My realistic approach equally combines the four of reading, writing, listening, and speaking, with the option to hone in on the area preferred by the student. Past students have described me as "inspiring, focused and fun": a great compliment for me as an educator. I have a kind sense of humor, combined with patience and encouragement for students to excel at learning while enjoying the experience of working with a tutor.

It's important to get to know the student, as well as the information they are trying to learn. While it's often difficult to assess all learning capabilities and potential in the first session, it is possible to determine how the student is comfortable learning to achieve optimum results. It's important that both the student and the tutor are comfortable with each other; a "get to know you" icebreaker sometimes helps, too!

While it is vital to understand a student's strengths and weaknesses, it's also important to understand their learning style. Once it is clear how a student learns (visual, aural, verbal or physical), it makes it easier for both the student and tutor to excel with the independent learning process. A tutor may encourage the student to learn on their own by applying focused techniques, such as vocabulary in a song for an aural learner or pictures in place of words for a visual learner.

Movies, music, and games are a great way to encourage learning and often alleviate monotony. Also, after demonstrating comprehension or understanding, a student may be rewarded with something fun, like an inspiring book or creative task.

Try to integrate this skill or concept into learning they already understand. For example, a student struggling with possessive pronouns, but strong with an area of vocabulary (objects, animals), would be helped by combining the two in a lesson, such as creative writing or poetry to use the words together. Take the weaker skill and boost it with a stronger one!