My background
I’m an English instructor and linguist living in San Francisco, California. I grew up in a big family (by US standards anyway!) near Flint, Michigan where I studied Spanish and French in undergrad.
After teaching English in a high school in northern France, I moved to northern Texas to earn my Master’s degree in Linguistics and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).
Then I moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where I earned my PhD in Linguistics and taught linguistics to undergraduate students and intensive English language classes to international students.
In 2012, I moved to San Francisco and I’ve been teaching full-time at private universities and seeing private clients since then. For more detail, you can see my resume here:
My experience
For more than 15 years, I have been teaching a wide variety of learners and subjects, but my main expertise is working with non-native English speakers from outside the US.
My current and former clients include a large variety of:
ages: from teenagers to seniors
career stages: from entry-level to C-suite
language backgrounds: from Arabic to Zulu
nationalities: US citizens and residents, as well as international visitors, students, and employees
educational affiliations: K-12 students, undergraduate and graduate university students, post-doctoral scholars, faculty and staff, and full-time researchers
In short, I’ve worked with a wide diversity of people from many backgrounds. I’m eager to put my experience to work for you no matter your background.
My approach
My focus is on developing English skills to help you succeed in your academic and professional goals. I can help you with:
cultural knowledge
avoiding social missteps that can cost you opportunities
reading “between the lines” in business and social settings
pronunciation
clarifying your pronunciation to accommodate a variety of listeners
using pausing and intonation to convey exactly what you mean to say
speaking
engaging in relaxed and approachable conversations to build connection
giving clear and confident presentations to persuade listeners
writing
adhering to the expectations your readers have for your text
identifying the standards of your professional or academic context
I have helped clients tackle a variety of projects. Here is a short list of some of the successes we’ve had together:
business plans – grant proposals, calls for proposals, website redesigns, pamphlets, pitch decks, funding proposals
job searches – resumes, cover letters, website redesigns, portfolios, interview preparation
university applications – including written and oral preparation for undergraduate and graduate programs in all fields, especially engineering, law, and business school
I’m eager to help you achieve your English language goals for school, work, or daily life. Don’t hesitate to let me know what you’re working on and ask me how I can help you do your best.
Private tutoring
Let’s work one-on-one to help you achieve your goals as quickly as possible. I typically meet with clients for one-hour sessions once every week or two.
Previous clients have focused on:
business school (MBA) and graduate school (master’s, doctorate) applications
job interviews and searches
pitches for entrepreneurial investment
research journal manuscripts
Get in touch with me to schedule your free half-hour consultation. I’ll learn more about your current English abilities, your goals, and afterward I’ll generate a plan of action for us to work on together.
“I was very lucky to work with Kristopher during my MBA preparation.
.. I was impressed by his attention to English learners and his gentle style of correcting mistakes... Kristopher’s lessons helped me understand a lot of the cultural aspects of the language, which I believe is very valuable…
[D]uring my preparation for the MBA, I had another goal – improve my writing English skills. At this time, Kristopher developed the curriculum, found the relevant materials, and taught me techniques for creative writings. Later in my MBA admission journey, I was looking for improving my interviewing skills… I like his structured approach to every request I had… [W]e did mock interviews. Kristopher recorded the whole lesson and then divided it by interviewing questions. He provided audio files with a thorough analysis of pronunciation, intonation, and figures of speech for every question.
Overall, I am very grateful for all the tremendous work done by Kristopher! He taught me English in a way no one does before. Kristopher lighted my learning journey with anecdotes, jokes, and fun! .”
Group tutoring
Let me design a series of classes for your group of English learners. I have taught hundreds of courses ranging in size from pairs to several dozen. Past courses include single-event workshops and lectures, as well as multi-week courses with multiple focuses.
Previously, my courses have focused on:
university and fellowship/scholarship applications
English for academic purposes
professional development and job searches
Let’s talk about your goals and how I can design a learning experience that takes advantage of high interaction, actionable feedback, and nuanced understanding of how English is actually used today by the most successful speakers and writers.
“I first met Kristopher at Stanford Continuing Education in summer 2018. In that class, I liked his conversational teaching style. Since then, I have reached out to him on numerous occasions for different professional writing assignments such as grant proposals, presentations, marketing materials. I find his command over English language top-notch. In addition to being a subject matter expert, I appreciate his pleasant personality.”
— Rajat Ghosh, PhD
Editing and proofreading
I have a keen eye for detail and extensive experience giving specific feedback on writing projects of all kinds. I provide feedback not just on mechanical matters (grammar, spelling, vocabulary, punctuation, etc.) but also stylistic matters (word choice, tone, clarity, and organization).
Examples of texts that I have edited include:
Master’s and doctoral theses and dissertations
research journal manuscripts
application materials for both academic and professional purposes
websites, pamphlets, and other marketing materials
academic coursework at all levels of education: primary, secondary, undergraduate, and graduate
Let me know what you’re working on and what you hope to achieve.
“I am very grateful for Kris's help on my English!
Kris is the most professional English mentor I had. I am very surprised with his thoughtful plan and systematic courses. My oral English has a significant improvement after Kris's courses, as it is noticed by my lab PI and other colleagues. It is beneficial for me in both short and long term!
For my short-term goal of grad school application, I am so thrilled to tell that I get offers from Stanford, Harvard, Caltech, Rockefeller, UCSF, UCLA, UCSD. And I decide to go to Stanford for my PhD. In this difficult year, this result is far beyond my expectation. This is impossible without Kris's help!
I would like to recommend him to anyone who has similar need as me and see his courses help more and more people..”
—X. Xiong, PhD student at Stanford University