Why write a blog on how to get the most out of your tutoring session? Well, for a start, you have decided to engage a tutor for a specific goal, or set of goals. Besides, you are making an investment - or your parents are making an investment -, an investment in time and money.
Simply turning up to your tutoring class will not be enough for you to reach your goals!
Here are a few tips that will help you gain the most benefit from your tuition:
- Book your tutor early in the school year, or even better, before the end of the previous year or during the Summer break. A good tutor will be in demand and it's better to get in early to select your preferred time slot.
- Be clear about what your goals are. Are you looking at a certain VCE score? Are you looking at learning a few words to get by during an upcoming trip to France? Do you wish to become fully fluent?
- Make the most of your time with your tutor. Be fully present during class. Ask for clarification if anything appears unclear, as leaving the class with question marks in your head is unlikely to progress your learning.
- Take notes! Your tutor may write notes, scenarios and examples for you. It is best if you take notes in your own writing, in a way that you can relate to and understand. Do not feel rushed to do this. Taking your own notes means you can actively and constructively review the class once you are home and will help you retain what you have learnt.
- Practice in between lessons. Find ways to utilise the newly learnt vocabulary, verb, grammar or sentence structure whenever you can.
- Link what you learn in class (if you are a school student) with what you practice with your tutor.
- Link what you hear on the news (particularly news of the French-speaking world if you are learning French) with what you practise with your tutor. Learning how to briefly outline topical news events in French can be very rewarding, particularly with (semi-)beginners (YES, it's easier than you think!). As news on a certain topic unfold, you will be able to add more to your repertoire, with your tutor's assistance.
- Have fun and enjoy it! When it gets tough (and it will get tough sometimes, when you get stuck on a new, unusual sentence structure, a word that refuses to imprint in your mind, etc) remember your goal and the reason you set it. And take a deep breath . . . !
- Trust your tutor, even if some of the activities they offer you do not seem to fit neatly with your goal. If you are unsure, ask them why they believe this will benefit you.
- Communicate with your tutor about your goals, not only when contacting your tutor for the first time, but throughout the program. Revise your goals as necessary. But do not be too quick to downgrade them! Trust yourself. Your development needs (the areas you decided you wished to focus on when you first started) may have changed.
For LOTE tutoring specifically (and as I mentioned in a previous post, I will inevitably revert to using French as an example: that's what I do and that's my passion!):
- immerse yourself in the spoken language: listen to radio programs in the target language, watch the local news (on SBS or online), watch movies (on SBS1 and 2, at the cinema or online), listen to French music.
- if you keep a personal journal, write a few lines each night in French. Then every night, increase by another line. If you don't keep a personal journal, start now! This will expand your skills and get you thinking in French.
- go to the French film festival if it is held in your city.
- do not despair if you watch the news and cannot understand fully. Pick out words, context, tones. Little by little you will pick out a bit more. The aim is not to make out each word at this stage.
Happy learning to you!
