Ruthie Yarbrough
Availability: Mon - Sat
Despite being raised in a small town in rural Virginia, Ruthie Yarbrough developed a passion for learning about other languages and cultures at a young age, studying French, Spanish, ASL, and Korean. She would later receive a B.A. in both Korean and Spanish from the University of Kansas, graduating summa cum laude. Wishing to share her love of language learning, she completed her TEFL certification and moved to Boryeong-Si, South Korea to teach English through EPIK. She then moved to Honolulu, Hawaii to obtain her M.A. in Korean for Professionals through the University of Hawai’i at Manōa. During this time, she taught elementary Korean at a private academy and also served as a translator in a cultural dictionary project led by Seoul National University. Interested in the intersectionality of multicultural societies and foreign language education, her M.A. thesis explored methods of foreign language education that increase cultural awareness, understanding, and efficacy.
As a Korean language learner herself for many years, Ruthie understands (very well!) the frustrations, difficulties, and confusions that come with learning Korean at all stages. She is excited to share her insight as both a teacher and a student and to help others achieve their own language goals, regardless of background and language ability.
