Christian
Certified Tutor
Undergraduate Degree: University of Puget Sound - Bachelors, International Business and Theatre Arts
Graduate Degree: Universit de Paris IV Sorbonne - Current Grad Student, Langue Française Appliquée
My number one passion is of course the French language! After that, I am very interested by other languages as well and have briefly studied Italian, German, Spanish, and Arabic. In my free time, I love being outside in the mountains, hiking with friends, singing in the shower, cooking, or watching a movie!
What is your teaching philosophy?
To encourage my students through frequent positive feedback. To encourage self-guided learning. To encourage all 4 areas of language learning: oral, written, expression, and comprehension. Little to no English, or little to no translation. Lots of enthusiasm.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
The most important tasks at hand in the first session are to be able to assess the needs and desires of the student, their foreign language speaking level, and to be able to set a plan with an attainable goal.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Many students inherently know or can learn to find the answer they're seeking. Even in learning new grammar rules, if given examples, the student can frequently learn the rule without it being told to them explicitly. With guidance from a tutor, lots of practice, and a sincere dedication to learning, a student could definitely become an independent learner.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Through an established professional and enthusiastic relationship and a variety of activities and ways to practice, I believe a student could stay motivated.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
It's normal for students to run into things that they don't understand. If this is the case, I would try to find other ways to explain it and provide the student with as many examples as possible, and then test their knowledge to see if the concept has indeed been well-learned.