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1C - Tutoring and Teaching: How They Are Different
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IntroductionMany people who teach English to speakers of other languages end up tutoring them. That is, instead of working with whole classes of English language learners, they work with individuals (or very small groups). Tutoring situations may seem less intimidating, but they have their own set of challenges. This unit will help you understand the difference between teaching and tutoring and provide you with useful guidelines for working successfully as a tutor. Scenario: A University Student Learns How to TutorMary, a university student, was often approached by international students asking for help with their English. Many of these students were from Korea. One student even stopped her at a bus stop one day. Even though Mary had had some experience as a classroom teacher, she had never worked in one-on-one tutoring situations such as this. She accepted the opportunity but wasn’t sure how to proceed.
Another time Mary went to Japan on an internship to teach in junior high schools there. As she travelled she met people and was asked to tutor them and their children in EFL. The company she was interning with had a rule that she could not be paid to tutor anyone as a side job, so she did it for free after finishing at the schools. It kept her very busy but was satisfying work. Ha What did you do? What would you do if someone asked for help with their English? What could you do to be an effective and helpful tutor? Objectives of this unitAs you work through this unit, you will… ➢ Be able to understand clearly the differences between teaching and some different types of tutoring. ➢ Know some different situations where tutoring takes place. ➢ Be prepared with some tips for what to do in different tutoring situations when you come across them. ➢ View and reflect on a video clip of a tutor at work. If you learn well, and apply what you have learned, you will know how to approach these situations, and your tutoring sessions will be both enjoyable for those involved and effective in helping them improve their English skills. The least you should knowThe objective of tutoring is to help students learn what they want and need to know and get there as quickly and as well as possible. Since each student’s needs vary from wanting to improve pronunciation in order to be understood better at work, to wanting to be accepted into a university, to passing the TOEFL, to assisting parents in helping their children with homework. Thus, it is important to ask students what they want and need to know during your first tutoring session. Some things to think about and do include… 1. Learning about your students 2. Figuring out the logistics of tutoring 3. Creating a healthy learning environment 4. Preparing lessons ahead of time 5. Giving and following up on homework assignments The remainder of this section will talk about these five topics.
1. Learning about your studentsLearning about your student is crucial. In order to teach your students effectively you will need to know as much as you can about them. Efficient teaching depends on how well this is accomplished. Doing a needs analysis (see unit 2B for more information)Find out what your students need to know by asking them questions, some examples are included below: • What do you want to learn? • When did you start learning English? • Where are you from? • What are your goals for the future? • What is your first language? Deciding what to teachThis will depend mainly on what you find out from the needs analysis. What are the most important things the students need and want to learn? Thinking about potential concernsThings such as gender, age, and background can make a big difference as to what, where and how you teach. Be safe and keep your students safe by learning as much as you can about your students and then meet in a place where there are plenty of people around or where your student can learn comfortably. Being sure to maintain a professional distanceThis is very important. Let students know you are there for them and want to help them learn, but do not take too much time just talking as friends. If and/or when you do become friends, be sure to keep those conversations brief at the beginnings of lessons. Take time to talk outside of the lesson time if you want to have a longer conversation and catch up. Comprehension (and reflection) questions
2. Figuring out the logistics of tutoringBefore agreeing to tutor someone there are some things you should consider and questions that you should ask. Some of these things are listed below: Where will you meet?In a home, a library, an office, a school etc…? (A public place is good, especially if the person you are tutoring is of the opposite sex) Selecting materials to tutor withThink about which books, videos, activities and so forth you will use in your tutoring sessions, some are listed here in the "Where to go to learn more" section of this unit, and in other units in this program. You can also do your own search on the Internet when you know the needs of your students in order to find things that will be helpful for individual needs. Deciding how much to chargeIf your student is going to be paying you, decide how much you would like to charge. Many times they will just ask you how much you charge, so it is a good idea to have an amount in mind ahead of time (Many ESL students are used to paying about $10-$20/hour depending on the experience of the teacher, however some are not able to pay so much). Deciding how long lessons will last and how many days per week you will meetThis is important to talk about with your students so that you can agree on how many lessons you will be teaching. If you make sure to talk about this with your students you will not have to worry as much about misunderstandings and differences of expectations. What are the resources?Think about and ask what is available where you will be tutoring. Is there a computer? Is there a white board or chalk board? Will the student bring materials? Or will you be expected to provide things like paper, and pencils for the students? Will you need to bring white board markers, chalk, books or other materials? Tutoring TypesPull-Out TutoringStudents that are having difficulty in class are pulled out for some extra help one-on-one with a tutor. For example, an Indian student just moved from India and was placed in a normal school. She had difficulty understanding what was going on so she had a certain time each day to leave class and go work with a tutor. Specific Skills – Professional Development – Fine-tuning Pronunciation tutoringProfessionals in businesses who have difficulty being understood need a special tutor to help with pronunciation or specific fine-tuning of skills. For example, a business executive who worked as an interpreter for several different languages, he helped with customer service and sometimes his coworkers or people he worked with had difficulty understanding him. He got an accent coach to help him with pronunciation. Online TutoringStudents are taught one-on-one through Skype, MSN Messenger or another video chat program. For example, Gabby Geckos (a private company) hires native English speaking teachers in the U.S. to tutor Koreans who live in Korea. They work on correct sentence structure, pronunciation, and speaking and listening skills. Test Preparation TutoringHelping students prepare for tests to get better grades and pass them sooner. Many ESL/EFL students need to take major tests to accomplish certain tasks. In such cses, some international students hire a personal tutor to help them prepare for the TOEFL to enter a university. Extra Help Tutoring – Outside of classPeople who just want to learn English better and ask someone to help them. For example, in Thailand while on an English teaching internship a young university student helped some of his students outside of class because they were struggling. 