Mary Teaford Language Services is a company I created to provide language consulting services, primarily as an academic writing coach and as a tutor in ESL, Spanish, and Linguistics. Whatever the subject, our sessions will always be built around marrying formal, theoretical knowledge of language with a compassionate, personalized teaching style.
While I have experience teaching most standard school subjects, I focus here solely on language-related issues, advising on everything from Spanish language mastery to speech and debate, from phonetics trouble to polishing and revising graduate-level academic writing.
My story
Hi there! I’m Mary, a linguist and educator with more than 7 years of experience in classroom teaching, tutoring ESL, Spanish Language, and Linguistics as well as applications coaching. I am a big language nerd, and hope that you’ll become one too!
I created this company to better reach people looking for expert advice in just about anything language-related. Toward the end of high school, where I tutored chemistry and math, I was accepted to a number of top liberal arts colleges and state schools, but opted instead to travel and volunteer abroad. I began teaching ESL In 2016 while living in Myanmar and haven’t stopped since, going on to teach in Colombia and Perú. After two years, I was re-accepted to Reed College in Portland, Oregon, where I was trained in formal linguistics, academic writing, and both Spanish and English literature studies. While there, I conducted a thesis centered around social justice and student-centered pedagogy, and taught seventh grade math for a summer. I currently reside and work in Bogotá, Colombia, where I received two consecutive fellowships to work as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant at the National University (UNAL). Thereafter, I was hired as a full-time instructor of English linguistics and philology in the Department of Foreign Languages at UNAL, which is my current post.
Services & Qualifications
Example work in all subjects available upon request.
Proofreading & Writing Coaching
In college I worked as a writing tutor, and as a current professor of English I’m well experienced with the common successes and obstacles that people face in their writing. I utilize my background in formal linguistics to break down tough concepts, hopefully not just improving your writing but giving you the tools you need to do so independently next time.
“Mary did a great job reviewing my paper, correcting grammar and helping me understand my mistakes as well as she made my writing clearer and more professional. Definitely recommended.”
– Balsam, Graduate Student, on 10/4/2022
Academic Coaching
Not everyone finds the process of conceiving, organizing, and executing an academic project to be enjoyable – lucky for you, I do! I’ve enjoyed helping students think through projects ranging from term papers to PhD dissertations. Whether you need an extra push to stop procrastinating, some help getting everything organized and looking nice in Zotero or LaTeX, or an extra set of eyes on your thesis statement, I’m here to help.
Fulbright and Applications Counseling
Every application is essentially a code to be cracked: you’ve got to solve a complex puzzle of understanding what the readers want and deciding which aspects of yourself to put forward, then tie a bow on the whole package with concise, powerful prose. As the recipient of 2 consecutive Fulbright fellowships, as well as a host of other job and fellowship positions, I’ve come to enjoy solving this puzzle, and want to help you secure the acceptance of your dream by letting your “I” shine through your writing. I offer both start-to-finish application counseling as well as final-touches proofreading and editing of application materials.
“Mary is one of the best writing tutors I have had! She walked me through a long and complex essay and application process for a competitive fellowship and gave careful, thoughtful feedback with detailed advice for improvement over the course of multiple multi-hour sessions. Mary is not only an excellent writer and teacher but also brings her experience and knowledge to each session, making the sessions helpful for essay improvement and writing improvement in the long run. Thank you for your help, Mary, and I look forward to working with you again for all of my writing and application needs.”
– Jenna, Fulbright Award Recipient, on 8/26/2023
“Mary is an excellent tutor; her writing is wonderful and she knows exactly how to tweak a sentence to make your application or essay shine. She led me through the process of applying to graduate school, providing well-thought-out feedback that improved both my applications and overall skills as a writer. Overall, Mary is a knowledgeable teacher who brought out my best work. ”
– Nick, Graduate School Applicant, on 9/10/2024
Linguistics Tutoring
I create personalized classes in all principal subdisciplines, especially phonetics, morphosyntax, and sociolinguistics. I graduated Phi Beta Kappa in linguistics from Reed college, where I wrote a thesis in pedagogical sociolinguistics and was selected as a tutor for most classes available, including Semantics, Syntax, Phonetics, and Morphosyntactic Typology.
“Mary is an excellent linguistics tutor. I needed help with a midterm assignment for my intro analysis class, and she helped me out with morphology, syntax, and phonetic analysis sections. She explained each problem clearly and really helped me understand the material better. Definitely going to book again for future assignments!”
– Atalaya, Linguistics Undergrad, on 10/1/2022
ESL Tutoring
I offer custom English as a Second Language (ESL) lessons designed around everything from conversational confidence to TOEFL exam mastery. As a foreign language learner myself, I place particular emphasis on encouraging student confidence as well as on breaking down complex aspects of the English language into easy-to-understand topical lessons. I am TEFL certified as of 2020, and have been teaching ESL for nearly 8 years, have worked with students ranging from levels A1 to C2. across three continents, and have addressed personal goals everywhere from basic conversational proficiency to graduate-level academic production.
“Mary was a very good tutor for me improving my English. Mary thank you for a great lesson I appreciate how you explain pronounciation and help me with my grammar. The lesson was very helpful, I want to meet again in the future. Thank you Mary!”
– Theodore, English Learner, on 10/2/2022
Spanish for Learners
As a student of Spanish myself, one who self-taught from a pre-conversational level to a certified C1 mastery, I want to help you learn and love this language as I have! I offer language help for students of all levels, and will break down dense linguistic phenomena to accelerate your learning faster than any textbook or course ever could.
Custom Inquiries
None of these options suit your needs? Reach out to me with a request! I’ve tutored and coached everything from high school election speech writing to Algebra so we will probably click! 🙂