One way schools can really help students make progress is to employ a native English tutor.
Nowadays, the learning process of young people has evolved and it is necessary to provide them with tools according to their cognitive capacities. A native English tutor can give a sense of total language immersion even without the students realizing it.
That is why, from Lingua Language Center, we decided to elaborate an article proposing the most important aspects that a native English tutor has for students in schools.
1 – A cultural resource:
English tutors can share experiences and stories of life in their home country. By inviting students to compare their life experience with that of the target country, English tutors can play an important role in helping students understand other cultures.
2 – A source of spontaneity:
The ability to speak with confidence is emphasized in the English curriculum. However, opportunities to speak spontaneously in the classroom are not always available. In addition to helping students produce, prepare and practice dialogues, English tutors can help students participate in more authentic exchanges. Examples include meeting and greeting students, and conducting business in the classroom using simple expressions. These exchanges mean that students can use the target language for real communicative purposes and develop confidence in the process. At the secondary level, you can also use native English tutors for mock interviews.
3 – A way to help disadvantaged students:
Native English tutors can lead small groups or individual sessions, on behalf of the teacher, with disadvantaged students who lack confidence in languages. For students who do not have the opportunity to go on vacation in a foreign country, an English tutor could be the first opportunity for them to speak with a native speaker and close an opportunity gap with their more affluent peers.
4 – A source of creativity:
Many educators are talking about the WAGOLL (What a Good One Looks Like) technique of using sample texts for speaking and writing that helps students identify good features of a text and compare it to their own. Native English tutors are a fantastic source of WAGOLL material. They can write and record customized, up-to-date listening material and find authentic material in the target language (e.g., on YouTube) of the type that interests young people.
5 – A source of continuous professional development:
Contact with native English tutors is not only valuable for students, but also for teachers and department heads. As staff have limited opportunities to converse in another language, English tutors can help maintain teachers’ fluency and update their vocabulary. They can also help staff develop their knowledge and understanding of the country where the target language is spoken.
These 5 aspects, though seemingly simple, constitute a window into the future of language education. At Lingua Language Center, all of our educators are native speakers and are trained to provide the best quality possible.