Marcela J.
Certified Tutor
Undergraduate Degree: University of Missouri-Columbia - Bachelors, Spanish
Graduate Degree: University of Missouri-Columbia - Masters, Language Teaching
Reading, traveling.
AP Spanish Literature and Culture
CLEP Prep
CLEP Spanish
Conversational Spanish
SAT Subject Test in Spanish with Listening
SAT Subject Tests Prep
Spanish 1
What is your teaching philosophy?
As an instructor, my goal is to get students excited about learning a foreign language and to be aware of the possibilities that being fluent in another language brings.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
I will ask the student to ask me questions about grammar or about Spanish culture to assess the student knowledge and to make sure the student feels comfortable talking and asking me questions.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
By making sure the students understand the concepts and giving them tools and resources they can trust. When I tutor a student, I am not just helping them finish an assignment, but I'm helping them understand the concepts.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Once they understand the concepts, I provide them with opportunities to apply the concept with little error so they know that they have succeeded.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
The most important thing is to know the vocabulary. A review of the vocabulary will make reading comprehension easier.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
First of all, making sure they feel comfortable making mistakes and learning from them.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
I think that when students are struggling in Spanish, most of the time is because they are lacking certain knowledge; it could be vocabulary or a grammar concept. If the students have the knowledge needed to approach a new concept, they get engaged and excited.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
I could show them the material and ask them to reproduce it in a different way.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
By stressing their strengths.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
By assessing their grasp of the grammar concept and the extent of their vocabulary.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
I can use different techniques to explain concepts.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
Authentic materials, like songs, magazine articles, tv, or magazine ads.