Tutor Tips

The following are some suggestions for volunteer tutors:

Relationship with Student

• Take time to get acquainted. Make sure you and your student have each other's full names and contact information. Greet each other using various forms of your names over the course of a few classes. Many tutors and students report that they don't know each other's names even after a few months.

• Look at each student individually. Value the student for who he/she is. Your first aim is to help the student see himself/herself as one who can learn and wants to learn.

• Set your sights high for the student. Have confidence the student can learn.

• Explore ways to set up the kind of rapport needed to spark learning.

• Listen to what the student has to say. Ask his/her opinion. Ask how they think they did, or to evaluate their own response. For instance, ask, “How do you know that?”

• Let the student know it is all right to make mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes, and that is one way to learn. Let them know it is all right not to know something, and that there are some things that you do not know.

• Don't preach. Open the door to discovery and let the student do the work.

• Establish appropriate ways to communicate lack of understanding early in your sessions.

• Be enthusiastic. Tone of voice, facial expression, etc., help convey your interest and have an effect on how the student will feel about the lesson and themselves.

• Be patient. Learning takes time. Stay focused on the learner's needs and objectives.

• Respect your student as a person. Do not criticize if the student doesn't read well, for that may destroy self-confidence and interest in learning. Never ridicule, shame, or be sarcastic. Never “parrot” the student by repeating the answers given.

• Be kind but firm. Do your best to be understanding, but also remember that your student must be willing to do their part to be succesful.

• Don't treat your adult student like a child. Use adult examples.

• When a student has made an error, correct it casually. Do not overemphasize it by asking questions to lead him to correct it himself.

• Do not promise anything you cannot deliver. You must make every effort to let the student know your promises are meaningful.

• If your student is absent without notice, call or visit to find out why. The student may be afraid to return if he/she has been away too long.

 

Technique

• Sit next to the student so you can work with him/her, not across so that you are teaching at the student.

• Keep student on task. If your student brings up another subject, suggest discussing it after the lesson.

• Get student to relate what they are learning to life experience. Use what the student already knows as a starting point and to develop lessons of interest to the student.

• Set a purpose for the lesson. Tell the student what you will teach before you begin. Three major areas are usually plenty for a one-hour session. Doing this at the beginning of each lesson h elps bring a clear focus to your time together. Review learning goals at least once a month. List what the student knows and needs to know.

• Ensure success with every lesson. Don't allow your student to develop a sense of failure. Be sure your student knows he/she has succeeded. Divide the lesson into small steps you know the student can handle.

• Give clear directions.

• Review frequently. Ask the student, “What did you practice today?” Ask about previous lessons.

• Ask for help when needed.

• Give immediate feedback. Give positive praise. Even when the student gives an incorrect answer, accentuate the positive about the lesson.

• Model success. Be an example of an achieving goal-setter. You have used what you've learned to be successful in life. Help the student see they can learn to succeed.

• Teach the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) can be taught together and help reinforce each other in terms of learning and understanding. For instance, end a conversation exercise by writing words and sentences used.

• Teach them what they want to learn. Keep it fun. Follow the lead of the student, and their learning will be much more productive and meaningful.

• Use everyday language. Find materials containing common useage. Newspapers, magazines, brochures, email, websites, food containers, children's books, etc.

• Be organized. Have plenty of material ready, of as many types and levels as possible. The more variety, the better.

• Repeat, repeat, repeat. Repeat in as many ways as possible, with as much application to as many different situations as possible.

• Check regularly on reading comprehension. Oral dialogue is essential to know what the learner actually understands when they read. Open-ended questions will stimulate the most thinking and help the student make connections to the text.

• If one approach to a problem doesn't work, try another.

• Talk to other tutors. Others have wisdom and experience to share.

• Do not ask about anything you have not taught yet. Do not skip around to “test” the student. Build on what the student knows.

• Avoid tedious drill on particular skills.

• Avoid asking questions that require one-word answers. Instead, encourage longer replies.

• When playing games, play honestly. Don't just let the student win.

 

Working with Children

• Remember that an occasional outburst is normal.

• Children are challenged by each other.

• Children have no sense of tension strain or undue hurry.

• A child cannot be pushed into activities until they are ready.

• Be sure the room is comfortable.

• Be sure the program is flexible and stimulates the child.

• The child should go at his own pace.

• Children can work individually or in a small group.

• Rules should be established for safety and to protect property.

• No child should be forced to join group activities.

• Equipment should be chosen appropriate for age group, variety, and for educational opportunity.

• A tutor should be physically well.

• A tutor should be warm and friendly.

• A tutor should understand herself.

• A tutor should understand children.

• A tutor is a secure, flexible person with a sense of humor.

• A tutor should be able to remain calm even when something unexpected or disturbing happens.

• A tutor is responsible and dependable.

  Some links to helpful information:

Hands On English

National Institute for Literacy

Literacy Online

The Center

PBS

CNN

The Reading Matrix

 

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