Experience
I am a law student at NUS. I have just finished my first year.
I have a 2-pronged approach to giving effective tuition. First, I will shore up any deficiency in my student's understanding of the English subject, or lack of answering technique, where his/her school teachers are unable to rectify partly due to time constraints in school.
Second, I will spend at least 30 min to expose my student to the wider English-speaking world beyond the constraints of school materials. Because, exposure to English being used in the real world is critical to mastery of the language at a young age. This will also, hopefully, interest my student in reading sources of good English on his/her own. Such materials include but are not limited to: digestible short stories by acclaimed authors, articles and opinion pieces on relatable subjects (such as tourism), short videos including effective advertisements, speeches by influential figures, and brief and exciting criminal court judgments. I also encourage conversations and casual writing with my student to train his/her speaking and writing ability. In short, my student should find learning English fun.
I will not earn my fee merely by watching my student answering questions on a book, and then marking them by referring to the answer key at the back, giving cursory explanations which explain the wrong questions but which do not tackle my student's lack of understanding of the concept at the root. I have received such inadequate tuition as a student and I do not aspire to be such an unqualified tutor.
Although I have no experience in giving home tuition, I have taught lower primary school children at an after-school student care student for 3 months. I have also volunteered to tutor less-privileged children, including some with special needs, for 2 years in my junior college's Interact Club.
Language is important. It is not only a medium for communication, but a medium through which a person's mind thinks, and perceives the world. Language not only conveys information, it communicates emotions, persuades and changes other people, has the power to start a war or end one. The pen is mightier than the sword.
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