Students' testimonials

To ensure authenticity in a novel I am writing I needed someone who could not only help me with Persian phrases, but also teach me about culture, food and mannerisms. Maryam's experience has been invaluable. She has a wonderful teaching style and is great company, too!

Maryam is a flexible and conscientious teacher, who is very happy to adjust her curriculum to the needs and interests of her students. She provided me with my first introduction to classical Persian literature through the poems of Rumi. The process was intimidating at first, but Maryam was very helpful in guiding me through the texts, encouraging me to draw on my previous skills and experience ,whilst highlighting the historical and linguistic background that would help illuminate the text. I would thoroughly recommend Maryam who has an interest in learning Persian at any level, whether modern or classical - she is fantastic at teaching both!

Maryam came highly recommended from a friend who studied Farsi with her, and I also find her to be a fantastic teacher. She has a deep understanding of both Farsi and English (my first language) and is therefore great at explaining vocabulary, grammar and cultural uses of the language. She is also talented at understanding her students' interests, abilities and (even unspoken) concerns and she tailors her lessons and materials to meet individual needs. She is patient and encouraging as well as challenging. I have been studying with Maryam via Skype, which is helpful as I would otherwise not be able to attend any Farsi classes, and she is very comfortable using this technology. I recommend Maryam whole-heartedly as a Farsi teacher!

Learning to speak Farsi with Maryam is a delight. Maryam is an accomplished teacher; adapting her approach to the wishes and needs of her students, and demonstrating endless patience and encouragement. She understands the issues that will cause difficulty, especially to those, like me, who post-date the formal teaching of grammar in school. Maryam uses a variety of resources and techniques, provides cultural context, and ignites an enthusiasm to become proficient in a beautiful language, opening up exciting new horizons.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my Farsi lessons with Maryam. She is an experienced teacher who was able to build my confidence (I started knowing no Farsi at all!) and made every lesson really engaging and interesting. Maryam was very flexible and we were able to carry on our lessons through Skype when I moved to London. During our lessons Maryam shared knowledge about Iranian culture and customs which really helped to bring the language to life and consolidate my learning. I highly recommend Maryam to anyone wishing to learn more about Farsi!

Farsi lessons with Maryam are real pleasure. She is an amazing teacher. Maryam is truly great at explaining the grammar, origin of Farsi words. Maryam has a great knowledge about the Persian culture and keeps up today with the modern language. She tailors the class to the needs of the student. I wanted to learn the Persian alphabet and Maryam is an expert when it comes to study totally unfamiliar letters. Her teaching techniques are effective and I was able to read and write very simple words after only a couple of lessons. Her personality and sense of humour makes the class fun as if you are having a cup of tea with a friend . My trip to Iran was so much better as I could make a basic conversation with the native Farsi speakers. I would recommend Maryam to anyone who desire to learn this beautiful language.

Maryam is an excellent, knowledgeable teacher who thoughtfully caters each class to the student's needs, with a great balance between activities. She made each class interesting, challenging and productive. Her teaching style is clear and effective, leading to more progress in a short time than I could have ever expected. Her organisation and communication was also second-to-none. I would highly recommend her for any learning needs, ranging from grammar, literature and culture to conversation.

Having studying Farsi with Maryam through Skype for over 8 months, I would recommend her to anyone who's interested in this language. Not only is she bilingual (English and Farsi, which makes it very much easier for me to understand the grammar of the language) but her methods of teaching is adjustable to one's personal way of learning. My farsi has improved a lot in this short time and I am much more confident in speaking, reading and writing it. The teaching material has been a variation of text books, blogs, stories, poems, short video clips and series which has given me a broad perspective of the Persian language, culture and history. Above all, her patience and friendliness makes me look forward to the next lesson. If you are looking to learn farsi do not hesitate to contact Maryam

Maryam is a brilliant teacher, who can adapt her style to all kinds of situation. When I was working on a play about Iranian pop culture and history, she gave us a whistle stop tour of Iranian culture, helped with pronunciation and accents, broke everyhthing down into memorable exercises and phrases for the actors and put everyone at ease. At the beginning of her session, the cast and others working on the play were nervous and worried about the amount of language learning needed for our project, over the next few hours they were inspired, prepared and much much more confidence. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Ms Ozlati to anyone. Thanks again, Maryam.

