Epp Leibur

I graduated from the University of Tartu with a degree in English Philology and English Language Teacher in 1976.

I have improved my language and teaching skills at summer schools and training courses in England (Sunderland, Oxford, Bramshill), Romania and Estonia.

I started teaching English to adult learners in 1992. I have taught both general and specialised English, the latter mainly to future and working police officers, border guards, prison officers and rescue workers.

I started working at Multilingua in January 2019. At first, I taught English, but since August 2022, I have been teaching Estonian. I started by teaching A1 level Estonian to Ukrainians, currently I teach A2 level learners. I find teaching Estonian to Estonian residents to be a rewarding and very interesting job. In order to improve my skills in Estonian language teaching, I completed the training course “Adult A-level Estonian language teachers training” (Expat Relocation Estonia OÜ, 64 academic hours) in the spring of 2023.

I teach Estonian in Estonian, only occasionally using English or Russian. To develop communication skills, I use a lot of pair and group work in my lessons.

I think that in language learning it is very important to motivate the learners, to set specific goals, and to create a positive and stress-free learning environment. It is important that learners are not ashamed of their mistakes or questions, use their existing knowledge and share it with others, and work together. The role of the teacher is to be an inspirer, a facilitator, encourager, and a cooperation partner.