About Tetiana Bilokin
Tetiana (or Tania, for short) teaches conversational English online from her home in Ukraine. She’s been teaching English to adults since 1999, including classes at Kirovograd Teacher Training University, California State University in Long Beach, and Donetsk Medical University.
These days, she’s using movies and TV shows as learning materials to spark meaningful conversations.
“(The TV series) Ted Lasso. . . I was hooked after two minutes. . . . People are playing with words. The dialogue is sharp and you can hear British and American English. . . . Also because of the values. . . It’s about kindness, empathy, changing the world for the better, and doing what you can.”
Vocabulary from our conversation
intimidating – causing a loss of courage or self-confidence
intention – something that you want and plan to do
hitting a goal – to achieve a goal
Tetiana said, “Progress is not just hitting a goal. . . it’s a process, and it’s most visible when you look back.”
to reflect – to look back
growth mindset – the belief that abilities can be developed through hard work at one own’s pace
accessible – available; within reach
to synchronize – to operate at the same time and in the same way
really handy – very useful
“This movie (The Dead Poet’s Society) changed my perception of teaching, that teaching can be creative and inspiring. Also it changed my perception of how you can learn English, not just from the textbooks like we did in other subjects at the University, but just by having fun and by discussing it afterwards.”
-Tetiana Bilokin
Avoiding Burnout in Language Learning – with Marissa Blaszko