Maryam is a patient and attentive teacher who skilfully suits her lessons to the student's needs. I've studied Persian in many different formal and informal contexts, and Maryam's approach is the best yet. My speaking, reading, and writing have increased by leaps and bounds! I can't recommend her more highly.

Maryam is a fantastic Farsi teacher whose lessons I recommend to anyone wanting to get to know this beautiful language. Maryam is not only incredibly well informed about the Farsi language and Persian culture; she is also a meticulous, friendly and enormously patient teacher. She tailors lessons to the needs of each individual student. In my case, this has meant that she has transliterated Persian songs to help me learn better; she has found articles about Tajikistan for us to translate to help relate my language study to my research needs; and she has found ingenious techniques to help me learn the arabic script. After several months of self-study, I feel that my Farsi has moved on leaps and bounds from taking lessons with Maryam.

Having learnt Persian for many years both formally and informally, I cannot praise Maryam's lessons highly enough. She is patient and thoughtful, constantly adapting and changing the content of our lessons to keep things fresh and interesting. Since I am interested in Iranian politics we often discuss current events and Maryam adapts our conversations into complimentary reading, writing and listening exercises. She studiously corrects my speaking and helps me to inject colloquial terms into my conversation. I really cannot recommend Maryam highly enough.

It took me a while until I thought about taking private tuition in Farsi as I was studying the language for a while on my own. I soon started realising the limits of self-study without someone rectifying my mistakes and is why I decided to take the step. These lessons have greatly improved my fluency in all aspects of the language in only a few weeks even though I have never visited Iran. They have been personalized for my own needs and the syllabus is great. Also Maryam is very courteous, patient and great at prescribing the correct exercises to strengthen any weaknesses I have. The lessons are prepared very well and we cover plenty of cultural aspects of Iran, classical as well as modern literature to absorb us is the environment of the language and how it is demonstrated in different ways by those who speak it. What is best of all I can take these lessons from the comfort from my own home. I would greatly recommend anyone studying with Maryam to anyone interested in learning Farsi or taking what they already know to the next level.

Summary - enjoyable, economical and excellent language learning. Maryam is both a first-rate teacher and a potential friend who combines flexible skills in pedagogy with a very personable character, finding a correct balance between teaching and socialising. Such a balance facilitates thoroughly enjoyable language learning, replete with rigorous examination of grammar, oral and conversational skills, and more informal recourse to Maryam's own lived culture, from Iran's contemporary period or its past, in the form of poetry, food, film, music, current affairs and society. I sought Maryam's tuition because I felt class-based learning with other students was more arduous and even at times distressing due to the different speeds at which students picked up the language, leaving some to stuttering at the bottom, whilst those more advanced were held back. The very affordable one-to-one lessons that Maryam provides ensures that the pace at which one learns is negotiated by the learner, with necessary guidance from the tutor. This level of control is also available in terms of lesson content. Dependent upon your level of understanding Maryam will respond to those areas where a learner requires redress. If your speaking is a weakness and you want to improve, she will focus on speaking etc. Conversely, if a learner is unsure of where they wish to go with their Persian language training, Maryam will take control and explore different ways of increasing understanding and enjoyment. Lessons are very intimate, based either at a location of your choosing or in Maryam's own home, a comfortable setting for learning where conversation can switch into English at any time if you feel uncomfortable. Further to that point, with postgraduate qualifications from a major British university Maryam's proficiency in English is exceptional. That being said, it was also a wonderful experience to discuss grammar, vocab, semantics and turns of phrase in both English and Persian, facilitating an enriching cross-cultural dialogue. Conversely, if a learner is unsure of where they wish to go with their Persian language training, Maryam will take control and explore different ways of increasing understanding and enjoyment.

