Le Nora: Halifax tutor
Certified Tutor
I have been teaching professionally for about three years. Nothing brings me greater pleasure than watching a student progress and achieving goals, no matter how big or small. I use my personal experience as a learner of language and think from the student's perspective when designing lessons. No two students are the same, and I'm constantly modifying materials that I have to meet the student's learning needs.
My love for language sprouted when I started learning a language that wasn't dead. Up to freshman year in college, I had only studied Latin and hadn't experienced applying language beyond translation and reading. I majored in Mandarin, minored in Turkish and have been exploring other languages ever since. Learning language became the segue for teaching it when I went to Taiwan for work and academics. Upon returning to the USA, I got a job with a company that specializes in intensive English. That opportunity equipped me with a dense amount of experience in teaching all aspects of language to a spectrum of students in terms of proficiency and academic ability.
Beyond work, I am a yogi, dancer, athlete, reader, and culinary explorer. I appreciate all forms of dance, especially tango, salsa, hip hop, and belly dancing. I train Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo regularly and enjoy basketball and soccer when I have the chance. I believe learning is a journey without an end and strive to expand my horizons through reading about health, anatomy, classical literature and a slew of other subjects.
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Undergraduate Degree: The Ohio State University - Bachelors, Chinese Language and Culture
Hip hop and Latin dance, music, cooking/baking, language, piano, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, judo, yoga, working out, soccer, basketball and various types of agriculture
- College English
- College Essays
- Comparative Literature
- Conversational Mandarin
- English
- English Grammar and Syntax
- ESL/ELL
- Essay Editing
- High School English
- Languages
- Literature
- Mandarin Chinese
- Mandarin Chinese 1
- Public Speaking
- Reading
- Test Prep
- TOEFL Prep
- Writing
How would you help a student stay motivated?
I would relate by referring to my and others' past failures, and how those struggles were approached and overcome. Emphasizing growth and progress made to remind students of their capabilities is also useful for that situation.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
Approach the difficulty step by step to isolate the precise issue, and/or approach the concept in a completely different way. If possible, I would refer back to a fundamental aspect of the difficulty that builds off of previous knowledge already mastered by the student to show that the topic at hand isn't completely foreign.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
Build a stronger foundation through various reading comprehension drills, e.g. discussion or multiple choice questions ranging in difficulty.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
I teach through asking questions and allowing a student's answers to accumulate into a fashion that results in an understanding of a new concept.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
I use contexts that the student is familiar with and show that it can be applied to what they're learning.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Various forms of assessment-- e.g. error correction, explanation of corrections, and application of the target skill in writing, reading or speaking.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Drilling in various forms helps students see how they can apply what they've learned and how capable they are.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
By gauging the difference between their current ability and their objectives through basic assessments.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
It's clear how a student best learns after a few classes. You just have to try several methods and see what works best.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
Handouts, PowerPoints, short clips, and activities that introduce, drill, and assess target skills.
What is your teaching philosophy?
To not only teach a targeted concept, but to equip students with the ability to teach themselves and explore new topics individually with confidence.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Get to know the student, assess what needs to be done to get a student from his/her starting point to his/her goals, and familiarize myself with how the student best learns.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Incorporate modeled activities into tutoring sessions that require the student to work independently, and then build off of that skill with more individual homework in between classes.