I'm Rachel Berntsen, a reading and writing tutor for teens and an English conversation coach for adults!

When I was in school, my favorite classes were my English classes. I loved reading and I loved creative writing, so it was only natural that I loved those classes. However, I struggled quite a bit. Why? I believe it’s because I lacked confidence. I was never confident that I fully understood the challenging texts I had to read. This unfortunately affected my ability to write essays and to speak up in my classes. When I wrote essays, I wrote lengthy sentences full of details that I hoped would make up for the fact that my content was lacking. When we had discussions in class, I never willingly participated unless my teacher called on me, and whenever that happened, my face grew warm and my heart started beating slightly faster.

I studied and received my B.A. in English Literature at Williams College, but even after four years of further studies in English, I graduated from college without feeling more confident in my reading, writing, and speaking abilities. In fact, I felt even less confident.

Funny enough, that’s what drew me to teaching. I wanted to help students who had the same struggles that I had while I was in school because I wanted to equip them to be stronger readers and writers and speakers and because I wanted to help them gain the confidence I wish I’d had as a student. That's why I chose to teach the English language to college students in China for a year and then worked as a middle school English teacher in New York City before I ultimately obtained my Master's in Education from the University of Reading in England.

My goal as a tutor is to boost my students' confidence in order to see them thrive in areas where they currently struggle. My lessons are individualized, structured, and informative, but because of my naturally bubbly personality, they are also engaging and fun! I love helping my students succeed, so please do not hesitate to contact me if you are interested in my help!