3. Creating a healthy learning environmentHelping your student feel comfortable and able to ask questions without being looked down on is very important for a healthy environment. Remember, most of your students will be very intelligent individuals, remember not to treat them like children or like they do not know anything. Think about how you would like to be treated when learning a new language. Correcting students' mistakes in a non-intrusive and non-intimidating way is also important for this (see unit 32). Think about heating, air-conditioning, noise, and other distractions to make sure that you and your student can be as comfortable as possible. Tips for tutoringWhat? How? When? Why? Give feedback• Explain directions and objectives clearly • Smile • give praise or congratulations on good work • Throughout the lessons • After tests or assignments • After activities Helps learners: • know what they are doing right • know what they need to improve • have motivation to keep working Vocabulary• Teach new vocabulary words the students come across in their reading or some that would be useful in their lives. • Whenever they need them • As students come across them • When students try to explain something and need a new word • The more vocabulary students know the better they can understand Pronunciation• With individual sounds and linking, stress, intonation etc… • Whenever needed • When you hear a common mistake • Because students want it. And it helps them be understood. Writing• Correct grammar in short paragraphs • Correct punctuation • Make sure ideas are clear • When you see a common mistake • Because they want it. Speaking• Practice, practice, practice • In class • Outside of class • Whenever you see your students • Whenever you tutor • They always need practice • The more they speak the better they will get
4. Preparing lessons ahead of timePrepare lesson plans but be flexible and able to adjust to the needs of your students (See unit 6 for more information). Sometimes you will only get to the first part of your plan because you find the student needs lots of help with that particular thing, or you might skip and do the last part first, but that is ok. However, you will always feel better and more able to meet your students’ needs if you are prepared. You can always save the rest of your plan for the next session if necessary. 5. Giving and following up on homework assignmentsThis is very important because if you do not find out if students did the assignment you gave them the time before, it will become busy work that does not really help them learn. Help them see that anything you ask them to do is important. Talk about it in class both when giving the assignment and then when finding out whether they did it or not. If they did not do it on their own, do it together during the next class period, they might not have understood or just forgotten about it. This can help build trust with your students.Comprehension (and reflection) questions
Video examplesWatch this video clip of a one on one tutoring session. This video shows a tutor working with an English learner on her pronunciation difficulties.
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Reflection and ResponsesAs you view this video clip of an ESL conversation class, think about and respond to each of the following questions. 1. What was especially good about this session? (What did the teacher and student do right?) 2. What tutoring principles/techniques discussed earlier in this unit did you notice in this clip? 3. Which adaptations could you make for the situation you are/will be tutoring in? 4. What other things might you do differently to make your lessons even better? Write your reflections in the box provided. Then, click on the button by each box to see what other people have said after viewing and reflecting on this video clip. Where to go to learn moreThat’s “the least you should know” about good tutoring and the difference between teaching and tutoring. Of course, there is much more that you can learn from other sources. Connections to other units in this program Here are some other units in this program that relate to topics we have addressed in this unit. • Unit 2B, Planning a curriculum that fits your students and meets their needs. • Unit 2C, Designing effective lessons for language learning and teaching (i.e., curriculum and lesson planning). • Unit 2D, Assessing your students’ language proficiency (for course design purposes and for determining student placement). • Unit 3C, Managing classes of English language learners. • Unit 3D, Correcting errors, and developing self-monitoring skills. • Unit 5E, Teaching your students to use language-learning strategies commonly employed by successful language learners. • Unit 8A, Conducting effective and enjoyable conversation classes. • Unit 8B, Using songs and chants to increase participation, recall, and enjoyment. • Unit 8C, Using games, and other fun yet effective activities for English language teaching. Online and other electronic resourceshttp://www.esl-tutor.com Commentary on this website??? http://www.project-read. com This website is designed to assist tutors in tutoring first language learners in reading literacy. A program called Project Read. There are many tips for tutoring included here.
Print and paper-based resourcesHere are some published books that have proven to be helpful resources for teaching conversation classes.
If you have suggestions for other resources (books, websites, etc.), please send them to btrtesol@byu.edu Additional referencesComing soon.
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Mary asked her professors for help, and she searched the Internet to find information about how to be a good tutor. In that way, she learned things that helped her a lot. In the end, the international students were pleased with the results and very grateful that she was able to help them. 
ve you ever been in a similar situation?
Dalle, Teresa S. and Young, Laurel J. (2003). PACE yourself: A handbook for ESL tutors. Alexandria, Virginia: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. ISBN 193118506-9 “This is a very easy to follow tutoring guide, it gives step by step instructions on what to do, from gathering information, to preparing an organized schedule, to knowing what to teach and assessing students learning, and your own teaching skills” 