Job Discussion Forums

[Mr.Engrish]

Hey guys as you know I'm new to teaching and will be looking for a job as soon as I get my papers. Anyways I had an opportunity to tutor someone recently and here is my experience.

I was told that a family friend has a daughter and she wanted to try me out to see if I was good. I was under the impression that I would go to her house and see what she needed help with and review her material i.e school work. I go to her house and she opens her book and right away asks me to help her with her homework. This caught me off guard as I was under the impression we would discuss her work and see if I could help her and so on. She jumps right into her present simple and present perfect work exercises which I know how to do. I must say I was not prepared to do work right away because that's not what I was told. So I helped her with her work although it was slow at first because I had to see what she had to do and how it was supposed to be done, but as time went it went quicker and smoother. She told me she does not like her current tutor because they are not a native speaker and all she does with them is pointless exercises she does over and over. According to her its not challenging. Anyways she is 15 and takes advanced English at her school. So I guess my question is, is this normal for tutoring? how do you prepare for tutoring? do you just go in and help them with whatever? OR do you ask them before hand?


The father mentioned that he would like to learn how to speak, be able to communicate in English. He is a beginner. How do you tutor or prepare for that? I was thinking of picking up a callan book as it seems to be the quickest method for speaking only.

any help or advice would be great.

Cheers

[keithwkrakowie]

be ready for anything. some students know exactly what they want (which i personally prefer) and some will leave it up to you (meaning you have to diagnose what they need most, give it to them, and hope they respond well to it). if they need speaking practice, then you don't need callan, you just need to get them to speak, and for most of us, the favourite topic of discussion is ourselves.

[Mr.Engrish]

Hmm So what I encountered, is that pretty standard? should I be expecting this every time?

Another question would be, what would you bring to a session, as in materials or books?

[Kymro]

If you want to train privet, a pair of shears might come in handy.

[keithwkrakowie]

you can't expect anything, because not all tutees are the same. i always ask them (preferably before we even meet) 'what do you want? the more you can tell me, the more i can help you.' also ask if they have a book they want to use, if they're preparing for an exam, if they want homework, and anything else you can think of. if they know what they want, give it to them. if they have a book, use it. if they don't know what they want, you'll have to diagnose them, and that can be difficult, especially if you don't have access to a school library. look for level tests in teacher's books and on the internet. have them write the test with you or in their own time, and use it as a guide.

if you want to invest in books of your own, the New English File series by Oxford is excellent.

most importantly, try not to waste their time. a private tutor isn't cheap for most Poles.

it all gets easier with experience. hope this helps.