Title: Unit 3: Tutoring Techniques to Help Tutees Use and Understand English
Course: STEP DEV > Section: Tutoring Techniques to Help Tutees Use and Understand English

OBJECTIVES

- Recognize the few times it is appropriate to speak in French.

- Recall tutoring techniques used in the reading lesson.

- Apply tutoring techniques to help tutees use and understand English.

INTRODUCTION

To acquire a second language, it is necessary to be exposed to it and use it.  Therefore,  in a tutorial, it is essential that both you and your tutee speak in English.  However, when you first meet your tutees, some of them could have difficulty understanding you or might be reluctant to speak in English.

Should you ever speak French?  Yes, in the following situations it can be beneficial, save time and in some cases, it is the only way to help your tutee understand. For instance, you can use French

1.  to make a quick comparison

         “Should” is like “devrait.”

2.  to verify quickly that a tutee understands
      “How do you say __'should'___ in French?”

3.  to review vocabulary

    “How do you say __'devrait'____________ in English?”

4.  to give emotional support if the tutee gets upset

5.  to explain the benefits of  using only English in the tutorials, which are

·         to improve their speaking and listening skills
·         to discover that they know more than they think they do
·         to gain confidence in their abilities

Though French is not out of the question as you see above, it should be used as little as possible.  In order to encourage the use of only English during your tutorials, the following Useful Expressions sheet will be one of your the most valuable tools and should be placed  at close proximity to the tutee at the beginning of each session.

As well, you should have a notebook open with a section for new vocabulary that the tutee learns during the session, as in the image below.

Each time your tutee asks for the meaning or translation of a word, you should write it down and then review these words often during the session and at the end of the lesson.  The rest of the sheet can be used to write down your tutee’s oral errors that you want them to correct and for anything else that you want to annotate.

Review Techniques Used in the Reading Lesson

1.  What tutoring techniques do you remember the tutor used during the reading lesson to help the tutee use and understand English?

Review Techniques Answer

What tutoring techniques do you remember the tutor used during the reading lesson to help the tutee use and understand English?

- gave the tutee time to answer

- instructed the tutee to ask in English for the meaning of words he did not understand.

- wrote down new vocabulary words

- reviewed new vocabulary words

PRE-ACTIVITY

1.  What other techniques do you  think you could use to help your tutee use and understand English?

Tutoring Techniques

Read through the tutoring techniques you can use to help your tutee understand and practise English.  You have already seen  some of these techniques being used in the reading lesson.

- Adjusts rate of speech.

      o  It will often not be necessary to adjust your rate of speech, but if your tutee is having difficulty understanding you, you might have to speak more slowly.

- Simplifies language.

      o   If necessary, you can do this by using as few words as possible to make your points and breaking down instructions into steps.

- Expands on tutee’s response by sharing experiences and asking questions.

    o   Make sure that you and your tutee talk about yourselves equally and ask questions, which require the tutee to elaborate on their answer.

- Instructs the tutee to use the Useful Expressions sheet.

o   Using this sheet will keep the session in English and provide the tutee with the necessary vocabulary that they require in an easy and efficient manner.

- Reminds the tutee to speak in English.

o   Your tutees often know more English than they think they do.  By encouraging them to only speak in English, they will gain confidence in their abilities.

- Writes down the new vocabulary.

      o   Writing down the vocabulary serves two purposes.

          First, many tutees are visual learners, so seeing the word will help them remember it.

          Secondly, having a list of the new vocabulary will make it easy for you to review it with your tutees.

- Uses the new vocabulary and also provides the tutee with opportunities to use the new vocabulary.

       o   To learn a new word, you need to see it, hear it and use it many times before it becomes part of your vocabulary.

- Pretends not to speak French.

    o   Do it in a joking manner and remind them that they need to ask for the words (even long sentences and questions) that they don’t know in English.

- Doesn’t correct the tutee’s errors.

      o   When the focus is on a grammatical structure, there is a place for correction, but don’t do it when the tutee is focusing on communicating.

- Praises the tutee.

     o   Praise your tutee's small and big accomplishments often and sincerely.

- Reviews the new vocabulary.

      o   It takes repetition to learn new vocabulary, so review as much as possible during and at the end of the session.  As well, do it at the beginning of the next session.

- Gives the tutee time to answer.

  - Many tutees will need time to think about the questions before answering.  If you have a tutee who regularly needs more than 15 seconds to answer a question, you can teach them the expression, “Just a minute, I am thinking.”

- Writes down questions and statements the tutee doesn’t understand.

     o   Writing down what the tutee doesn’t understand can help them pinpoint the difficult parts of the question or statement that they didn’t understand.

- Adapts or changes the activity to the tutee’s level.

  - It is important to be aware of how your tutee is responding to the material.  If they are struggling with the material, then you need to think of what you should review before continuing with the exercise.  Of course, the same is true if the material is too easy; in such case, you must find more challenging material.

ACTIVITY

Click on the video and watch a tutor and tutee getting to know each other.  Notice the tutoring techniques applied to help a tutee use and understand English.

POST-ACTIVITY

Click on the button and take the post-activity quiz.