Friendly, positive and enthusiastic - Maryam is an excellent tutor in Farsi, she has helped me develop my speaking, listening, reading and writing skills vastly whilst taking private one to one lessons with her at her home. I only knew a little Farsi before teaching began it was clear that after the first few weeks of my pronunciation and understanding had improved greatly. With specialised lesson, tailored towards my individual needs, I found that my language skills were developing quickly, especially with the techniques she uses in order to remember and memorise Persian script. She was very patient with me as I sometimes took time to grasp certain phrases and she evaluated my strengths and weaknesses each session, which allowed me to focus on niche areas and progress further each lesson. I would highly recommend Maryam as a tutor if your looking to begin learning or advance your Farsi language skills further.

My language skills have greatly improved in that amount of time - she ensures that I learn academically as well as knowing how to use everyday words and phrases. In fact, I now feel comfortable making conversation around Farsi speakers. From using song lyrics to attending poetry evenings, she has been quite creative in her teaching methods. From Maryam I have learned not only the Persian language, but the culture too, which has enriched my learning experience. As well as a teacher, Maryam has become a very good friend too and I highly recommend her for teaching Farsi - any student would be fortunate to have her as a tutor.

First time I thought of learning Persian was when I learned about Hafez poems. As a total novice who didn't even know Persian script I decided to take on Persian classes. Maryam's teaching techniques were engaging and interesting - even learning basic things such as Persian script and basic verbs was entertaining. Once I learned the basics the classes became even more interesting - Maryam used different learning materials and techniques. That made learning easier and even 2 hour classes were just flying. I can recommend Maryam as a teacher to anyone who wants to learn Persian.

I’ve been learning Farsi on and off for quite some time already but not very systematically. I’ve decided to join Maryam’s immersion course to let Farsi language sink in. The Farsi course was very well prepared from the very beginning! I’ve been to Iran few times before and I know things can get disorganised here. To my surprise, from the day one everything was exceptionally well prepared with clear programme for the following days explained and detailed for all of us. Maryam started the course very friendly with delicious dinner and introduction of students to each other and to the host families. We had a class lessons every day in very accessible location of Shiraz. After the lessons we had lunch together and cultural activities organised for us. Maryam prepared everything to a great standard, food was delicious and activities well planned – all focused on learning language. Material of the class was covering phrases and vocabulary relevant to evening activities so what we learned in the morning, we had chance to practice in the evening! I definitely recommend Maryam’s Farsi Immersion course to anyone who would like to improve Farsi in a short period of time and see lifestyle and beauty of Shiraz.

Maryam’s Farsi immersion course is truly unique. I have been to Iran before on an organised tour but this was very different. Having the opportunity to speak in Farsi with Iranians, to explore local sights of interest, discover the area in and around Shiraz, attend cultural and social activities, interact with locals and get to know our hosts and guides was fantastic. Maryam’s lessons were absorbing and fun and a useful adjunct to the overall experience. My Farsi has improved quite a bit, through lessons and through interactions with Shirazis, whether with our hosts and their friends and families, or in shops or discussing the World Cup with taxi drivers! My understanding of the language was consolidated through a greater breadth and depth of cultural insight gained through the course. Shiraz is a great city, in the state of Pars, at the heart of Persian culture, surrounded by mountains and packed with beautiful old houses, mosques and gardens. You are likely to encounter a lot of pomegranates and beautiful patterns, Expect a packed and fun trip with lots of learning, interest and great hospitality

I enjoyed my time in Shiraz immensely. Both the language classes and staying with a host family. Maryam is an excellent teacher- very patient, friendly and encouraging. We had three hours of classes in the mornings- a mixture of grammar, reading, speaking , listening to songs, drinking tea and chatting. We were given homework to do for the following day but there was always time in the evenings to have dinner and socialise with my lovely host family. Lunch each day was in a different restaurant and food was always plentiful and delicious. After lunch we had various activities- visiting gardens in Shiraz, the bazar and mosque, cinema and theatre. We also had a cookery class which was great fun! Did I learn much Farsi? I certainly feel much more confident in both speaking and writing and I am reading an actual novel in Farsi -for the first time! I would definitely recommend the immersion course for anyone who wants to improve their Farsi and experience Shiraz and Iranian hospitality!