Meet Our Miami Teachers

Tony Miyar

From the time when he was an infant, Tony Miyar has been deeply immersed in two languages and cultures. The experience made him the passionate and thoughtful English as a Second Language teacher that he is today.

Born in Santiago, Cuba on November 3, 1961, Tony's family fled the Communist government when he was only 17 days old. "As refugees my family had to give up everything and start from the beginning," Tony observes. Tony spoke American English in school and Spanish at home.

"I became fluent in both languages because of this," he says. "I understand the frustration some language students have when they are in a translation mode and when they try to translate every word, the meaning sometimes is lost."

Tony believes it is important to make his students feel comfortable by using humor, and to let them know right away that they have an understanding teacher. "I always start by putting my students at ease by writing the following words: "read" (present tense), "read" (past tense) and "red" (the color) on the board. I explain that "read" and "read" are pronounced differently and spelled the same. Yet, "read" (past tense) and red are pronounced the same, but spelled differently.

"Welcome to English!" he says. "To make a mistake in my class is perfectly okay," he adds. "The goal is to learn from our mistakes and improve the way we speak, read and write."

Tony is passionate about teaching and interacting with students from different countries and cultures. "This is one of the reasons why I take pleasure in being an ESL teacher," he says. "I am very proud of all my students because they choose to enrich their lives with another language."

He especially likes teaching at Rennert Miami, where, he says, "we have become a family. Many of our students still write us and when they are in town they visit us. I enjoy seeing the emotional growth as they expand their horizons by learning English and visiting the United States of America."

A congenial host, Tony often leads Rennert's English students on trips to interesting places in Florida, and sometimes, out of state. "Because our students come from many far away countries, I understand their need to visit as many places as they can during their stay. This is why we plan so many outings. On one outing we went from Miami to NY and had the opportunity to visit the Rennert NY School."

Tony, like other Rennert teachers, believes that student activities bolster a language curriculum. "I feel this is one of the best ways to learn," he says. "On trips, students from different levels interact with each other with no trouble. There is no pressure if a mistake is made. They correct each other with care and respect."

He adds, "The increase in vocabulary is immense. When we go out to a restaurant, I have all the students find words on the menu that they have never come across. Real life English, yet fun!"