Gabrielle Kotkov, Montessori educator and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) instructor, is the founder of Multilingual Montessori, a resource and inspiration for parents, caregivers, and teachers who are raising and educating multilingual children from a Montessori perspective. Gabrielle has a Master of Science in Child Studies and has taught in schools in New York City; London; Bologna and Catania (Sicily), Italy; and Austin, TX. She speaks English, Italian, French, and a bit of Spanish. In the following digital interview, Gabrielle shares her story and discusses language teaching and learning, offering advice and inspiration to those hoping to expose children to multilingualism.
Can you tell me a little bit about your personal and professional background and how you came to find Montessori and multilingual education?
Gabrielle:
I grew up as a monolingual English speaker in New York City, but I was always surrounded by peers who spoke other languages and I was always fascinated by languages. I studied Spanish in middle school and French in high school, then I decided to major in Italian in college and studied abroad in Siena and Bologna, Italy. After college, I got my certification in TESOL and then did a Fulbright scholarship in Catania, Sicily, where I taught English to Italian high school students.
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