TARA NAIR tnair09@gmail.

com

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
Instructor with Masters degree, CELTA certification, and five years of teaching experience in domestic and
international settings. Specialized in Adult ESL, Spanish, and standardized test prep instruction.

EDUCATION
May 2017 M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
Teachers College, Columbia University - New York, NY USA
July 2014 Cambridge CELTA (Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults)
University of Texas at Austin - Austin, TX USA
April 2013 B.A. in Linguistics
B.S. in Psychology
University of Pittsburgh, Honors College - Pittsburgh, PA USA
January May 2012 Study Abroad: Universidad de Salamanca - Salamanca Spain

Languages: English (native), Spanish (fluent), Portuguese / Hindi / Malayalam (intermediate)

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Verbling Online various locations
English Language Instructor & Private Tutor
August 2014 present
Present 800+ hours to date of innovative conversation-based lessons for adults using the Google Hangouts
and Verbling live video platforms, delivered through desktop and mobile app
Develop personalized curriculum managed in Google Docs to tutor professionals looking to secure new
jobs, give presentations, learn English for daily purposes, or pass English language exams

Teachers College - Community Language Program New York, NY USA

ESL Instructor
May 2016 May 2017
Taught adults of diverse backgrounds in 10-week courses in Advanced ESL Writing and Conversation
using self-developed curricula, syllabi, and validated assessments
Instructed intermediate level adult students in a 60-hour intensive Integrated Skills course, adapting
Communicative and Task-Based Language Teaching approaches to a theme-based curriculum

Teachers College, Columbia University New York, NY USA

Graduate Teaching Assistant
July 2016 December 2016
Taught lab component for 65 students in 3 sections of required course A&HL4101: Phonetics & Phonology
Provided scaffolding and guided review for phonetic transcription/transformation practice and analysis of
phonetic data problem sets inside and outside of class, followed by graded weekly assessments

All Ivy Tutors Future Leaders Institute New York, NY USA

After-School Prep Academy Enrichment Teacher
September 2015 May 2016
Led classes of 25 students (grades K-4) in Math and Language Arts classroom enrichment & computer lab
sessions for underprivileged youth at a charter school in Harlem
TARA NAIR tnair09@gmail.com

Education First - English Language Center Boston, MA USA

Activities Coordination Intern
June 2015 August 2015
Served as a cultural ambassador, language translator, and city guide to plan, schedule, and lead international
students in cultural activities around the Boston metropolitan area

AmeriCorps - A Community for Education Austin, TX USA

Bilingual Literacy Tutor
August 2013 June 2014
Served over 1700 hours of direct national service at Cook Elementary, a Title I public school
Implemented ten daily student-specific interventions targeting phonemic awareness and oral reading fluency
Collaborated with school administrators, program supervisors, teachers, and team members to facilitate
instruction with fidelity to the ACE mission for all students to achieve literacy standards by 3rd grade
Coordinated multiple written and online tracking systems to analyze weekly data on intervention efficacy

Kaplan Test Prep Buffalo, NY & Pittsburgh, PA USA

Classroom SAT Prep Teacher, Private Tutor
January 2011 August 2015
Presented and modeled effective test-taking strategies for SAT Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal, & Writing
sections using The Kaplan Method for over 150 students

VOLUNTEER WORK
LifeWorks Youth & Family Alliance Austin, TX USA
Adult ESL Instructor
November 2013 July 2014
Taught fundamentals of English vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation to immigrant populations of
beginner learners
Emphasized integration of cultural awareness with pragmatic competence in American conversation
Support a varied learning environment for speakers of diverse backgrounds, occupations, and ages

University of Pittsburgh English Language Institute Pittsburgh, PA USA

Talk Time Leader & Conversation Partner
August 2011 April 2013
Scaffolded group discussions by reinforcing thematic elements, pronunciation, and idiomatic vocabulary
Met with international students 1-on-1 to practice speaking English and learn partners native language

Colegio San Jose & Colegio Pblico Caja de Ahorros Salamanca Spain
English Teacher Aide, Language Workshop Leader
January May 2012
Assisted in delivering weekly phonetics lessons during regular English classes at Spanish primary school
Collaborated with a team to design curriculum for after-school workshops for novice English speakers

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE ____________________________

Teachers College, Columbia University
Research Assistant
January 2017-May-2017
Lead Researcher: Dr. Cathryn Crosby
Assist in development of a theoretical framework by which to assess L2 writing teachers writing
Collect, count, and analyze writing tasks completed by graduate students in TESOL in 3 M.A.programs
TARA NAIR tnair09@gmail.com

University of Pittsburgh Psychology Department

Phonetic Data Research Assistant
March 2015 November 2016
Lead Researcher: Adeetee Bhide
Listened to and transcribed raw sound files from Hindi to IPA while assigning scores for phonetic accuracy
Conferenced with lead researcher monthly for task/transcription revisions

University of Pittsburgh - Psycho-Linguistics Underpinnings of Multilingualism (PLUM) Lab

Research Assistant
September 2012 April 2013
Lead Researchers: Dr. Natasha Tokowicz & Dr. Katherine Martin
Scheduled and tested participants for research study on concreteness in second language acquisition
Compiled, transferred, and coded participant data for analysis
Read and analyzed relevant literature for bi-weekly lab group meetings and weekly project meetings

University of Pittsburgh Exploring Grammar in High-Functioning Autistics

Research Assistant
January April 2011
Lead Researcher: Dr. Jennifer Ganger
Designed stimuli and ran subjects in study on grammatical judgments in high-functioning autistics
Discussed relevant literature and application to research goals with project leader
Created and presented research poster at Psychology Undergraduate Research Forum in Spring 2011

SELECTED HONORS & PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS

Teachers College Merit Scholarship (2015 - 2016)

Teachers College Minority Scholarship (2015 - 2017)
Panel Chair for Language and Social Interaction Working Group (LANSI). (2015, 2016)

Crosby, C. & Nair, T. (March 2017). Writing Teachers Writing. TESOL International Convention &
English Language Expo, Poster Session. Seattle, WA.
Nair, T. & Chiu, K-C. (November 2016). A practical guide to meaningful grouping in a
communicative language classroom. TESOL/AL Roundtable Forum. Teachers College, Columbia
University. New York City, NY.
Nair, T. (February 2016). North v. South: Language Roots and Distinguishing Features of Hindi and
Malayalam. (UN)Spoken Languages: A Celebration of Mother Tongue Day. Teachers College, Columbia
University. New York City, NY.

SKILLS & INTERESTS __________________________________

Educational Technology: Microsoft Office Suite, SMART Board technologies, Schoology, Moodle,
Dropbox, TurnItIn, TerminalFour, SPSS, Verbling, Weebly.

Travel: -Extensive travel throughout Western Europe, Brazil, India, and USA.
-Residence in Spain (2012, 2015).
- Residence in China, forthcoming (2017).

Personal Interests: Word puzzles, long-distance running, yoga, and painting.

Professional E-Portfolio: www.taranair.weebly.com