Veronica: Cardiff tutor
Certified Tutor
I am a native Spanish speaker, born in Uruguay, South America. I have always loved the law and teaching, that is why I decided to become and Attorney at Law and to teach at the same time. While working towards my degree and long after graduating , I taught English at public high schools and tutored middle school students helping them with the language.
I think that in order to help students to learn a subject, you need to start by building their confidence in a stress-free environment. “Impossible” is not in my vocabulary; if there are difficulties, we try to figure a way out but we never give up.
As a teacher, my main goals have always been to have my students communicate in the language as fluently as possible and to change their belief that grammar is hard and boring. I have the right strategies to show how it can be simple and fun.
I moved to the US 10 years ago and continued studying at University of Phoenix, where I got a Masters Degree in the Administration of Justice and Security.
My favorite tutoring subjects are English and Spanish; I have tutored both, making sure that my students are never afraid to communicate in a foreign language.
On my spare time, I like to read, going for walks and swimming.
I believe that people learn in different ways and at a different pace and that it is a teacher’s duty to plan accordingly.
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Undergraduate Degree: Universidad de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay - Bachelors, Derecho
Graduate Degree: University of Phoenix - Masters, Justice and Security
reading, going for walks, some working out, listening to music
What is your teaching philosophy?
I behave as a facilitator, so I do not do all of the talking.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
I will have a conversation to get to know him/her, and try to build a relationship that allows me to help.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
By leading him to draw his own conclusions.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
By planning different activities according to his interests.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
First assess the difficulty, then have him understand why it is difficult for him, and finally plan activities to overcome the difficulty and build confidence.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I start by asking simple questions about what they have read to try and determine where the difficulty is, and once that has been done, I plan activities to overcome it. Then we get back to the passage, trying to see if the understanding improves.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
I do my best to get to know him and understand him. Also I try to have a stress-free environment for him to feel confident.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
I would ask questions to check the understanding, or plan activities related to it so that he shows me he has understood.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
By asking him why he sees it as difficult, and then working to show him that difficulties can be overcome.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
By practice.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
By listening to him.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
It depends on the topic we are dealing with. It can be images, drills, or simply a conversation related to the topic. I think that warming up is very important.