Native Speaker Szczecin - Your next steps with English
Are you a professional or company who works with English speaking clients?
My specialty is getting you to the next level of English as a language skill.
I have helped people get from pre-intermediate to intermediate and from intermediate to advanced. I’ve helped hundreds of professionals understand English in a new and easy way. I’ve helped these same people gain confidence by speaking English better. If you were under the impression that English is difficult and you might have given up at some point, my lessons are the perfect place for you to be.
I am a native speaker orginally from the USA, living in Szczecin with over 15 years of local English teaching experience. I put focus on speaking and on the common grammar problems that most people have with English. Through many years of teaching experience, I make the rules easy and show you how they change the meanings of what we say in a simple and easy way that you will always remember. Speaking is an important part of our English lessons, you will gain the confidence you need to speak English in any situation.
The beauty of learning English is not only your language ability, but also how you will grow as a person.
You can learn more about me and gain some good tips about learning English in my blog below.
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◦ Are you having trouble finding the right words to communicate your ideas in English?
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◦ Are you not getting results from other teachers / courses that you should be?
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◦ Are you a serious student who wants to communicate in English better?
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◦ Are you willing to put in the time and practice it takes to get better at English?
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◦ Is it difficult for you to remember English grammar rules?
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◦ Do you wish learning English was easier?
If you answered yes to one or more of these questions,
you have come to the right place.
A serious student needs a serious teacher and visa versa.
One to One Lessons
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Individual lessons for pre-Intermediate and above and if your goal is to get to an advanced level of English. Approximate time is two to three years depending on your current level, focus and time put into practicing (easier than you think). I have helped hundreds of students do this, even some of them over 50 years old. It doesn't matter what difficulty you had in the past with learning languages, this is a step by step process I developed over many years of teaching where I make the grammar super easy to understand and remember compared to any explanation you might have had before.
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You should be located in Szczecin, however online is also possible now.
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Time is 90 min. once a week with homework.
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Price is 150zl per 90 min. lesson.
Online Lessons
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Shorter online lessons for intermediate and above are recommended if you want to simply refresh your general Engliish skills, feel more confident. These are shorter lessons based more on conversation (some grammar as needed) with me giving you more natural and native phrases and vocabulary as we speak. Some homework, 20 to 30 min a week.
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These lessons can be shorter (i.e. a few months) or longer (a year or more), depending on your situation.
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Time is 50 min. once a week (or twice a week, depending on how quickly you need to refresh).
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Price is 80zl per online lesson.
Lessons for Companies
If you are with a company and you or your management team are looking for a native speaker to have lessons with, contact me through the email form below to discuss details about pricing and scheduling possibilities.
Introduce yourself!
Typically I am in a lesson, so using the email form here is the best way to contact me.
Please read the tips below.
Why Is English Important?
Over 50% of the European Union speaks English as a second language. In the countries surrounding Poland the percentages are much higher. You can say that more people speak Chinese or even Spanish, but those are very localized situations and even in those countries most people learn English as a second language. English is the de facto language of business world-wide and that won’t change for a long time.
If you want to get the most time benefit for your efforts, English is your best choice.
A good skill based on solid fundamentals lasts forever.
How Will English Help Me?
I have been in Poland (Szczecin) since 2004. When I came here you could still feel and see a bit how it was in the Soviet Union times. I have seen so much growth since then. I have seen students get promotions and better jobs. I have heard from students about being able to handle speaking and doing business deals much easier. This gives me great satisfaction to see students growing and Poland growing. I can say Poland is my home now and enjoy being part of the growth for many years.
To add, wherever you go in the world, English will be one of the best skills you can have. whether traveling or living anywhere.
Is Test Certification Important?
Yes and no.
Some job positions ask for English testing certification. But what I see more commonly now is a short part of the interview being done in English based on what you have put in your resume / CV.
Do you teach children?
No, I don’t (under 17). The reason why is because I work with adults all week long and switching over to children is not so simple. Children have unique learning needs. I recommend that you find an English teacher that mainly works with children. In many cases a private language school is a good option too. For more information about finding the right teacher for your needs, you can read my blog article here: Choosing the right private teacher for you.
Blogging Area
Here you will find some articles about the diamondpolonia story
or about English in general.
"About dp and me"
The name “diamondpolonia" came by combining my family name, Diamond with Polonia, the Latin name for - "The People of Poland”. I felt that to be a fitting tribute after arriving here and I liked the way it sounded.
I am a native English speaker originating from the west coast of the USA. I graduated with honors from the University of Hawaii in Social Psychology.
My degree and studies included educational psychology, psychobiological research (at Queen's hospital), behavioral psychology, statistic and formal logic, along with philosophy as a minor.
I also did a nightly radio show on Szczecin.fm 94.4 from 2008 to 2011 called "The Evening Show" and "Metropolis of Sound" that were quite popular. Feel free to contact me with inquiries about dj'ing (or music production (i.e. for your commercial or film). Perhaps we can work something out together.
I designed and created this website (self taught, including backend). I enjoy cooking, tennis in the summer and squash in the winter.
I look forward to meeting you.
Christian Diamond
Choosing the right teacher for you
It is important to think about a few things before you start learning English. You should ask yourself a few questions before you start. What is your current goal with English? How advanced are you with learning English? Have you had trouble with learning English in the past?
For example a native speaker would probably not be a good fit with someone who is just starting to learn a language. A person teaching adults wouldn't be a good fit for teaching children and visa versa. A Polish English teacher will probably not know most of the nuances of the language and would be likely teaching you what he learned, mistakes included. He or she might be good at memorization. Are you good at language memorization or do you learn better through visualization or perhaps listening? There are many methodologies to teaching and learning and there is rarely a one size fits all.
You should see a native speaker as someone who can refine your language, smooth the rough edges, someone who can make the language easier, someone who you can practice a lot of speaking and listening with. Someone who will help you focus on what you need to improve. A good teacher knows his strengths and weakness when it comes to teaching English. You should also think about your own strengths and weaknesses and what you need.
I work with adult professionals all week long so it is difficult for me to switch over to children. My strengths are getting you to speak more, helping you feel relaxed with using English, explaining grammar in an easy way and getting you to use common phrases to build sentences. I will listen and correct you and get you to say things in the right way while you are speaking. I help you build self-confidence. I recommend that you are at least pre-intermediate and above.
A Polish English teacher will help you "get off the ground" and a good one will make it easy for you. A teacher who works with children a lot will be good for your child, it's much easier for them because they do it all the time. Don't be shy to ask a few questions like "do you work with children?".
The minimum age you should contact me for teaching your teen is 15, however I recommend 18 and above.
"The" Number One Word in the English Language
Already used twice in the title above. "The" is an article and we use it all the time. I sometimes get asked, "are articles important?". Yes they are. Why you might ask. Well, a couple of reasons. As you can see on Wikipedia's list of the Most Common Words in English (here), they are in the top 25 words used in English and those words are used 33% of the time. The number one word is actually "the", and there are no other forms of it (i.e. be, was/were, been).
Another reason that articles are important is that they help us understand very clearly what we are talking about. So for example if I said: Did you see the teacher? or Did you see a teacher?, they mean two totally different things. In the first question I am asking about a specific teacher that you know about and in the second question I am asking about any teacher, I just need to speak to a teacher.
Articles aren't so easy in the beginning, but they are worth it. Being clear in what you want to communicate saves time and missunderstandings.
Hey, at least you don't have to remember the gender of everything! :-)
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