Field Notes: ESL Tutor Field Trips

I recently returned from a field trip that I took with a few of my ESL tutees, and I just had to share my great experience with my fellow tutors!

I tutor a small group of ESL students in very beginning English.  We're still working on basic vocabulary and grammar, and I am always looking for ways to keep the ESL tutoring fresh and fun.  I know how boring ESL can get, as I was an ESL student many, many years ago. 

Anyway, a while back, I wrote in this blog about realia, and the fun of bringing "stuff" into your ESL tutor sessions.  Well, yesterday I took that a step further, and 3 of my students and I took a trip to the local farmers market.  It was great, and we had a blast!

The benefits of planning out an ESL field trip like this were many.  It gave my ESL tutees:

1) The opportunity to practice their vocabulary with the vendors.  Buying fruits, vegetables, and other items allowed my students the opportunity to brush up on (and practice) their vocabulary.  They were able to practice known words while picking up new words and phrases.  I made sure that each of them had their vocabulary books with them so that they could write down the new words and phrases.

2) A chance to practice their conversational skills and grammar in a casual social setting.  Being able to converse with one another in English, talk to the farmers market vendors, speak with other shoppers, and talk to me in a relaxed environment gave my ESL tutees the chance to relax and enjoy their new language skills.  Each of them came to me afterward, and told me how easy it was to practice speaking English when they felt comfortable and excited about what they were seeing at the market.

3) An opportunity to take the idea of realia to the next level.  Pictures of fruit can be pretty, but it is no substitute for the real thing.  Seeing, touching, and smelling the fruit is a sure fire way to get the physical piece of fruit, and the vocabulary word, linked together permanently in the mind.

4) An opportunity to work with money.  Paying for goods, receiving change, and figuring out costs in US dollars was a great exercise that my ESL students were excited about.  This part of the day made me happy for all of that realia "play" money we had worked with together! It was great to see my students feeling so confident.   

5) The chance to get to know one another a bit better.  While my students and I talked over lunch, we all had the opportunity to learn more about one another.  This is invaluable, and will undoubtedly make us all more relaxed (and ready to learn) during our next ESL tutoring session.

We had a great day together.  My ESL tutees learned new words and phrases, they had the opportunity to practice their new English skills, and they gained confidence in conversation.  Plus, it was just good, old fashioned fun!  The next time any of you ESL tutors have a session, try taking your lessons on the road.  You'll be glad you did! 

Tammy (still from WI :)

Ask Micki: Learning French, Tutoring French

© pinzino

Question: Hello, Micki, I have a question about foreign language tutoring and I am hoping you can help me. 

I began taking French over a year ago now, and enjoy every minute of it.  While I am far (really, really far) from being fluent, I am very comfortable being at the intermediate level.  I understand the grammar, the language rules, and have an intermediate level vocabulary. 

My question is this: I was contacted by someone who has a 12 year old daughter.  She has just started taking french in junior high, and is starting from the very basics.  I was asked about tutoring this student in French, but I am not sure if I should say yes.

Like I said, I'm not fluent.  Is it unethical, or wrong, or anything to tutor someone in a language that you yourself are not 100% fluent in yet?

Thanks for the help,
Olivia from IL


Answer: Hi, Olivia.  Good question - my short and sweet answer - go for it!

You will be tutoring this young girl in the basics of French and, from the sounds of it, you have already mastered that level.  So, for this young girl, you are an expert at basic French.  Even if in your own mind you have a way to go before being fluent, at this basic French level, you sound as though you are more than qualified to tutor. 

You don't have to know everything there is to know about a language (or any subject for that matter) to tutor it.  It just helps to know more than your tutee, and (of course) to know how to properly tutor your tutee.

Think of it this way - if you had been contacted about tutoring junior high level algebra, and you know advanced algebra, then you would be qualified to tutor algebra at various levels.  You wouldn't need to know calculus and linear algebra to tutor basic algebra, you would just need to know how to tutor your junior high student at the level of algebra that he or she actually needs. 

So, yes, I would definitely go for it. Have fun! Chances are your enthusiasm for your new language will be good for your tutee, and will make the tutoring sessions even better!

*****
Photo credit: © sxc.hu/pinzino

Ask Micki: Question from a tutee

© linder6580

Question:  Hi, there, Micki, I have a question for you. Not as a tutor, but as a tutee. 

I am a grad student at university, and I get tutoring at my university's learning center.  My tutor is a smart guy, and a good tutor, but he is making me really uncomfortable with his pushy flirting.  It started out innocently enough, and I kind of tried to ignore it, but lately it has gotten out of hand.

I don't feel comfortable being hit on by my tutor.  I'm there to learn, plus I am already in a relationship with someone. I told him all of this, told him that he needed to stop, and told him that he was making me uncomfortable, but it didn't do any good.  He's still being pushy.

Last week he kept putting his hand on my leg, asking me to stay late until the tutoring center closed.  Then he went on about the things he could do for me after hours.  It was bad enough that I canceled my tutoring session for this week.  I don't want it affecting my grades, but I don't want to hurt his feelings.  What do I do?  This doesn't seem right to me.

Thanks,
Anonymous and needing help!


Answer: Hi, Anonymous. Yikes, that sounds awkward, and (honestly) a bit scary! Sorry you are going through it, but I applaud you for knowing where to draw the line when it comes to keeping the tutoring professional. 

You are right when you say that what he is doing seems wrong - what your tutor is doing is against the ethics followed by professional tutors.  He is being completely unprofessional, and taking away the effectiveness of the tutoring environment.  

You mentioned that you already tried talking to him, and it didn't work out, so my suggestion of trying to have a conversation with him about it is out.  It sounds as though this tutor is beyond the conversation phase of things. 

You also mentioned that you are getting tutoring at your university's learning center, so I assume that there is someone in charge there (a director, a supervisor, etc.).  I would recommend talking to the supervisor in charge of the learning center, and let him or her know about what has been going on with you and your tutor. 

Be prepared to give details, times and dates (to the best of your recollection), and be open and honest about how it is making you feel.  

Chances are, he or she can help you two get things figured out, or refer you to another tutor who will behave more appropriately.  Either way, your tutor's behavior is beyond inappropriate, and he needs to have a talk with the person in charge about it. 

Letting a supervisor know what's been happening will help you, and prevent him from making other tutee's uncomfortable in the future. 

Honestly, if you want my personal recommendation, I would talk to the learning center supervisor request a new tutor, because this young man does not sound as though he knows how to behave appropriately with his tutees. 

Whatever you do, don't let this turn you off of tutoring completely - trust me, there are plenty of well trained, ethical, great tutors out there who know how to treat tutees with respect. 

Good luck, and please, stop by and let us know how things went!

*****
Photo Credit:
© sxc.hu/linder6580
http://www.sxc.hu/profile/linder6580

Ask Micki: Focus or no focus?

© ljleavell

Question: Hi there, Micki. I'm a new tutor who is excited about getting started in the business.  I've tutored my first few people, and enjoyed every minute of it.  I like working with people of all different ages and levels of understanding. The challenge is fun, and it keeps my job interesting. 

Problem for me is that I'm having trouble choosing a tutoring focus. 

Most of my friends who tutor are "college level English tutors," "junior high algebra tutors," "high school chemistry tutors," or some other specific type of tutor.

Me, on the other hand, I have been bouncing around between math and chemistry at all levels, elementary school all the way through college. 

How do I narrow in and choose a single focus for my tutoring? Do I need to? Will it help my tutoring business down the road if I make a choice to narrow in on a certain kind of tutoring?

Thanks,
Jay from CA

Answer: Hi, Jay, thanks for the question!

My shortest answer for your question is, "Nope!"
But let me give you the longer version of my answer, too.  :-)

Right now, you are in a great tutoring situation.  You possess the enthusiasm for tutoring, you like tutoring all levels, you have a knowledge of two often troublesome subjects for students (math and chemistry), and you enjoy the ability to assist students at all grade levels.  I'd say you are doing well just the way you are working things now. 

Not everyone is comfortable tutoring certain age groups (kids, junior high students, adults, etc.), and not everyone is comfortable tutoring certain knowledge levels (beginning, advanced, etc.).  You, on the other hand, seem comfy tutoring at pretty much any age and any level - that is a strength, for sure, and will only benefit you in the tutoring profession. 

As for your tutoring business, I'd say the more people you can help, the better off you are (for a host of reasons - the joy of helping others, being able to assist a wide array of students, an increase in business due to your varied level focus, etc.).  So don't change a thing.

In other words...Get out there and tutor whoever, and whatever, you'd like! 

Good luck, and happy tutoring!

-------------------
Photo credit:
© sxc.hu/ljleavell
http://www.sxc.hu/profile/ljleavell

Field Notes: Never Assume

I wanted to share something that happened to me this week that I think might help another tutor out there. 

I just recently encountered something that, in my 17 years of tutoring, I have never had before - my tutee started crying during tutoring. 

It kind of came out of nowhere, really caught me off guard, and I just kind of froze at first.  I'm not a very emotional girl, and I don't come from a very emotional family, so I was kind of at a loss as to what to do. 

To make matters more unexpected, my tutee is a big, grown man (sports player) in his late-20s, who just went to pieces on me during tutoring. 

We obviously stopped what we were doing (going over equations), he took a few minutes, composed himself, and then we took a few minutes to talk. 

I asked him, without getting too personal, to let me in on what was bothering him.  I figured it was pure frustration with the material (calculus), and that he was fed up with the difficulties he was having with the class (he was barely getting a C-).

Turns out, it was far worse than mere coursework or tutoring frustration. 

He has an elderly relative who is very ill.  A relative he has been very close to since he was a kid, and the thought of losing this relative is breaking his heart. 

The tears didn't stem from frustration, but from being overwhelmed.  The situation with his relative, combined with working 40+ hours every week, family problems, sports obligations, and a full time course schedule, was just too much for him to handle. 

Understandably so.  It would have driven me to tears as well.

After talking for a few more minutes, we switched gears, and went into problem solving mode again. 

But this time it wasn't math problems we were solving.  This time we were going over some stress management strategies, laying out a better study schedule, and discussing ways that he could lighten his schedule a little bit. 

At the end of our 10 minute discussion, my tutee felt better, and I had learned something important. 

Never assume. 

Assuming that my tutee was simply frustrated would have made me miss out an opportunity to get to know my tutee better. 

My incorrect assumption also would have robbed my tutee of the opportunity to "get things off his chest."

The wrong assumption would have eliminated the possibility of having a constructive discussion with my tutee, and subsequently wouldn't have allowed me and my tutee to come up with some strategies for dealing with his schedule and stress level. 

So any tutors out there who find themselves in a similar tutoring situation, remember: Communication is key! Don't assume anything, and keep those lines of communication flowing between tutor and tutee. 

Anonymous in MA