Learn with Nataly – Online School for foreign language studies by Nataly Jghamadze
“The more languages you know, the more of a person you are” – an expression that often comes to mind when speaking about the importance of knowing foreign languages. In the context of globalization, language skills gain even more weight for us to become competitive in the labor market. That is why there are many foreign language teachers, centers, and online platforms around us that offer different learning methods. However, learning foreign languages becomes much easier, more interesting, and even fun if the learning process is accompanied by various cognitive activities. Therefore, during the pandemic, a new foreign language online school, Learn with Nataly, was created, where professionals from different countries teach people based in Georgia or abroad.
The founder of the new online school is Nataly Jghamadze, an Italian and English language specialist. Nataly learned Italian when she was eight years old. Nataly’s family was internally displaced from Abkhazia because of the war. Thanks to the program, specially created for internally displaced children, she traveled to Italy and spent her childhood with one of the local families. Her childhood passion for the Italian language later became a profession when she majored in Italian language and literature.
However, the interest in languages did not end there. She continued her master’s degree in business administration and received education in the UK under the Erasmus + program. Though she worked in the tourism industry for years, she never gave up teaching foreign languages. Although over time, she realized that this was much more than an additional source of income, she could not decide to be a full-time teacher for a variety of reasons. The pandemic seemed to be a new challenge for her, which turned a long-held desire into a reality.
“Since I was a student, I have always had students, whom I trained in Italian and English. This activity has always been a kind of berth for me. I think there is nothing more beautiful and interesting than this relationship and have always desired to make teaching my main profession. It may sound strange, but the pandemic spread my secret dream and convinced me it was time to do what makes me happy. “
At first, it seemed as if nothing much had changed – Nataly’s newly opened online school had only two employees – Nataly – the only teacher in the newly opened school who taught old and new students remotely Italian and English and a social media manager who ran the school’s Facebook and Instagram pages. But soon everything changed. The online school received quite a good response and gained popularity. The number of people wishing to study foreign languages increased so much that, in addition to Italian and English, the school initiated to offer German and Spanish languages too. Learn with Nataly hired more teachers.
“When the number of students increased, I realized that I could not cope alone. I started looking for an English language specialist. In the process, I met a German girl willing to teach German and decided to offer the German language too. Then I invited English and Spanish teachers, all of them “native speakers” and so, we are up and running now”, – says Nataly.
Today, the online school has about 60 students from Georgia, the USA, Spain, Germany, Italy, and Estonia. Classes are conducted online, and the curriculum is tailored to each student individually, based on their knowledge and goals. In addition to the teaching process, students are actively involved in various cognitive activities. As the founder of the school says, the process of language learning should not be limited by teaching reading, writing, or speaking.
“We have experienced and tested the training program for years. However, in addition to this, we use other learning materials that are specifically tailored to the students and their interests. In addition to the language, the students must become familiar with the culture and history of the country. Therefore, we are watch movies, TV shows, exchange opinions. I think, reviewing various interesting, cognitive topics is very important in this process,”- says Nataly.
This is Nataly’s vision of developing an online language school. As soon as the pandemic is over, she is planning to turn Learn with Nataly into a cultural-cognitive center, where, along with teaching, exhibitions, film screenings, a bookstore will be organized. She believes the teachers and students will spend many joyful hours together. This is the goal – to turn the online school created during the pandemic, into one of the best ways to unwind.
Author: Gvantsa Bziava