Chapter 5 emphasizes the importance that tutors should take into account the different learning styles of learners. A good tutor is aware of how the tutee learns; distinguishing a learner style in a student helps the tutor explain English language concepts in a more detailed manner. Tutors must be prepared to incorporate visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning strategies during any session. Similar to a good teacher, tutors who are able to adapt to any situation and change their own style of instruction provide students with a more comprehensive learning experience. Also, tutors who have the benefit to have repeat students are able to plan ahead of the session which strategies to use. Having a good working relationship with students is an essential component of productive tutoring sessions and characteristic of good tutors.
The chapter also discusses the challenge of tutoring ESL students. Though these sessions can put tutors on edge, there is always a sense of great satisfaction after the student has left. Personally, ESL students challenge me more than native English speakers (which is common) because of the obvious language barrier; however, I feel these sessions are the most productive as these students genuinely want to learn. As a tutor it is nice to have students interested in the mechanics of the language, and who want to legitimately want to improve their writing. Though ESL sessions can be rough, at the end of the day I know the student has learned something. I feel that I accomplish more when working with ESL students because the transfer of information is recognizable and immediate.
Discussion of online tutoring appears in Chapter 6, which offers both the advantages and disadvantages of the service. Let me say this: online tutoring is not as effective as a face-to-face session. In the time it takes to complete an entire online tutoring appointment a face-to-face session could accomplish in a quarter of the time. There is no personal connection between the tutor and student, and technology issues often arise. Additionally, during online sessions the tutor is tempted to simply edit a person’s paper. It is very hard to explain a concept online without seeing a person’s facial expressions or body language. As previous chapters have mentioned, recognizing the ques that students give off is important to judging comprehension. The relationship between the tutor and student is broken during online tutoring, which creates a barrier between the two parties. It seems to me that online tutoring sessions aren’t worthwhile after considering the amount of effort each appointment requires, which is frustrating for the student and tutor.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment