Stephanie

I have twenty years experience as a teacher of French, Spanish and Italian in secondary education. I am passionate about young people learning languages at school. Language learning also sparks curiosity to travel and meet people from different cultures. There can be no greater satisfaction as a teacher than seeing a young linguist flourish; transferring their language skills and cultural knowledge in further education and to their chosen career or profession. It is never too late to learn a new language. whether it be returning as an adult to French, Spanish or Italian acquired at school or starting as a beginner. To learn a foreign language broadens your vocabulary and grammatical accuracy both in the language you choose to study and in English or whatever your native tongue may be.

Tutoring Experience

Throughout my twenty year teaching career to date I have taught GCSE French and Spanish and A-level French following the EDEXCEL and AQA examboards. University entry is ever competitive. I keep abreast of changes to exam board regulations, marking policy and grade boundary criteria to ensure all my students reach their full potential. I also teach Italian to GCSE and A-level. I have led various positions of responsibility as a languages teacher. I have been head of languages at secondary schools in north London and Kent. I currently teach modern languages part time allowing for me to tutor students individually and in small groups. I have also taught French, Italian and Spanish to primary school aged children through the medium of drama and music. Prior to teaching in the British education sector I taught English as a foreign language in France and Italy both to junior and adult learners.

Tutoring Approach

Every student of French, Spanish or Italian learns differently. The initial lesson will focus on listening and speaking skills so I may ascertain an student's strengths and natural aptitude as a language learner. From this point I prepare a programme of study depending on the long term aims of the student whether it be for external examinations, entry into further education or personal enjoyment and satisfaction. Learning vocabulary and achieving grammatical accuracy is key. However, pouring over verb tables and grammar books is not conducive to enjoyable language learning. I favour memory games so students identify patterns and irregularities in verbs and word order in sentences. I set weekly independent learning largely based around listening and repetition at home. One to one tuition allows for reading and writing material and topic based discussions to be tailored to the individual interests of the student.