts. I sometimes even write personalized short stories for my students as well! They make them giggle. Then I giggle too. It’s essential to continue having fun as we journey together, isn’t it? So, what do I do when I am not teaching online? I have a rather broad range of interests. I wish there was enough space to write them all. I will single out photography and design though. This actually includes a range of visual arts (illustration, graphic novels, typography, calligraphy. You name it - I probably do it!). For a long time, I was toying with an idea of creating a photography book from my travels in Italy but I've put it on the back burner, for now. I’ve been working on another similar project since My other big loves: creative writing, crafts, tango and my fat cat Jack. ;-)