Almost every person striving to achieve success in the modern world sooner or later begins to think about seriously studying the English language. By choosing different teaching methods and making our way through the wisdom of vocabulary and grammar, we change teachers and try to achieve maximum knowledge and correct pronunciation. The modern world offers us a whole lot of opportunities to make our dreams come true, of which each person will be able to choose the most optimal option for himself.
A wide variety of schools and English language courses open their doors before us and invite us on an exciting journey that will allow us to learn the language in all its glory. Such teaching methods are very good for people who have group work skills and have a lot of free time. The learning process here is based on teamwork, and classes are held at a strictly agreed time. Unfortunately, this option is not suitable for business people who value every minute and cannot afford to travel to classes across the city three times a week.
For those who are unable to attend classes for similar reasons, there are online courses for learning English, as well as the opportunity to study at home on their own using special literature. Both of these methods require tremendous self-discipline and a desire for knowledge, and therefore are not suitable for every future polyglot. These methods have many pitfalls that can interfere with effective English language learning, for example, lack of external control, as well as the inability to make the learning process vivid and memorable. In addition, studying independently, it will be quite difficult for a student to acquire the correct pronunciation. But any person knows that retraining is much more difficult than comprehending the truth from the very beginning. That is why, sooner or later, each of us comes to the idea of getting our own teacher who will adapt to his student and patiently move him along the thorny path of language learning.
Good tutors don’t lie on the road
Good tutors are passed from hand to hand, they are appreciated and cherished. And this is well deserved, because they are very responsible for the learning process. As a rule, a teacher with a capital letter uses not only the textbook and its applications in his lessons, but also develops the bulk of the material on his own. After just a few lessons, he determines the potential of his pupil, his system of perception and chooses a system for conveying the material to the student, taking into account his psychological characteristics.
A good English tutor knows perfectly well that all people are divided into audials (perception of information by ear), visuals (perception of information through the eyes) and kinesthetics (perception of information through the senses). In his work, he uses all open opportunities: video and audio recordings, periodicals and fiction in the language, Skype and e-mail, communication with native speakers. That is why, even before the start of classes, you should explain to the teacher your goals and plans for the future, so that he can choose for you the most optimal method and way of presenting the material. For those who decide to enter a foreign university, the teacher will compile a minimum vocabulary of educational topics, help to look for a grant for training and write a letter to the university. If you are planning a business internship abroad, you will be offered to study English with elements of business vocabulary.
In any case, hiring a tutor, you can be sure that you will not receive a flow-less system of language teaching, but an individual approach, taking into account all the individual characteristics of your cooperation. Corporate courses and group English lessons give very good results, but they are completely unsuitable for those students who urgently need to raise their level of knowledge. In this case, an English tutor will help, who will be able to adapt the lessons to the goals and needs of his student. A sign of a good teacher’s work is a lesson plan and individual assignments, selected specifically for each specific lesson. A tutor who asks about your goals and builds classes based on them is a true master of his craft! He not only finds a common language with his student, but also motivates him, gradually instilling a passion for his subject.
How to choose an English tutor?
Faced with such a serious choice, many of us are guided by the advice of acquaintances, friends, school teachers or advertisements in the media. Each of these methods is good in its own way and each has its own pitfalls. It is very nice to have one of your friends in tutors, he knows his future student well, his needs and interests, and therefore will be able to very accurately draw up a training program. On the other hand, a familiar professor may hesitate to ask for the real cost of tuition, and the student will feel uncomfortable that he paid too little. In addition, when studying with a friend, the whole process of studying can turn into a discussion of the latest news, and this is fraught with the loss of precious study time. Experts advise: devote five to ten minutes to retell the latest news, but do it only in English. Agree, this is a good practice for speaking.
The English tutor you have chosen on the recommendation of your friends will undoubtedly try to show your best side, and therefore will retain enthusiasm for the entire period of study. However, no one can give any guarantee that the approach that was ideal for one of your acquaintances will be the same for you. In addition, the tuition fee will be the same as that paid by your friend, no more and no less. A school teacher in the role of a tutor is a very good option, but the curriculum in this case will strongly resemble the standard-traditional one. In principle, this is not bad, since the very process of studying at school or at a university for a student will quickly go uphill, but will he not be bored in the classroom? People think that looking for a tutor for an ad in the newspapers is like buying a pig in a poke. In fact, this is not the case. This is exactly how, with a certain care and persistence, it is quite possible to find an optimal mentor for yourself.
A few recommendations for those who choose an English tutor
Before deciding on one of the teachers, talk to them by phone and ask each of them a few training questions. Ask what methodology the teacher uses in his practice, whether tutoring is his main job or he teaches a subject in one of the educational institutions. It may also happen that the person who offered you the services of an English tutor is not a teacher, but a translator. This is extremely undesirable, since the translator, although he knows English perfectly, may often not be familiar with the principles and methods of teaching, and therefore will not be able to conduct a quality lesson that fully meets the set goals.
Remember: a good tutor will never persuade a potential student to sign up with him. He is always full of students and has no time for persuasion.
After a telephone conversation, you need to personally meet with a potential teacher. A good English tutor, after a short interview, will ask the student to take a test in order to determine his level of knowledge. This aspect is necessary in order to choose the right teaching methodology and draw up a lesson plan. You can also ask what educational literature will be used in the learning process. It is worth noting that for students who are just beginning to comprehend the basics of modern English, educational literature, which is intended for classes with native speakers, is not suitable. As well as vice versa: a textbook for beginners will be useless in classes with those people who have already reached a certain level in learning English.
Remember: a good teacher never invites a student right from the door to start classes, first he will check the level of knowledge and draw up a learning plan.
Often, tutors themselves offer to conduct one trial lesson for free. This is a very convenient moment, since it testifies to the decency and seriousness of the teacher and allows the student to decide whether it is convenient for him to learn the language in this form. The first lesson allows you to establish (or not to establish) psychological contact with the teacher, and this is one of the necessary conditions for any cognitive process.
Remember: a good teacher never makes promises that you will learn everything he knows. An English tutor gives you knowledge, and how to use it is up to you.
Why do I need an English tutor?
The recent Soviet times played a cruel joke with individual lessons, additional lessons in those days were recommended to lazy and hard-to-learn children. Recently, the attitude towards such an occupation as tutoring has changed a lot, now it is not only prestigious to study individually, but also very useful. Today, English tutoring is a sign of well-being and wealth in a family, and there are several good reasons for this.
First, a child who studies individually is most likely to do well in school and knows a lot more than other children. This means that he has every chance to enter a prestigious university, and after graduation – to a highly paid job. Therefore, contacting a tutor is nothing more than a solid investment in your child’s future.
Secondly, tutoring helps to soften some of the individual characteristics of children. For example, a child stutters, has some kind of physical disability, or is just terribly afraid to speak in front of the general public. As a rule, such children cannot fully assimilate the material that the teacher gives in the classroom, and alone with an experienced and friendly English tutor, learning will go much more successfully.
The third reason why parents should pay attention to the tutor is the peculiarities of the transitional age. At this moment, the child tries to realize himself as a person, and he does this taking into account the most diverse hypostases of the world around him. From such discoveries, he very often has neither the strength nor the time to study. This is where an English tutor comes to the rescue, who will build the learning process taking into account the individual characteristics of a teenager.
We are accustomed to “gnawing the granite of science” and teach our children that any cognitive process must be accompanied by backbreaking work. In fact, learning something new is an incomparable pleasure! Do you dream of reading the masterpieces of world literature in the original, or have you decided to go on a trip around the world? This is a great incentive to make learning English one of the most enjoyable experiences in your life!