Congying: Petaluma tutor
Certified Tutor
I have experience as a full time Chinese Immersion Teacher and have taught Chinese for many years. I enjoy working with beginning learners and continuing learners in Chinese. I've taught various age level students: adults, young children, and all the way up to college students. I am a native Chinese speaker. I grew up in China and speak standard Chinese. I am also a second language learner; therefore, I understand the challenges one face when learning another language. My teaching experience will also help you grasp the skills and tricks of memorizing the the tones, vocabulary, and sentence structure. I do hope to work with you.
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Undergraduate Degree: Wayne State College - Bachelors, Human Services
Graduate Degree: Wayne State College - Masters, Counseling
Gardening
- Conversational Mandarin
- Languages
- Mandarin Chinese
- Mandarin Chinese 1
- Mandarin Chinese 2
- Mandarin Chinese 3
- Mandarin Chinese 4
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Introduce myself to the student and give the students opportunities to introduce him/herself. Ask the student what he/she wants to achieve in what time frame. Then set a goal. After that I will do a short evaluation on student knowledge of the language.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Encourage students to find the answer by themselves. Provide multiple resources. Demo certain skills, and give homework to practice.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Make sure my teaching isn't beyond the student's ability to grasp. Make sure that student completely understands the session. Initiate questions that will lead the student to have interest in finding answers on their own. Adding humor to the session also helps. Make the session more interesting rather than dull.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I would provide different teaching styles and find other ways to show the skills or concepts until they get it.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I will definitely slow down, make sure students understand each word and help the student understand the sentence pattern. Start with the basics, and do a lot of reviews.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Every student is unique. Some like practicing more writing to remember the words, some like to use pictures to help them remember, some prefer using songs to help them remember, these all are examples that were successful with my students.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
I would make sure that they understand our session and help them build their self confidence first. When they know they can do it, that's when they are going to get excited.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
I do reviews at the end of each session. I use short answers, writing, demos and whatever is related for that session to make sure that they understand.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
I will start with basic teaching and make sure to acknowledge and praise for what the student already knows. They will build on their vocabulary; confidence will be gained once they know what they can do.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
I usually ask them what's their goal for tutoring. After we set up a goal, then I will do the evaluation. I provide the questions. The evaluation is based on their language goal.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
I teach in various styles. After a session or two I will basically know a student's learning style. Whichever works for them then that is the strategy we are going to apply.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
Books, posters, and flashcards...
What is your teaching philosophy?
Don't stop changing your teaching strategies until you find what your students need.