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English Tutor
Fancy a 'spell' as an English tutor or just lost for words
at the idea?
A good English tutor is sadly hard to find these days. The downward trend of
the English Language; the poor level of spelling, punctuation, grammar and
word usage has now become so well-established that even many teachers don't
really reach the minimum standard themselves. As a result, the demand for a
good English Tutor has never been higher and their supply at an all time
low.
Others can ponder the whys and wherefores of this slump in the basic
requirement to have good English Language skills but that is not the
function of this site. Our role is to help our visitors get the best English
tuition for themselves, their son or their daughter.
So, how can you make sure
that your English teacher is up to the job? If you need help with improving
your grammar then a degree in English does not prove that your tutor is
competent.
I used to teach my students that identifying the problem was half-way to
solving it. Taking that one step further, the best way of assessing whether
your English tutor's spelling and grammar is of a level where it can improve
that of the student, is to get them to write something formal without being
aware that they are on test. Why not get them to jot down some notes about
your child's progress or some ideas for work between lessons? If your own
spelling is not too hot, ask them to email it to you then you can run it
through a spell-checker.
Apart from spelling mistakes, you should be on the look-out for the
following problems:
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Repetition (demonstrates carelessness and limited vocabulary)
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Even sentence length (makes for 'boring' writing)
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Mistakes in the placement of apostrophes (Exam boards are keen on good
punctuation)
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Unstructured ideas which don't seem to read in a logical order (an essential
skill for essay and report writing)
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Bad handwriting and general sloppiness (always a consideration)
Possessing the 'right stuff' does not mean you will make a good
tutor but
you certainly can't teach it if you don't know it yourself (despite what
they may tell you at Teacher Training!).
Parents should not think that insisting on having an actual English teacher
as an English Tutor is a safeguard either, it is not. I have seen far too many
semi-literate applications from English teachers over the years to promote
that idea.
I recall two in particular - from opposite ends of the country.
The first was from the North East and came with twelve mistakes on the first
page of his covering letter. I rejected him and he demanded to know why we
dared to consider him unsuitable as an English Tutor. When I told him, his
response was that he 'didn't know it mattered'.
I had much the same experience with a lady on the South
Coast. When I told her that we could not accept her as an English Tutor, she
wrote back angrily saying she had been 'vetoed by the Council' (sic). I felt
that summed it up - she certainly should have been!
Maybe you don't need an English tutor after all. Have you tried getting your
child to make a note of words they don't know? What about playing a game
with them to see who can find the most adjectives, synonyms or antonyms to
describe an object. Work at anything and everything which improves their
word power. Why not go to a car boot sale and buy some old Scrabble sets so
that you can use the extra letter tiles to invent some new games?
These things and others are all worth trying but, ultimately, there is no
substitute for experienced human tutoring - just use this helpful guide to
make sure you get the very best English tutor.
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More Information
If you are thinking about becoming an English Tutor
If you would like to advertise your services on our site as an English Tutor
If you are interested in having a KS3, GCSE, Scottish Standard, AS, A-level, Scottish Higher or Degree Level English Tutor |
English Tutor
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