Maria Makarchenko

I am a new student to Ukrainian and to italki. From the very first «Привіт!», with her beaming smile, Maria had me hooked! Марія teaches and listens with enthusiasm, patience, and a lot of understanding. Her lessons and conversations are diverse, interesting, engaging, and we always smile and laugh along the way! 😄 With my extremely demanding schedule, our learning sessions have become a veritable oasis! We just completed another session and I already can’t wait for our next lesson (I feel that way after each lesson)! Щиро дякую, Маріє! Я так багато вивчаю кожен урок! Ти чудова вчителька! Дуже дуже дякую! 🙏

One of the best decisions I made this year was taking Ukrainian lessons with Maria. While I have little talent for learning languages, she has tons and gladly passes her experience and enthusiasm on to her students. In a relaxed and friendly environment, you will learn and practice your language skills, learn about Ukrainian culture, and be inspired to keep going. The hour will go by far too quickly, and you will be noticeably better by its end.

I have had Maria as a teacher for at least six lessons and she is excellent. She quickly assessed my level of skill in Russian, where I was strongest and what needed work on. Then she set up me up with the opportunity to do assignments (if I wished). Maria is also a great conversationalist and to my surprise had an incredibly detailed knowledge of my humble little state of South Dakota. The hour I spend with her each week just flies by. She motivates me to be better and I feel myself improving as a student -- at least my confidence is! : ) I was not a great language student back in school, but this is fun. It doesn’t feel like work at all. Notice how busy her schedule is. There is a reason: she’s good.

It is really enjoyable to have a patient and friendly teacher who also has an insatiable curiosity for learning languages. Looking forward to my next lesson with Maria!

I cannot properly express in words, in any language, how highly I would recommend Maria to be your language instructor. She puts forth unparalleled effort in ensuring that each lesson brings its own set of challenges, while simultaneously making sure that each lesson is truly a fun learning experience. Her positivity, her patience, her sense of humor, her calm approach, and the high standards she exemplifies inspire her students to show up to each lesson prepared and ready to learn. Simply stated, she is without equal.

Today’s lesson with Maria was organic and free-flowing. I was so engaged in our conversation and in all of the learning I was taking in along the way, I completely lost track of the hour! ⌛️That’s how Maria’s teaching presence is: you will be having so much fun and be so enveloped in what you are exploring, studying, and talking about, you will forget time even exists! HIGHLY recommend!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