Ryan Mccarty

My approach to teaching English is simple: it starts with you.
Before a single lesson is planned or a grammar rule introduced, I want to know who you are, where you're starting from, and — most importantly — where you want to go. That's not a formality. It's the foundation of everything.
My background shapes how I teach. As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Dingxi, Gansu, I spent two years teaching English at the college level in one of China's more remote provinces. I wasn't just navigating a language gap — I was bridging a cultural one, often reaching for my own Mandarin to untangle the concepts that textbooks couldn't quite land. That experience taught me that great language instruction isn't about delivery; it's about genuine connection and meeting people in their reality.
A decade in Sales and Marketing — most recently as Director of Market Strategy at Infinite Digital — sharpened something else entirely: the understanding that language is a professional tool. The right words close deals, build trust, and open doors. The wrong ones quietly cost you. Whether you're writing copy, pitching a client, or navigating a workplace in your second language, clarity and confidence aren't optional. I bring that real-world lens into every lesson.
My Virginia Tech background in History and English Literature means I think carefully about how language works — its rhythm, its precision, its power to persuade and connect.
Now based in Lyon, I work with learners at every level. Some need fluency; others need polish. Some are preparing for professional environments; others want to hold a dinner conversation without hesitation. I read where you are and build from there.
Progress is momentum, not perfection. Let's close the gap between the English you have today and the English that gets you where you're going.