Krisi Cleveland
Founder, ESL Teacher & Pronunciation Coach
Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Krisi was born in New York, and moved to Tokyo with her family as a child. In addition to living in Tokyo for three years, Krisi spent a semester in Yokohama as a high school exchange student, and three years teaching English in Nagoya, Japan.
She credits these experiences with beginning her fascination with language and learning about different cultures. Living overseas also meant experiencing what it is like to live in a place and not be able to communicate effectively. She is deeply passionate about helping others communicate more naturally so that they can feel confident in their daily lives while living in the US.
Krisi started her professional life as a public school teacher in Nashville, and continued teaching with the JET Program in Nagoya, Japan. In addition to being a licensed teacher, Krisi has a Teaching English as a Second Language certificate from Tennessee Foreign Language Institute and a Pronouncing English as a Second Language certificate from The Institute of Language and Phonology. In all, Krisi has 21 years experience teaching English.
Credentials
Bachelor of Science, Family and Consumer Sciences Education, magna cum laude, Texas Woman's University 1997
Licensed secondary teacher since 1997
TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) Certification, Tennessee Foreign Language Institute 2009
Knight-Thompson Speechwork Experiencing Speech, NYC 2011
Compton PESL (Pronouncing English as a Second Language) Certification, Institute of Language and Phonology 2021
Orton Gillingham Classroom Educator Training, Nashville 2023
From Krisi’s clients:
“I really appreciate Krisi’s lessons. She is a very friendly and patient teacher. I gained confidence in my English pronunciation from taking her lessons. It really is true that improving pronunciation improves listening comprehension. The more I learned from her, the more I was able to catch what American people were saying. Without her, my life in the U.S would not be as comfortable.”
“The atmosphere of our lessons was always very friendly and positive. What I learned from Krisi was completely different from what I had learned at schools in Japan and it was very helpful to understand the correct American English pronunciation. My English skills, especially for speaking & listening, are not enough yet, but I believe they have been improving a lot thanks to Krisi’s lessons.”