The English Teacher Collective requires its teachers to have at least ten years of experience and a graduate degree.

As experienced educators, we know how to help each individual learn best.

As business professionals, we understand the need for flexibility in scheduling and pacing. That's why we don't use a "one size fits all" approach to language learning; instead we design courses according to your individual needs and interests, gathering materials relevant to your goals and adapting your course as your needs change.

We do not require you to purchase textbooks or other materials that may not be suited to you. We set the course dates according to your schedule, and we do not charge fees for registration or early exit from the course.

Our English Language Teachers

Our teachers have backgrounds in linguistics and education and knowledge of multiple languages and cultures. They have lived and taught in other countries and have traveled extensively. They are professional, innovative, and culturally sensitive educators.

Julie Yoder
M.A. Linguistics | Company Founder

TEFL graduate certificate, K-12 certification ESL

Julie grew up near Atlanta, Georgia. Her interest in other languages and countries began at an early age. Her mother, a native of Ukraine, was active in the Ukrainian Association of Georgia, where Julie and her brother attended language and culture classes. She returned to foreign language study in high school, where she focused on Spanish.

She graduated from Furman University in 1994 with a B.A. in German and Philosophy. She spent a semester at the Institute for European Studies in Vienna, Austria, and after graduation she worked and attended language schools in Davos, Switzerland, and Berlin, Germany. She later continued her German studies at the Goethe Institute in Atlanta.
Her English tutoring job in Berlin led her to explore language teaching as a career.

She returned to the U.S. to pursue a Masters Program in Linguistics with a concentration in Second Language Acquisition. She also obtained a graduate certificate in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). She has taught business English in Weiden, Germany, listening and special courses at the University of South Carolina's English Programs for Internationals (where she often proctored the TOEFL), and pronunciation at the Maryland English Institute. She spent six years teaching middle school ESL in Alexandria, Virginia, where she also served as department chairperson.

Her recent travels include trips to Australia, Eastern and Western Europe, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Turkey, and Ecuador, where she completed an intensive Spanish course. She loves the challenge of developing creative approaches to helping her students succeed, and she strives to make language study an interesting and enjoyable experience for all students, regardless of their age or background.

Marike Korn,
M.A. American Studies, English, Political Science; Ph.D. Candidate American Studies | Professional English Tutor

Marike was born in Germany and has lived in five countries, among them Canada, Italy, Austria and the U.S. She has taught at universities, vocational training programs, and high schools. Her vast multicultural experience acquired through the field of teaching and her life spent in diverse metropolitan cities such as Naples, Italy and Washington, D.C. make her the perfect teacher for people who would like to master the English language as perfectly as she has.

She graduated from the University of Bonn, Germany in 2005 with a Masters Degree in American Studies, English, and Political Science. Marike acquired most of her graduate school credits at the University of Toronto, Canada which she attended on an academic scholarship. She is currently finishing her dissertation in American Studies/ Cultural Studies. During her time as a Ph.D. student she spent an academic year at the University of Maryland in College Park on a Ph.D. scholarship. She is an academic language specialist. Marike also holds a diploma in adult education and has been awarded multiple academic grants.

Marike draws upon a set of diverse language skills in order to adapt her teaching approaches to her students' respective native languages. She has bilingual fluency in German and English and has knowledge of  French, Latin, Greek, Spanish, Italian, and Turkish.

Marike loves teaching and truly motivates her students to achieve their goals by turning her lessons into inspiring and interesting experiences. Her approaches to grammar are unique and the perfect addition to pronunciation training.

Mercy Hume
M.A. Teaching English as a Second Language | Professional English Tutor

K-12 certification ESL, English, and German

Mercy Hume was born in Atlanta, Georgia.  She studied German Literature and English at the University of Notre Dame, spending a year abroad at the University of Innsbruck in Austria.  During college she worked as a tutor and was active in the German Club.  Upon graduation in 2004, she received a Fulbright fellowship and continued her studies at the University of Mannheim, Germany.  She also began her teaching career in Germany, teaching English with the Fremdsprachassistenten Program in a German public school.

She attended the School for International Training in Brattleboro, VT, receiving her Masters degree in Teaching English as a Second Language, as well as her public school certification for ESL, English and German.  Following the completion of her degree, she move to Japan and worked in the English Language Institute of Kanda University of International Studies in Japan.  Mercy also worked at the Michigan Language Center in Ann Arbor, MI.

Mercy is active in her various alumni associations, as well as a member of TESOL (teachers of English to speakers of other Languages). She enjoys traveling, speaking and learning foreign languages, spending time with her husband and running.