Mervette: Victoria tutor
Certified Tutor
I am a trilingual tutor, who has been raised in the German School in Cairo, Egypt, the country of pyramids and ancient civilizations. The German School is highly reputable and caters to the needs of children of the German expats, where I lived a double cultured life and got certified by the German Ministry of Education in Bonn, Germany.
Afterwards, I studied Chemical Engineering and had an internship in Hanover Germany at the "Institute for Petroleum Research".
My love to the German Language drove me to work for Swissair and Lufthansa Airlines, interacting with German speaking customers on a daily basis. I frequently traveled to German speaking countries for both work and pleasure. I have received all my work related training in Switzerland and Germany.
After long years, I switched careers from the travel industry to tutoring the German language in multinational language centers. I discovered that dealing with children and youth is very delightful and cheering, and helping them understand something new enables one to see their glowing eyes and their shining smiles. Teaching adults is as interesting to me as teaching children as there are more ways to connect and a broader platform to exchange culture.
Having studied the Arabic English Translation Diploma at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, added to my strong Arabic grammar skills as an Arabic tutor.
Connect with a tutor like Mervette
What is your teaching philosophy?
I teach through conversation, by interacting in fun activities, and by focusing on phonetics and correct pronunciation.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
We have a role-play, teaching how everyone introduces him/herself in German. We have a lot of fun and laugh from our hearts.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
By appreciating his/her achievement and challenge to reach the top level.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
Skip it and move to another concept, which might touch the difficult part by other means.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
Try to move to a song. Music makes pronunciation easier and makes it more understood.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Role-play makes it clear if the material is understood by the student.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
When students realize that they understood the subject and it is no longer a big question mark for them and they see the tutor appreciating their achievement, they will start building their confidence in the subject.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
By hearing him/her talk the language and by seeing how they perform in written works, I can evaluate their need.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
Some students have some difficulty with pronunciation. Those need some phonetics training. Some others have it difficult forming a correct sentence; we train a lot in this field. Others would have difficulty with grammar; we focus on this part indirectly, to keep it interesting.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
Flashcards, pictures, songs, audios and videos.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
We set up a learning system together, which he/she could follow by his own, and continuously follow up on it.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
The best strategy I have found successful is that the student hears the language very often, either in the car or on the tablet. This makes the ear and brain get accustomed to the language.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
Motivating, appreciating and setting challenges.